1999 SHO Almost dead?

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thewheelman3837

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My 99 SHO has a few transmission problems. Every time I search on here about the A4xn I get spooked by all the no O/D horror stories and such. My car has a 'hard' shift from 1-2 nearly every time, and going into overdrive about 1/2 of the time. the 1-2 bump stays pretty consistent, but the into overdrive bump can go from non existant to quite the shake, with the ability to spill drinks in the car.

I'm wondering if this is a very soon trans failure, or if it has a while to go yet. I bought the car in december and it has shifted this way since I bought it with no change. I did a trans fluid + filter change, but the color of the fluid didnt change much.
 

gamefanatic

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Have you checked to see if your motor mounts are in good shape? Those can cause a lot of the same symptoms. I remember thinking my transmission was going out in my Cadillac, but found the motor mount was separated and was the only issue.

Are there any codes coming up?

Is the fluid at the top of the hatch on the dip stick? The closer to the top hatch the better on these transmissions.

If you find nothing in those places it could be just as simple as the solenoids are going bad. They aren't overly hard to replace if that is all you intend to do.

If you don't have access good computer reader you can get information like clutch slip and other information from the PCM that can be helpful. If not, and in either case you probably need to get an oil pressure tool and go through the checks to diagnose and problems either with the solenoids, torque converter, pump, or clutches...

Let us know if you find anything that can provide more information.
 

GEN 3 SHO FAN

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Before thinking about a transmission rebuilt, try a bottle of Lucas transmission fix. I had hard shifts when the car was hot. I put one bottle after a transmission flush and the problems fade away in around 2 weeks, all is good since then (2 summers). I added since some coolers on the trans to help it too. Also, think about to put the good oil in it (some mechanics don't bother with that), originaly it's Mercon V (for 98-99 only) but some owners have good results with Mobil synthetic trans oil (Mobil1 ATF).

On this bottle it's said that it can help restore old seals and others parts becoming clogged with time. It's also said that it can help last longer trans with no prob. By security, I rode MANY posts on the net about this product before putting it in my trans and I never rode a bad one (I suggest you to do the same). I even rode some veterans here suggesting it.

(See link as exemple.)
https://www.amazon.com/Lucas-10009-...821597&sr=1-1&keywords=lucas+transmission+fix
 
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98SF19

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Were you able to speak to previous owner or do you otherwise know of maintenance history? There have been some members here that took on transmission repair and were overcome by the magnitude of the work, even with ample input from other knowledgeable members.

I would defer to the pros for a lot of what gamefanatic suggests unless you are well versed in the area. But know that the transmission is really one of only 2 weak point of the car (hey, it's a Ford!). The other is making sure cam sprockets are welded. Assuming you didn't pay an arm and a leg for the car, I would accept the costs that come along with a more thorough transmission diagnosis and/or repair. Your challenge may then be finding a shop that is familiar/competent with working on the GenIII SHO.

In what part of the country are you?
 

gamefanatic

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Agreed on transmission troubleshooting. You would need an ATSG manual (or the like) for the AX4N to know the checks. Though there is some info at AllData as well.

Have you made any progress on diagnosing?
 

thewheelman3837

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Agreed on transmission troubleshooting. You would need an ATSG manual (or the like) for the AX4N to know the checks. Though there is some info at AllData as well.

Have you made any progress on diagnosing?
Yes, a few weeks ago I checked the lower motor mount and it was pretty much shot. The inside had completely separated from the outside. However, there isn't much space to get it out under there. I got the first bolt out, but the second, inner bolt was rounded from a previous attempt by someone else I assume, and it would not come out. I put the other bolt back in and have just been rolling with it lately.

This car would be so much nicer with this fixed, but the only way I see it being able to be done now is to pull the front end off and then maybe there will be enough space to try to get it out. Anyone have other ideas?
 

gamefanatic

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Without pictures I probably could only make some suggestions.
Have you tried using a bolt extractor? There are a couple depending on the situation. The links I am providing are just for reference.

