93 AXOD

[THO-SHO]

even after my tranny was rebuilt 1 to 2 is a rough shift it normally happens in the first shift of the mornning or if it has been sitting for a long time. but it seems like once it works in its as smooth as can be. sometimes when i feel its about to shift i let off the gas and it goes into 2 alot easier. i believe its just one of those things you have to live with having an automatic. of course with never owning another vehicle i have nothing to compare the shifts with but as a passenger in a few other vehicles not many automatics are perfect. so the only advice i can give my fellow 3.2 is unless you have a shift kit in it or can spend alot of money on an lpm.... get it checked(by someone you can trust) once a year, check the fluid once a week, and let her warm up before you beat on her. mine had 111000 miles on her before i lost 4th gear and needed a rebuild(and let me tell you this car had been pounded on). to bad i didnt know enough at the time to put in a shift kit

on a side note i see ads for tranny coolers im confused by this cause i thought all 3.2 liter SHO's came stock with a tranny cooler(just curious)

 

[naval-avi8or]

Two of them as a matter a fact. One is in the radiator the other is a small tranny cooler in front of the radiator. Just had mine rebuilt got 137k from her. New everything inside even shift kit still can shift hard 1-2. Its a Ford design flaw.

BTW I don't know what year they actually started putting two coolers in. Also I have a 94 and even though the pan says AXOD it really is an AX4N ford just used up what parts they had.

<small>[ May 01, 2002, 01:47 PM: Message edited by: naval-avi8or ]</small>

 

[Mike Kopstain]

The stock setup sucks. The best way to go is to completely bypass the cooler in the radiator and install a hayden 24K in front of the secondary cooler in line with the secondary cooler.

 

[naval-avi8or]

If you are gonna do alot of racing I will agree that you need extra cooling. On the other hand if your not your car is just fine as is. To mush cooling and the fluid will not get uo to a good operating temp. As for longivity of the tranny yes have it services annualy and that includes new fluid, filter and flush.

 

[Mike Kopstain]

Naval: I have to disagree with you on that. It is a well known fact that these transmissions are under cooled. Being that he has a 1993 car, it does not have the secondary cooler in front of the built in Radiator cooler. That was started in 1994 I believe.

Get a 24K cooler. You need it. Everyone needs it. Naval: You too buddy. This is my expertise area being that I am a college student with no money. I have probably put collectively 50 hours into research on these transmissions and I have worked on them hands on.

FYI: The secondary cooler on the 94/95 cars has a valve in it that only opens at a certain temperature to avoid overcooling and since you would be bypassing the radiator cooler and adding your cooler in line with the existing secondary cooler, you would retain that valve.

 

[Randy]

ALL the ATX SHO's have 2 coolers. One in the radiator and one external. That is plenty of cooling for these cars, in fact they cool so well that below about 45deg. they wont warm up enough inside of 30 mi. to let the temp switch let the lock up torque converter lock up.
Also as for the type of trans. they were called the AXOD-E in 1993 then they changed the design just a little and called them the AX4S in 94-95, so if you have a AX4N someone changed it out for a regular Taurus tranny..the only way to tell for sure is when it is torn down the front planetary will be a Grobe stamped steel design instead of the regular "finger in groove" type.
The 1-2 shift can be helped by installing the latest elect. press. control solonoid. in the tranny.
Been there done that..rebuilt several.
Randy

 

[Mike Kopstain]

The coolers are NOT adaquete. I know this. They are not. In summer months you are overheating the transmission. This is why sometimes your car may seem like it is slipping when it is hot out. This is from overheating.

To get that firm 1-2 shift you will also have to replace the accumulator spring and to control the extra power you will need the 4 pin diff from the SHO tranny, this is only if you indeed DO have an AX4N.