Little to no reverse.

[1989Sho30]

Got a 99 SHO for $500. Has 134k on it... Drives in the forward gears perfect, no shudder, slipping or noises... Shifts nice and smooth in all gears, into O/D and torque converter lock-up.... BUT

The bastard thing does not have much of a reverse! It will engage, but it's acting like it's slipping... The engine will rev and it will try to move - And if you rev it high enough, or enough times.. it will eventually jump harshly into reverse and go.

Tranny fluid does not smell burnt at all, actually has barely any smell to it. Still red, but dirty.

Any ideas?

 

[rubydist]

it needs a tranny rebuild.

the symptoms you describe could possibly be caused by:
improper fluid level
misadjusted shift linkage
low pressure to clutch (epc solenoid issue or pump issue or contamination in the passages)
plugged oil filter
damage to main valve body or gasket on valve body
drive sprocket seals missing or damaged
forward clutch piston or seal issue
worn or damaged planetary
reverse clutch piston or seal issue

if you want to try the cheap approach, you can buy a new epc solenoid (which you can change with the trans in the car - I have done it), but since you do not have a similar issue in forward gears, it is much more likely that the cause in your case is an issue with the reverse clutch piston which requires a rebuild to fix.

 

[98SF19]

You're in Georgia, so search for Doug Lewis at Ford Performance Specialists in the Atlanta area. He knows the Gen 3 inside out from what I hear. (Hey Doug, I'll be making a trip up that way soon, so I hope I get some points for this!)

 

[1989Sho30]

You're in Georgia, so search for Doug Lewis at Ford Performance Specialists in the Atlanta area. He knows the Gen 3 inside out from what I hear. (Hey Doug, I'll be making a trip up that way soon, so I hope I get some points for this!)

I'm actually not in GA anymore - I moved some years back just forgot to change it.

it needs a tranny rebuild.

the symptoms you describe could possibly be caused by:
improper fluid level
misadjusted shift linkage
low pressure to clutch (epc solenoid issue or pump issue or contamination in the passages)
plugged oil filter
damage to main valve body or gasket on valve body
drive sprocket seals missing or damaged
forward clutch piston or seal issue
worn or damaged planetary
reverse clutch piston or seal issue

if you want to try the cheap approach, you can buy a new epc solenoid (which you can change with the trans in the car - I have done it), but since you do not have a similar issue in forward gears, it is much more likely that the cause in your case is an issue with the reverse clutch piston which requires a rebuild to fix.

Think what I will do is change the fluid, filter and inspect anything else I can see from taking the fluid pan out and go from there. If it requires a full rebuild, this will be the 2nd SHO to be sitting in our drive with transmission issues.

 

[sperold]

How does the floor shifter feel?
Get the car up on a hoist or high enough to see the travel of the tranny shifter.
Do the fluid / filter change.
Try a whole bunch of experimental things to see if you can improve that reverse engagement time, without doing the high rev thing. Move it ahead, do a moderate stall maneuver in forward, bring the revs down to normal, then directly to reverse. Try moving in 2nd, then directly to reverse, on and on.
Good luck.

 

[1989Sho30]

How does the floor shifter feel?
Get the car up on a hoist or high enough to see the travel of the tranny shifter.
Do the fluid / filter change.
Try a whole bunch of experimental things to see if you can improve that reverse engagement time, without doing the high rev thing. Move it ahead, do a moderate stall maneuver in forward, bring the revs down to normal, then directly to reverse. Try moving in 2nd, then directly to reverse, on and on.
Good luck.

Feels... Normal to me? I haven't driven it much. I will talk to my father and see what he says.

 

[rubydist]

changing the fluid will just be a waste of money at this point, and there is nothing to see with the pan off - you need to disassemble the trans to see any possible issues with the clutch pistons.

 

[stephen newberg]

I agree with the post just above, though checking the shift linkage was mentioned earlier and I think that is a good idea.

pax, smn

 

[1989Sho30]

changing the fluid will just be a waste of money at this point, and there is nothing to see with the pan off - you need to disassemble the trans to see any possible issues with the clutch pistons.

Fair enough. But I've seen strange things happen when a tranny gets fresh fluid... A buddy of mine had a Ford Truck that he thought the tranny was going out on, Showed all the signs (slipping, hard shifting, whining) he went and got it flushed, added some Royal purple ATF, and some friction modifier... and bam, after about 100 miles it was shifting and driving brand new. To my knowledge, (4+ years later) he's still driving on the same transmission.

I agree with the post just above, though checking the shift linkage was mentioned earlier and I think that is a good idea.

pax, smn

Will do, We will look into that.

