ntjoe
New Member
Firstly I want to apologize as I dont drive an SHO, but my LX does have the 24v engine. The other sites I have found have not been much help so I thought I would try here as it seemed pretty good with tech help.
I drive a 96 Taurus LX with the Duratec Engine and the AX4N tranny. Recently it stopped going into O/D and would throw a CEL and the O/D light began flashing. The CEL stays on when restarted but the O/D light goes out until a little ways down the road when it starts flashing again. I had the codes read and it pulled P0761 (3rd-4th Solenoid failure). According to a TSB by Ford, the retaining clip holding the solenoid breaks and that can cause this problem. I should add the car is strong in every other gear and the fluid is not burnt nor does it smell burnt.
I got someone to replace that clip, as I am not comfortable pulling valve bodies. He even replaced the solenoid with a new one and it still won't go into O/D, and it exhibits the same symptoms. He is telling me now that its probably something internal and wants to charge $700 to fix it. In an attempt to avoid the additional expense, I did more research and found a TSB on Alldata, 98-10-7:
"P0761 a SS3 Shift Solenoid No. 3 functional failure. Mechanical or hydraulic failure of the solenoid. Improper gear selection depending on failure mode and manual lever position (MIL on). Pinpoint Test A"
Does anyone have any information on if this sounds plausable? I have tried this on some of the Ford sites but haven't had much of a response. The car is a floor shift with the O/D button on the side. I should add that the guy who did the work works for a tranny shop and went so far as to put the car on a trans computer to bypass the TCU and wiring and it still would not go into O/D.
I apologize for the long post, but I wanted to be as thorough as possible.
Thanks, Joe
I drive a 96 Taurus LX with the Duratec Engine and the AX4N tranny. Recently it stopped going into O/D and would throw a CEL and the O/D light began flashing. The CEL stays on when restarted but the O/D light goes out until a little ways down the road when it starts flashing again. I had the codes read and it pulled P0761 (3rd-4th Solenoid failure). According to a TSB by Ford, the retaining clip holding the solenoid breaks and that can cause this problem. I should add the car is strong in every other gear and the fluid is not burnt nor does it smell burnt.
I got someone to replace that clip, as I am not comfortable pulling valve bodies. He even replaced the solenoid with a new one and it still won't go into O/D, and it exhibits the same symptoms. He is telling me now that its probably something internal and wants to charge $700 to fix it. In an attempt to avoid the additional expense, I did more research and found a TSB on Alldata, 98-10-7:
"P0761 a SS3 Shift Solenoid No. 3 functional failure. Mechanical or hydraulic failure of the solenoid. Improper gear selection depending on failure mode and manual lever position (MIL on). Pinpoint Test A"
Does anyone have any information on if this sounds plausable? I have tried this on some of the Ford sites but haven't had much of a response. The car is a floor shift with the O/D button on the side. I should add that the guy who did the work works for a tranny shop and went so far as to put the car on a trans computer to bypass the TCU and wiring and it still would not go into O/D.
I apologize for the long post, but I wanted to be as thorough as possible.
Thanks, Joe
