97 SHO Transmission Problem

[jasonspohn]

I have a 97 SHO and I was driving home last week and I stopped at the traffic light, sat still waiting for it to turn and when it did turn, I stepped on the gas and it acted like it was in neutral. I shut the car off for a minute then restarted it and it took off right before it would hit second gear it would go back to acting like it was in neutral again. Luckily I was right down the road from my apartment and after I got it home I waited til the next morning, went out and it was still doing the same thing and would not get in reverse. When it is in park, it actually is in park but all other gears, it is like being in neutral. Trans fluid is a shade darker than normal but still red and filled properly. Any ideas on what it could be as I know they used those crappy automatic trans like in the normal Taurus. My father was one of the first Ford Master Technicians in the country and I do not have him to help since he passed away in 04. I am a surviving cancer patient and I had a hard time even changing the thermostat last week as my body is weak. I am just probably going to sell it but I want to know what it could be and how much everyone thinks it is worth.

 

[stephen newberg]

You did not mention the miles on the car, but we are looking at a 15-16 year old automatic transmission, if it has not been previously rebuilt. Crappy really has nothing to do with it, it is just old and worn. They are moving parts and need to be reworked eventually. That sounds like where you have gotten to. No moving parts system lasts forever.

Value is very much a personal thing. If you really like the car and have the money to do it, repair is feasible. But as a sale item, at that age and with a bum transmission, you should not expect to get much at all for the car on resale if you are honest about the problem to potential buyers.

If you decide to repair it, you will want to carefully check around for the reputation of local automatic transmission shops. Most are not very good, but somewhere around you will be able to find one that has a solid backlog of happy customers, and that is the one you want. The transmission itself is not the same as goes into other Taurus, and just in case, you need to keep the transmission shop very firmly thinking about that, or parts are not going to work out correctly and things can go very wrong. You need parts specific to an SHO AX4N 1997 transmission.

pax, smn

 

[SHOdded]

Welcome to the forum, you are at the right place for help.

I am a newbie myself, and first thing to look at is stuff like check engine light (on/off), codes set by the computer. Sounds like something is slipping in the transmission, though.

Best wishes with your health, and your SHO.

 

[BamSHO]

If you can do it, Id try changing the fluid in the pan and filter change. Never know when it was done last. The past two Gen3s in had, ive done that and the pan was nasty and filter surely need changed. It might help.


Brian Michael
98 blakc Gen3

 

[My_Silver_SHO]

I have tranny available...worked fine. I bought the car for the welded cam engine and don't need the rest of the car.

 

[toledogt]

Jason,
Yes, Welcome to the club. There is plenty of knowledge on this forum. Check the codes if the check engine light is on. Also you need to know if your Engine Camshafts have been welded. If they are then you can look at getting a transmission. If the cams have not been welded then you need to budget for that immediately.

 

[jasonspohn]

I love the car and I was lucky to find it when I stopped traveling all the time. The car has almost 148,000 miles on it and there are no codes even yet since computer reset after I put in thermostat due to battery being removed to access this. It is pretty crazy how the tranny worked perfectly and all of the sudden it has a moment. I would love to put my sleeves up and work on it but just getting off chemotherapy it is really hard to do anymore and considering that I am only 32 and this weak is very frustrating. My father always told me the transmission were bad in these but few survive well. I think I am just going to sell it as I do not work and don't drive but on the weekends with my fiance' and the kids.

 

[jasonspohn]

Well after going out and unhooking the battery and letting computer reset, the transmission works the way it is supposed to driving around my development and shifting smoothly. It's crazy and I let it running for a while to see if a code would come on and nothing unless it is one of those codes that waits for about 100 miles I don't know as I am stumped now.

 

[SHOdded]

Fingers crossed it continues working right

 

[jasonspohn]

My fingers are crossed but it is really weird how it would not move and act in neutral like the typical Taurus transmission complaint but one simple reboot and it works. I am just gonna sell it and move on I think.

 

[SHOdded]

SHOs do require TLC from time to time, and having others work on them can be financially challenging. But there is an entire website (and great additional resource) dedicated to just the Gen III V8 SHOs at http://www.v8sho.com/SHO/96shohome.html. You can check it out if you like to see if that can be of assistance to your decision.