1993 SHO tranny shift problem

[creature]

I am the proud owner of a 1993 Taurus SHO. The car is in near perfect condition inside and out, bone stock, with 156,000 miles on the odometer. It has been in the family since 1995 and has been meticulously maintained and driven conservatively ever since without any substantial problems. I consider it to be a great vehicle and I intend to keep it in the family for many years to come. I am currently having a problem with the automatic transmission that I hope is not serious. 75% of the time it shifts perfectly, as smooth as glass. But sometimes through light to moderate acceleration it seems as though it cannot decide to shift into 2nd gear. It kinda shifts and unshifts rapidly for a few seconds before it finally shifts into 2nd. The result is a very obnoxious chattering sensation that is just not right. This has been a problem for a few years now but it seems to be getting worse. I performed a search on this site but I failed to find a problem that I felt was the same as the one that I am having. Although I do have a problem that came up in my search that is when under full acceleration it almost refuses to shift into 2nd then all of a sudden it slams in, I rarely fully accelerate for this reason. Are these two problems related? In almost all other situations the tranny shifts as if it were new. This makes me feel that my problem is not actually in the tranny itself. I have no desire to upgrade the car to perform any better I feel as if the current performance level of the car is fine. I just want to fix the current tranny problem and enjoy the car in stock form. I had a local mechanic reccomend that I service the tranny and add some sort of additive that he thought may help. I did that and it did not change anything. Can someone please help me? After reading the posts on this site I feel that this is the best place to get the right answer from people that know their stuff! Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank You very much! beer

 

[MOSHO92]

Welcome to the forum!!!

I think you will find everone here to be very helpful with any SHO malady you might have or any joys you would like to share.

On your tranny issue, I'm sorry but I dont know much about the automatic transmission...I'm sure someone chime in soon and give you some help.

Again, welcome!

 

[creature]

Thanks for the welcome! My car is the same color as yours. Looks good!

 

[SHOtimer]

You need to have your transmission replaced or rebuilt. The two problems that you are having are related. The clutches inside your transmission are worn out and this is only noticeable when you put a lot of pressure on the transmission (ie. under moderate to hard acceleration). The clutches are not able to grab as well so the shuttering sensation you feel are the clutches trying to grab each other but having a difficult time doing so. You can drive it like this if you want to but it will only get worse and when the time comes it will completely stop altogether. I am amazed that your stock '93 tranny made it this long as that is the weakest year and they usually go long before 150k. If you are looking for a stock car with no mods whatsoever. Your best bet would be to take it to a dealer and they will install a rebuilt tranny with a 3yr/36k warranty, which isn't bad. Or you could go to a trannys shop and have them rebuild it but you would be more likely to have problems if you go that route.

Congratulations on having such a great SHO and that it is stayin the family

Doug

<small>[ February 06, 2004, 07:59 PM: Message edited by: SHOtimer ]</small>

 

[creature]

Thanks for your post Shotimer but this is part of the problem that is so perplexing. When you mash on it pretty good but without holdig it on down it shifts fine. The problem mostly occurs through moderate acceleration. And sometimes you can actually feel it shift back down to 1st and then back to 2nd and so on and ao forth. I'm wondering if there is not a problem with whatever actually tells the tranny when to shift... It just seems to work too good most of the time for it to be worn out, 'ya know?

 

[SHO SPD]

Sorry, I have to agree. The 93 is KNOWN for its horrible ATX transmission. Only a rebuild will help. I am speaking from experience.

 

[Rockledge]

Welcome to SHOForum.

I know pretty much nothing about the ATX except what I've read in posts around here, but it seems yours has made it farther than most.

How's the fluid situation? Sounds like your SHO is very well maintained, but the condition of the fluid is relevent info that might help confirm a diagnosis. shrug

As for a rebuild, I've heard a lot about an aftermarket shift kit, PCM replacement and/or chip that will improve the performance and durability of the tranny. But I'll let some of the others tell you more about it, since that's about all I know myself.

 

[creature]

The fluid was shanged @50k, 100k and @155k & it was in normal condition when last serviced...

 

[Axianator]

creature,

While Doug may be correct in his assessment, there are a few things you might want to first check and/or replace before you go ripping into your tranny and dropping big bucks for a rebuild. Electrical items such as the VSS (Vehicle Speed Sensor), TSS (Transmission Speed Sensor) and tranny wiring harness are three primary failure items which can cause bad shifting behavior in an ATX and otherwise contraindicate a rebuild. FWIW, I did a quick search for 'VSS' and turned up a couple of interesting threads. Click here for interesting reading on possible sensor problems and here for VSS replacement tips.