1.) Socket set (link)
2.) Drill Set (link), but requires a bit of room.
3.) Weld another bolt on and pull on that. (If you have access to a welder).
4.) Fill with polyurethane (link). You may be able to do this without even taking the mount out of the car and the one I am suggesting can usually be bought at most hardware stores. Just be sure you have enough drying time (usually 24 hours) and the bolt is approximately the center of the mount (lift engine with jack or lower subframe for alignment).
5.) J.B. Weld could be used to make up for the rounded edges of the bolt, or even to weld a sacrificial socket to the bolt. Just make sure you don't weld the parts to the mount/engine. I'd probably use the fast weld stuff since you aren't worried about heat in this case. I usually use masking tape and/or vaseline to keep it from getting where I don't want it. Keep in mind that JB Weld will be runny during the cure time.
6.) Go crazy and bolt/weld a chain to the mount and the subframe or somewhere further back. Just leave enough slack to allow for some movement, but I would suggest no more than 1.0".

I'll assume you are referring to the front mount being that you are talking about forward issues. You can lower the subframe about 2-3 inches, which may be more than enough. You just need to be able to support the mid part of the car, and the subframe separately. I have a floor jack attachment which allows me to reach both sides of the subframe at the same time which makes doing something like this fairly simple. You will have 4 x 18mm bolts to remove and lower the subframe. Just don't let it go too low, otherwise you could damage things like steering, break lines etc. 3" would be stretching it in most cases, but you can just loosen the rear bolts just enough to allow the front to lower more if you let them hang.

Alternatively you can usually get enough space from the top side if you remove the cooling fans. This might work good if you wanted to just fill the bushing. At least you know now it's not something serious, but should be addressed soon as if you have all the bushing gone it can quickly wear out the others. :( Have even see damage depending on other things failing. These cars don't have dog bones to account for issues like this.

Hope this helps.
 
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luigisho

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Already mentioned above in #s 3&6...I have seen welded stuff on mucked up fasteners work pretty well in the past. I had it done at a local shop around the corner. There were posts from SHOZ123 years ago with a chain bolted around the motor to prevent movement.
 

ZackO

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Before thinking about a transmission rebuilt, try a bottle of Lucas transmission fix. I had hard shifts when the car was hot. I put one bottle after a transmission flush and the problems fade away in around 2 weeks, all is good since then (2 summers). I added since some coolers on the trans to help it too. Also, think about to put the good oil in it (some mechanics don't bother with that), originaly it's Mercon V (for 98-99 only) but some owners have good results with Mobil synthetic trans oil (Mobil1 ATF).

On this bottle it's said that it can help restore old seals and others parts becoming clogged with time. It's also said that it can help last longer trans with no prob. By security, I rode MANY posts on the net about this product before putting it in my trans and I never rode a bad one (I suggest you to do the same). I even rode some veterans here suggesting it.

(See link as exemple.)
https://www.amazon.com/Lucas-10009-...821597&sr=1-1&keywords=lucas+transmission+fix
I got some Mercon V to do a fluid swap for my 97 SHO.. I see you said only 98-99 need Mercon V. Can I use that Mobil1 transmission fluid you speak of, then?
 

GEN 3 SHO FAN

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Don't put this in your trans !! It's for 98-99 SHO only.

Ford made changes between years, great idea...

If you have a 97, you need Dexron III or an equivalent. Call a Ford dealer to have the true brand (around 10$ by quart) or some stores have a cheaper equivalent (even Wallmart).

Mobil1 have an equivalent, but I don't remember the exact name of the brand. Check carefully before buying it on the back or with the dealer.

Also, if you have some spare money, I suggest to do a double flush. Because some oil will stay in the trans (like maybe 40%). The 2nd flush will retreive a good part of this remnant and will your trans last longer (as they are a weak point).

Good luck,
 

ZackO

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Don't put this in your trans !! It's for 98-99 SHO only.

Ford made changes between years, great idea...

If you have a 97, you need Dexron III or an equivalent. Call a Ford dealer to have the true brand (around 10$ by quart) or some stores have a cheaper equivalent (even Wallmart).

Mobil1 have an equivalent, but I don't remember the exact name of the brand. Check carefully before buying it on the back or with the dealer.

Also, if you have some spare money, I suggest to do a double flush. Because some oil will stay in the trans (like maybe 40%). The 2nd flush will retreive a good part of this remnant and will your trans last longer (as they are a weak point).

