edv8wagon

My fabulous three speed auto in my '90 XF ute is starting to play up a bit, when it's cold it will find a "false neutral" between first and second. It will change out of first, the engine revs will rise without drive, then it will finally clunk into second. It will generally not do it again that day. I'm not keen on spending a great deal of cash, but am not shy about getting under the car. Is this a common problem? is there an easy fix? what should I check?

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MaD_WoG

change the oil, if not, get a new tranny, about 100 bux from wreckers

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XE Fairmont Ghia... Silver/Grey Met over black, soon to be v8, cant wait till i get another v8, after 3 LONG HARD YEARS

http://home.iprimus.com.au/diablo_vt/xeesp.swf

johnydep

Sounds like sticky valves caused by a worn front clutch pack or front band.

But make sure you check the oil level the correct way. Engine warm & running, remove dipstic from trans, wipe, switch engine off & dip the stick within 30 seconds. Checking while running will give a false reading on that model, The oil is splashed onto the stick while running. If you have been driving with a low oil level there will be clutch/band wear.

A worn front clutch can give those symptons, the wear material goes through the shift/governor valves causing late shifts until the vehicle warms up & the valves become free. The clutch can no longer handle the torque load, so gives a slight slip.

If it is the front band, same thing goes as for clutch pack. The band material is burnt/worn and the wear material goes through the system. An adjustment,service and a friction modified additive might give you a little bit of time.

One last thing, they do sometimes have a problem with the throttle pressure cable (kick down) seizing.

edv8wagon

I found the problem, it was the 3 speed auto transmission!!!
I pick up my 4 speed manual conversion kit this afternoon, that should fix it

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edv8wagon

OK, now the XF ute has a 4 speed borg warner 503-XX single rail, that fixed the slow changing auto problem. I don't like the look of the nylon thread holding the selector lever in, is there an aftermarket item available to replace it?

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