Barring electrical problems as the source of your woes, then Doug may not be far off in his diagnosis. Assuming cltuches or friction material aren't to blame (and I don't really think they are in this case), then I'd have to suspect a problem with the valve body, i.e. a bad or broken servo, piston, spring, c-clip or a combination of the above.

Best of luck with your efforts. Do keep us posted on the latest! thumb

<small>[ February 07, 2004, 04:02 AM: Message edited by: Axianator ]</small>

 

[TYSHO]

Please do a search in this section under "VSS" and you may find what's wrong with your tranny shifting.

140.5k here on the original! Maintenance, as changing your fluid and filter, will take it longer. Every 10k is good for me with my driving. naughty

Edit: Someone beat me! squint

<small>[ February 07, 2004, 04:10 AM: Message edited by: TYSHO ]</small>

 

[creature]

Thanks guys for all the help, I'm going to go ahead and start by replacing the vss. I'll let you know the results... Wish me luck!

 

[SW SHO]

Good luck!.. I'm the one who replied to your post on www.nmshoclub.com, and glad you are using the shoforum as a recource. Keep us posted!

 

[Jason Bowles]

I've got a 1993 ATX and I've got the same problems, but from what I hear I guess I am pretty luck to have gone as far as I have with 197,500. The problem started around 189,000 but keep in mind that most of these miles are highway. Any way I'm new to the small family of SHO owners so I don't have any advice, but I would love to hear how the VSS affects your problem.

On a similar note. Is it possible to change an automatic to a manual. Obviously with a new tranny, but interior and linkage wise. Or is it just cost effective to find a manual (already done that and it's near impossible).

 

[musiccitysho]

HEY CERATURE AND WELCOME ABOARD, IM SURE IN THE SEARCHES YOU FOUND SOME INFO ON THE VSS AND THE TSS. WHEN MY VSS WENT IT JUST WOULD NOT POP OUT OF OVERDRIVE WHEN I WOULD FLOOR IT ON THE HIGHWAY TO PASS,AND APPARENTLY HAD I TRIED, MY CRUISE CONTROL WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN FUNCTIONING. THE VSS IS AROND 60 DOLLARS AND A P.I.T.A. TO REPLACE. WHEN MY TSS STARTED ACTING UP I HAD THE HARD SHIFTS FROM 1-2. THE TRANS WOULD ACTUALLY SLAM INTO SECOND JARRING THE WHOLE CAR AFTER IT WAS AT RUNNING TEMP. TO REPLACE IT WAS 25 DOLLARS AND TOOK ABOUT 15 MINUTES GOING THROUGH THE WHEELWELL WITH A 1/4 DRIVE FLEX EXT. JUST UNPLUG THE CONNECTOR REMOVE THE 1 MACHINE SCREW AND CAREFULLY PRY IT OUT ( I USED A FLATHEAD).
I KNOW THE TSS THROWS A CODE AND IM PRETTY SURE THE VSS DOES TOO. DONT TRUST YOUR MECHANIC OR THE DEALER TO PULL THE CODES CORRECTLY,(THEY SCREWED MINE UP). DO IT YOURSELF YOU MAY JUST SAVE YOURSELF HUNDREDS OR THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN SPECULATIVE GUESSES AND THE SUBSEQUENT DAMAGE THAT MAY OCCUR.
AS FAR AS THE DOOM AND GLOOM POSTS ABOUT THE 93 ATX'S WEAK TRANNY, IVE GOT 130,000 MILES ON MINE, THE LAST 40,000 HAVE NOT BEEN HIGHWAY MILES, AND I DRIVE IT HARD. I HAVE HAD NO PROBLEMS EXCEPT REPLACING THOSE 2 SENSORS AND KEEPING UP ON THE PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE. THAT IS NOT TO SAY THAT THE 93 ATX IS THE BEST BUT IT IS A LOT MORE RESILIENT THAN MANY WILL LEAD US BELIEVE HERE.
ALL THAT BEING SAID 189,000 IS ALOT OF MILES, BUT TRY PULLING THE CODES ANYWAYS, ITS EASY, FREE AND BEST OF ALL THERE WONT BE THE POSSIBILITY OF SOMEONE ELSE SCREWING UP THE INTERPETATIONS OF YOUR CODES AND BLOWING YOUR MONEY THROWING PARTS AT IT UNTIL THEY GO AWAY.

STEVE

 

[musiccitysho]

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