Good luck,
Thank you so much, super glad I didn't put it in yet!!I'll return it and get the Walmart brand, it's dirt cheap & will give me the ability to do a couple flushes. While I'm in there I'm going to do a gasket & filter replacement, does it use the same one as the standard taurus of that year? Here's what I'm looking at Https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I8J4WRM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_pxHSCb1HKCE0B
 

GEN 3 SHO FAN

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In fact, it's a little bit tricky.

They was 2 trans available for normal Taurus, AX4S and AX4N. However, AX4N was put in SHO because it was a more advanced version of the older of the AX4S (S is for synchronous and N is for Non-synchronous). The major difference between them is that AX4N has the ability to skip gear when shifting and doing kick down. The 2 gaskets differ by the number of bolts on the pan (17 for the AX4N IIRC). For the filter, I think they are identical in shape, but I'm not sure (at least you can compare on Rockauto site).

Our filter and gasket are the same as ones used on Taurus with the AX4N (all SHO came with a mofified AX4N). However, some internal parts of the trans are SHO uniques and you can't just replace a SHO trans with a Taurus one. (I tryed to make a list unique of SHO parts for the trans but I stopped my searches because it was time consuming : some SHO unique parts was updated by Ford for 98-99 years too...)

But the filter and a pan gasket for AX4N are very common, no prob there.

When your maintenance was done, think about to put a cooler on the trans line too.

Good luck,
 
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ZackO

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In fact, it's a little bit tricky.

They was 2 trans available for normal Taurus, AX4S and AX4N. However, AX4N was put in SHO because it was a more advanced version of the older of the AX4S (S is for synchronous and N is for Non-synchronous). The major difference between them is that AX4N has the ability to skip gear when shifting and doing kick down. The 2 gaskets differ by the number of bolts on the pan (17 for the AX4N IIRC). For the filter, I think they are identical in shape, but I'm not sure (at least you can compare on Rockauto site).

Our filter and gasket are the same as ones used on Taurus with the AX4N (all SHO came with the AX4N). However, some internal parts of the trans are SHO uniques and you can just replace a SHO with a Taurus one. (I tryed to make a list unique to SHO for the trans but I stopped my searches because it was time consuming because some SHO unique parts was updated by Ford too for 98-99 years...)

But the filter and a pan gasket for AX4N are very common, no prob there.

When your maintenance was done, think about to put a cooler on the trans line too.

Good luck,
Thanks for all this info, I definitely will! Thank God for these forums.
 

GEN 3 SHO FAN

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Sorry for the misinformation about the filter. I didn't know that there is a specific filter for SHO...

From SHOZ123 (which is a veteran of that car) :
"There is a filter and it is specific to the Gen 3 SHO AX4N. It sits a bit lower than the regular filter."
https://shoforum.com/index.php?threads/hard-shifts.139198/

I always put normal AX4N filter for taurus without any harm...(?) The specific SHO one, admit probably a cooler oil into trans as it keep it at the botom of the pan. (?)
 

E1

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Way back machine engaged.....

There were two possible transmission filters for the AX4N back in the early V8 SHO days.

One had a green neck gasket and was the wrong one.

The correct filter came with a peach/orange color neck gasket.
 

E1

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Oh yeah - tell the parts store you are looking for 1997 SHO parts when they can't find a part you want for your 1999. Half the total production of our cars was in the 1997 model year.
Almost all the parts cross reference between years and for some reason the 1997 parts lists just seem to be filled out more fully than the other 3 years.

Make sure the part received matches the one you are replacing if you have to use this trick, but chances are pretty good you will get the right part when they told you they had no offering for your 1999 SHO.
 

GEN 3 SHO FAN

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Make sure the part received matches the one you are replacing if you have to use this trick, but chances are pretty good you will get the right part when they told you they had no offering for your 1999 SHO.

Humm, not a bad trick, this will works around 97% of the time if you have a '96 and works 85% if you have a '98 or a '99. Still a good trick tough. (Compatibility rate are estimations.)

For the filters, (questioning myself...) I also saw today that the 2 colors are sold at Rockauto parts but with no good explanations... (I have to find the spare one sleeping somewhere to verify it.)
 
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