'93 ATX lost reverse

[Doomgoggles]

My '93 ATX SHO was just fine until a year ago when I suddenly lost reverse and first gears. (It was right after a routine maintenance at a Goodyear/Gemini, and I still suspect them.)

I took it to a Ford dealer for some recall, and had them check the tran as well, and they claimed it was just some kinda band. I immediately took it to a AAA-approved transmission shop and THEY claimed the whole planetary cluster is shot. I don't know what to do, and I have very, very little cash.

The car still runs fine; I just have to start and stop in 2nd, and shift up to Drive at speed; use gravity for reverse, and be careful where I park.

Oh, the WEIRD part is that on a cold morning, it'll give me Reverse ONCE.

 

[shotime1994]

Sounds like you need a tranny. Is the fluid burnt? Is the tranny full? Did you try and pull codes?

 

[rubydist]

For the no 1st/rev, you either have a bad low one-way clutch or the forward clutch is not applying. The forward clutch could be a mechanical problem in the trans or a solenoid problem. If its a solenoid problem, you should get a code, and then you might save it by pulling the side cover and changing the solenoid. If its a mechanical problem inside the trans, a rebuild is in order. My best guess is the one-way clutch is bad.

 

[Doomgoggles]

Wow thanks for the quick responses.

Sounds like you need a tranny. Is the fluid burnt? Is the tranny full? Did you try and pull codes?

According to both mechanics, the fluid was fine. AFAIK: the computer isn't throwing any codes.

My best guess is the one-way clutch is bad.

Is that something that can be replaced individually?

Also: This tranny was rebuilt at 85K once, and it's currently at 169K. Can it survive another?

 

[smokin joe]

This same thing happened to me in my 92 taurus L. I ended up getting first and reverse back. I had the car in reverse, the pedal to the floor bouncing off rev limiter, the smell of burning transmission fluid in the air. And while the car was slowly rolling back due to gravity it just grabbed so I did a reverse to first to make sure I got first back too and sure enough I did. For the next couple of days driving that car until I got my new one (that was already lined up prior to this) it would squeal the tires into second so loud, it was great, then I parted it out And the transmission still worked just a really hard 1-2 shift

 

[Doomgoggles]

Interesting you should mention that, Joe. In addition to a cold morning, I CAN occasionally get reverse back if I rev the engine enough, but it's more and more rare that that works, plus I think it's hurting it. When it DOES go into reverse, it's a BANG that lurches the car backwards.

I really really don't want to have to sell or part this car out, and I can't afford a new transmission.

 

[VortecGT]

the 93 atx has a 1st and reverse pistion, the same thing happened to me and it turned out to be a hair line crack in this pistion. You can still get replacement ones that are made of steel. Is the problem worse when the car is warm?

 

[rubydist]

My experience is that if the piston has a crack, they will sometimes work when cold, but they will engage slowly. If they bang into action as described above, its more likely the over-running (one-way) clutch that is bad.

Any of the internal parts being bad requires a rebuild. Typically, you would want to put in new hard parts and new soft parts, in which case the trans would be able to be rebuilt indefinitely.

 

[Doomgoggles]

the 93 atx has a 1st and reverse pistion, the same thing happened to me and it turned out to be a hair line crack in this pistion. You can still get replacement ones that are made of steel. Is the problem worse when the car is warm?

Yes, it will occasionally work when cold, but never when warm.

My experience is that if the piston has a crack, they will sometimes work when cold, but they will engage slowly. If they bang into action as described above, its more likely the over-running (one-way) clutch that is bad.

Any of the internal parts being bad requires a rebuild. Typically, you would want to put in new hard parts and new soft parts, in which case the trans would be able to be rebuilt indefinitely.

So no matter what, I have to pay for a rebuild...
Can you tell me what you mean by hard parts and soft parts?

Thanks to everyone btw.

 

[jmpSHO]

I think your best route is to find a used trans. from some where and install it.

 

[rubydist]

So no matter what, I have to pay for a rebuild...
Can you tell me what you mean by hard parts and soft parts?

Hard parts are gear sets, carriers, bearings. Soft parts are friction washers.

The reason I mention that is that some of the 'cheap' rebuilders will only replace the soft parts and whatever hard parts are actually broken. The correct way to rebuild a trans is to replace both hard parts and soft parts, so that you don't have to worry that one of the parts that looked still good will break next month.