[KgB_83]

Sup ppl, cause iv only just bought the car im still not to familiar with it and the things its doing may be how its supposed to be, but i doubt it.

The car is a 98 EL Fairmont, and when changing gears i can feel that it sometimes pulls longer before its supposed to change, and it kinda feels like it jumps but it only happens on a rare occasion,thats when driving normally, but if your giving it a lil more than normal you can really feel it lag before changing..And when your slowing down and just about to come to a stop you can feel it clunk and kick down the gear..Maybe this is normal but i dun rekon it is, it was way worse before, i gave it back under warranty to get fixed, the dealer tells me he put in a Reconditioned gearbox, but i rekon thats BULL..

Tell me what you think guys maybe im just expecting to much from it, maybe im expecting it to be like my old mans car smooth as anything. :wtf: :wtf:

 

[Heritage]

I don't know what's wrong with your transmission, but I have a 97 EL falcon and the trans is very smooth, so I'd say that the dealer is bullsh!tting you and there is definately a problem.

 

[KgB_83]

Yeah thats exacly what i think, the dealer for sure is bulls***ing, he is in for the ride of his life, LoL, im gonna harras him to im fully satisfied. I might as well use the 1 year warranty to its full potential :

 

[EFFalcon]

check the usual fluid levels, if its full, make sure its not black, if its black, get the fluid flushed and refilled.

 

[tallgreengumby]

hey,
now that you mention this my EF falcon does this on every occasion whne changing from 2 into 3..
its like the car is pulling longer than it should and clunks into the next gear.. but when flogging it it changes normal.
also when comming to a stop it clunks into 1st... hmm i think ill have to check my fluids tomorra...
keep me posted on how you go with your tranny

 

[KgB_83]

Well its funny after i posted the thread it stopped doing it all together, but the problem has come back, im taking it in back to the dealer this week and they have agreed to put a new trans in it (after i kinda told them ill take the matter firther if it isnt fixed after the 3rd time) but ill keep ya posted on what happens..i bet they will fuk the car up more now somehow after all this

 

[psproule]

Repeat after me....

Fresh FLuid

S5 Solenoid

Fresh Fluid

S5 Solenoid.

Seriously - most BTR sloppy shifting trans problems come back down to these two.

Can we do an FAQ on this one?

Pat.

 

[tallgreengumby]

hmm...
so you think a simple full flush and s5 solinoid ehh... sounds like a goer...
but the only thing is .. how do i change the s5 solinoid?? im all kewl about an il flush.. anyone got any idea??
cheers?? and costs..

 

[psproule]

I can't guarantee that this will fix it but a great deal of problems come down to these two things. There are other common faults such as some nylon check balls in the valve body that melt and failure of an aluminium clutch hub. But if the box has only covered between 100,000 and 200,000km without serious abuse it will more than likely be fluid and / or solenoid.

If you read the EL manual it says that these boxes are sealed for life and dont require a fluid change unless they tow. So chances are if it has been hanbook serviced all it's life it has never had a fluid change. Mine resembled black treacle when I did it by my car tows a hefty ski boat during the summer so it is fairly well abused. If you get a trans service they will drop the 4 litres in the pan and change the filter, leaving 12 odd litres still in the torque convertor and lines. You can do a full flush yourself by dropping the cooler supply line into a bucket and pour fresh fluid into the trans filler while running at idle to use the trans pump to transfer the fluid. There have been a couple of detailed threads written before by me, gregaust and somone else I cant remember. Or you can take it to a good trans specialist and have them do it for not much more than the cost of the fluid.

The S5 solenoid controls or modulates the line pressure during shifts. It is prone to overheating and failure where it is slow to react to it's input voltage. Swapping this often resolves 1-2 and 2-3 shift flaring. When you drop the pan to do the filter you will see all the solenoids marked quite clearly and it is just a matter of swapping it out. For warranty sake I had mine done by a shop. Dont try and get it from Ford though - they quoted me $695 for the solenoid. I understand that $200 or so is the real going price from trans shops.

Like I said - I cant guarantee it but it has resolved the issue for a lot of people and is a known common fault.

Pat.

 

[KgB_83]

Well, i won my battle, iv no got a brand new gearbox in my EL put in by Ford and paid by the Dealer..But ford mentioned something to me about some sensor (tpr i think or tps) that is causing a thump when ur just about to come to a full stop. I was in a rush and didnt get a chnace to ask him about it. He rekons its faulty and the computer causes that slight play in it...Dose anyone know a bit more about this computer sensor??

 

[AU_Fairmont -S-]

if they say nothing is wrong with it take it to a trans joint and see if there is something wrong with it,, if so take it to the dealer and sove it in there faces and say fix it

 

[zbenga]

hey...question i had/have a trans prob just developing right when I'm about to do a manual conversion. Today I just got new shocks in and i took it for a hammering to see how the suspension drop handles and it seems to loose 4th gear. I can be cruising and it suddenlty jumps out of gear...like in neutral, if i manually shift to 3rd it catches 3rd then i put it in D and it never goes to 4th. It's not in limp home mode as I checked, also if i manually try to go to 1 or 2 from D while doing 70Km/h i get nothing .. it's just like 1, 2, 3 don't exist. WTF is wrong with this thing? I guess I'll be needing that T5 this week !

 

[XR8 Lamah]

By the sounds of it, there is a reasonable chance that the gear position sensor / neutral lockout has died. Its basically a variable resistor that sits on the side of the box and tells the computer which gear pos you have it in.
Mine flaked out about 6 months ago - had all sort of odd behaviour, from ignoring manual shifts, to changing gears itself (ie grabs second while at 110 - "aah crap!", or neutral -"wtf!"). It died very badly about 1 hr into the trip down to the snow (which was at 1 in the morning ). Darkness, Fog, roo's and randomly shifting gearbox was not a fun trip.

If it is this, its about $90 from ford for a new one, and about a 10 min job.

 

[zbenga]

I'll go buy one now see how I go

 

[rossi]

If it's going in and out of 3 to 4th, or clunks going in, and it revs high a little before going in, it's your clutch pack.

Probs between 1-2, 2-3, = S5. And throw in some new fluid to suit.

 

[Roscoe]

Yeah I need a S5 soleniod, or so iv'e been told. Symtoms are the same as you.

TPS = Throttle Position Sensor which can apparently cause a similar problem.

 

[zbenga]

screw it i just got a T5 seating in the boot

this weekend if all goes well it's going in !

BTW. It is the switch ..had it tested ford wanted 120$ for it but i just need the excuse to put the T5 in

anyone after a auto box?

 

[Roscoe]

How much is a T5? How much is a manual conversion?

If anybody knows of some better options at a reasonable price (instead of replacing S5) please let me know! Thanks.

 

[zbenga]

$1000 got me everything I need for the conversion minus the spigot bearing $12 i think and the EF manual ECU $355 but I might not need the ECU I see how I go

 

[zbenga]

I'm getting it put in tomorrow .... all i have to do is fix the workshop guy's computer and they do the gearbox for me I'm a computer engineer so heck I'm more then happy