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Hi,
I was hoping for some advice or thoughts on my newly purchased EF wgn. It has done 128k and has just had a major service inc tranny(auto 4sp). The prob I am having is when it reaches full operating temp(halway)it won't shift in to 4th. I rang a gear box repairer, he says it may cost me $1880 for a rebuilt box.
Is this a fair price, has anyone seen this prob before.
Would adding a transmission cooler fix my problem. If so should I
get a genuine Ford cooler for $139 or a Supercheap aftermarket one for $85.
All help appreciated.
It does sound like your box is on it's way out, and $1880 sounds about right. A trans cooler may help but its only going to buy you a little time. If you can afford it, get it rebuilt now and fit a cooler. It will be cheaper to rebuild now rather than when it goes bang! If money is tight, get the cooler and see how it goes. The supercheap one should be fine.
If it only happens when the car has warmed up, id be leaning towards the auto trans Temp Sensor.
Does the Power / Econ lamp flash when the problem occurs.
Also came across a similar problem with an EA, but was more intermittent, turned out all that needed to be done was drop the pan, and fix up one of the spade connectors to the solenoid as it came loose.
I'd replace the internal temp sensor, and check the internal wiring harness inside the box, before getting a full recon.
9psi EB:
Yes it only happens when the car reaches full operating temp.
the Power / Econ lamp flash doesn't flash when it happens, it just won't shift into 4th. I don't really have the money for a full recon at the moment anyways as I just bought the car. The guy who is the tranny repairer said that he can see if the car has logged an electrical fault in the computer.
Goddamit It has only done a 128k, what sort of life do the trannys average on these.
Come back the old Borg warner T40, all is forgiven. They only cost about $750 for a rebuild.
Just ring around and find a place that are willing to take the pan off and give it an internal check.
The ECU most likely wouldnt log a code if a wire is loose off one of the solenoids.
Id seriously look at the internal temp sensor, as this sensor stops the ecu from selecting 4th when the auto is cold, so if the sensor is dodgey (out of range) it might be stopping 4th when hot.
Try a find a good transmission place and get it checked.Have you tried selecting 4th manually.The 4 speed auto's can be repaired at resonable cost if the problem is caught early enough before major damage is done and I would expect the trans to last the life of the car if serviced every 12months or 20,000ks and minor problems fixed instead of ignored
Along the lines of what 9psi said, does anyone know if the Ford auto temp switch locks out 4th? The commodore box won't allow the torque converter to lock regardless of speed if the auto is over temp. I'd fit the cooler and see what it does.
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If you're not driving a manual you're really just steering.
Could be going into limp home mode, when its warmed up does it still give you 1st and 2nd?
EA's had a similar problem, it was quite often a faulty/dirty connector on the electrical connector outside the box, unpluggin it and cleaning the connectors etc was the fix.
A dump of the diagnostics will likely show up the problem though.
Originally posted by ShaneP 9psi EB:
Yes it only happens when the car reaches full operating temp.
the Power / Econ lamp flash doesn't flash when it happens, it just won't shift into 4th. I don't really have the money for a full recon at the moment anyways as I just bought the car. The guy who is the tranny repairer said that he can see if the car has logged an electrical fault in the computer.
Goddamit It has only done a 128k, what sort of life do the trannys average on these.
Come back the old Borg warner T40, all is forgiven. They only cost about $750 for a rebuild.
Well, the lives of these auto's are usually pretty good if you treat them right..
I've driven mine pretty nicely, serviced it reguarly, and it's got a tranny coller standard becuase of my towpack, and it's lasted for 210,000km's so far.. Still runs smooth, no jerky gear shifts..
It all depends how the car has been driven in it's previous life before you got it i suspect..
I've had the same problem from just a low oil level. It wasn't much lower either - 300ml's was enough to fix it. I think it's a bit premature thinking about rebuilds.
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EF auto won't shift into 4th when hot
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