 

[rubydist]

Fair enough. But I've seen strange things happen when a tranny gets fresh fluid... A buddy of mine had a Ford Truck that he thought the tranny was going out on, Showed all the signs (slipping, hard shifting, whining) he went and got it flushed, added some Royal purple ATF, and some friction modifier... and bam, after about 100 miles it was shifting and driving brand new. To my knowledge, (4+ years later) he's still driving on the same transmission.

for every one story like that, there are 100 where the trans was working fine and the guy decided to have the fluid changed / flushed and within a couple of months the trans quit working and needed to be rebuilt. the rule of thumb with Ford auto trans is that if it has not gotten its regular 30k service, then you just drive it until it quits working because they are much more likely to fail after a service if it is the first one in a long time.

 

[SHOdded]

Wish Ford had come up with a transmission oil life monitor on late model vehicles, along with the engine IOLM. Would be interesting to see what happens in real-life driving conditions.

 

[sperold]

Another wish would be a spin on oil filter (like Saturn years back) and a drain plug on the tranny. If the service interval is 30K miles, it would be a nice touch.
From what I have seen, the pressure fill of a transmission flush is a sure failure down the road, it must disturb some attached grime, that gets freed-up to cause problems.
The old fashioned oil change through the bottom pan, and filling through the dipstick, does not seem to be fatal. The biggest complain there is you "spent some money and nothing changed", but who knows your luck. I have had good luck with that process, but my last automatic had an external modulator valve.

A little bit of history, the Tempo / Topaz had a program called "lubed for life" and there was no transmission oil change program. Your original fluid stayed in there till the final day.

 

[rubydist]

a lot of the newer competitive auto trans are like that - no dipstick, no fill port, no drain plug, and they say "no service required"

 

[1989Sho30]

I drove it yesterday and the floor shifter felt fine. So I'm at a loss here.

 

[sperold]

I have never had a Gen III SHO, but a lot of people claim they are the best of the bunch. They have a 1 piece floor stamping that is supposed to make them great handlers and give you a solid feel you get nowhere else.
I would be awfully tempted to fix the automatic. On the positive side, you can drive it anywhere in the near future, and if you take a couple of guys with you wherever you go, you will never be stumped by the reverse thing. I would shop it around reputable transmission shops (remember this is no job for Mr. Transmission) and see who will give you the best deal.
We had a car with these symptoms years back, and the situation never got any worse, it always went well in the forward gears, but you had to wait a long time to get into reverse.
Once the cams are welded and the tranny fixed, they are bulletproof. Although it will be at a premium, it will be a great, worry-free car.

 

[1989Sho30]

I have never had a Gen III SHO, but a lot of people claim they are the best of the bunch. They have a 1 piece floor stamping that is supposed to make them great handlers and give you a solid feel you get nowhere else.
I would be awfully tempted to fix the automatic. On the positive side, you can drive it anywhere in the near future, and if you take a couple of guys with you wherever you go, you will never be stumped by the reverse thing. I would shop it around reputable transmission shops (remember this is no job for Mr. Transmission) and see who will give you the best deal.
We had a car with these symptoms years back, and the situation never got any worse, it always went well in the forward gears, but you had to wait a long time to get into reverse.
Once the cams are welded and the tranny fixed, they are bulletproof. Although it will be at a premium, it will be a great, worry-free car.

Well, Like I told my dad.. If he only gets a year or so out of it before the tranny goes completely... Atleast he got his moneys worth out. He only paid $500 for the thing...

 

[98SF19]

Once the cams are welded and the tranny fixed, they are bulletproof

Those two fixes are no doubt the most critical for the longevity of the car, and you're right about the premium part (my decision for lifetime warranty on trans was due to the facts that I was taking on faith the Aamco shop's claim that they'd done 2 Gen 3's previously, that there were no other shops south of Atlanta that I had confidence in doing the work, and that I have a ******** attachment to the car). But I wouldn't go as far as saying they make ownership worry-free. Resolving oil leaks can be costly (if done right), as can problems with the steering, braking, and cooling systems. If one is mechanically inclined enough (or has family/friends that are), then no, these latter issues won't pose a major problem for a 16 year-old vehicle.

 

[1989Sho30]

Well, He found in the owners manual that apparently there was a BRAND NEW transmission installed at 91k... And it now has 137k on it... So I don't get it. I wonder if it wasn't a "new" transmission.

Anyways. I'm gonna call around to see if theres any shops around that will weld the cams, Also gonna have the transmission fluid changed and maybe add an aux cooler. Is there any special fluids you guys recommend? I know it's Merc V right? Do I need to add any special additives to it? I know on my 95 Lincoln with basically the same transmission, I have to use Merc V and "Lubegard" fluid additive.

 

[sperold]

It is usually written on the dip stick, and you can update from that with compatible / more modern formulas if you want.

 

[1989Sho30]

Well apparently it lost reverse completely... It won't move at all now.

What causes this? Shifts buttery smooth and correctly in forward gears - But has no reverse.