Tranny shifting problem - HELP!

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nickster

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I'm having a problem where the tranny feels like it's slipping - meaning it will sometimes not go in gear and my revs will shoot up until I take my foot of the gas and wait - and then it will go into gear. It usually happens when I drive it hard as opposed to granny driving.

Is this the "hunting" that's indicative of the 1-2 accumulator going south or is the a different problem. Funny thing is - it almost always happens in the 2-3 shift and not the 1-2 (although it has happened here as well).

The car has just started doing these - and again it doesn't happen all the time but enough to cause concern.

Any idea what this might be?

Thanks in advance for any help!
 
nickster said:
I'm having a problem where the tranny feels like it's slipping - meaning it will sometimes not go in gear and my revs will shoot up until I take my foot of the gas and wait - and then it will go into gear. It usually happens when I drive it hard as opposed to granny driving.

Is this the "hunting" that's indicative of the 1-2 accumulator going south or is the a different problem. Funny thing is - it almost always happens in the 2-3 shift and not the 1-2 (although it has happened here as well).

The car has just started doing these - and again it doesn't happen all the time but enough to cause concern.

Any idea what this might be?

Thanks in advance for any help!
Click to expand...


id get ur accum pistons changed out. U do a lot of hard drivin? How long have u had the car?
 
alot of times its your MLP sensor try driving out of OD and see if it goes away
 
nickster said:
I'm having a problem where the tranny feels like it's slipping - meaning it will sometimes not go in gear and my revs will shoot up until I take my foot of the gas and wait - and then it will go into gear. It usually happens when I drive it hard as opposed to granny driving.

Is this the "hunting" that's indicative of the 1-2 accumulator going south or is the a different problem. Funny thing is - it almost always happens in the 2-3 shift and not the 1-2 (although it has happened here as well).

The car has just started doing these - and again it doesn't happen all the time but enough to cause concern.

Any idea what this might be?

Thanks in advance for any help!
Click to expand...

I had the exact thing happen to me this past fall, to fix it replace the MLPS, manual lever position sensor. Hope it resolves your problem, it di9d mine.
 
Cubster said:
I had the exact thing happen to me this past fall, to fix it replace the MLPS, manual lever position sensor. Hope it resolves your problem, it di9d mine.
Click to expand...

Where exactly is the MLPS - is it hard to change, and how much does it cost? Is there a write-up anywhere on changing it? What is the function of the MLPS? Thanks for everyone's help!
 
nickster said:
Where exactly is the MLPS - is it hard to change, and how much does it cost? Is there a write-up anywhere on changing it? What is the function of the MLPS? Thanks for everyone's help!
Click to expand...

The part is like 78.00, I have CRS ( can't remember :q:q:q:q ) it'll do the trick 4 you
 
I got my MLPS, also known as a neutral saftey switch from NAPA. For the price of 20 bucks. It's really easy to change if you can get under your car, on the drivers side of the transmission held on with I believe (2) 8mm bolts. The shifter linkage connects to it, then it translates the movement of that to an electrical current letting the trans computer what gear to be in. After years of heat because of their close proximity to the exhaust piping causes them to get 'freaky'.

What "usually" happens when it goes out is when you're cruising down the highway at 60, it will pop out of gear into neutral usually for a few seconds; but it can do other weird stuff to the trans. in the way it acts.
 
what the mlp is doing is commanding the vehicle to second and at highway speed it seems like neutral.for each range park being 4.75 volts all the way down to man. 1 at .65 volts.each gate has a pre set voltage so the pcm knows what range the shifter is in.when in od it sees a voltage of around 2.5 volts , 1 volt lower and the computer commands 2nd. water intrusion usually screws them up.
 
l-m tech said:
what the mlp is doing is commanding the vehicle to second and at highway speed it seems like neutral.for each range park being 4.75 volts all the way down to man. 1 at .65 volts.each gate has a pre set voltage so the pcm knows what range the shifter is in.when in od it sees a voltage of around 2.5 volts , 1 volt lower and the computer commands 2nd. water intrusion usually screws them up.
Click to expand...
Ya, what ^he^ said...
 
Ok, well I replaced the MLPS - and the result is sort of a mixed bag. The car shifts much better and much more accurately when driven normally with no noticeable slippage. However, it still appears to "search" for the gears when I mash the pedal. If I floor it - it shifts nicely from 1-2, then with my foot still in it, it has a hard time finding 2-3 - at about 6k rpm - I bail out because I'm chicken to blow something - when I let off - it catches third gear a few seconds later and then immediately shifts in OD.

Can the 2-3 need replacing and the 1-2 accumulator not? I would think they both would be acting up? Or is this normal for this automatic?

Thanks...
 
Just to clarify ahead of time, I'm am NOT by any means a pro with these transmissions, still learning myself.

Now that that's out of the way, could you give us some more details on your specific car. How many miles? What year? How long have you owned it?

Is the first paragraph in your original post solved now with the MLPS? I think that's what I'm getting, but your still having a problem when you mash the throttle. When you really get on it does 2nd seem to be slipping at all, like maybe around 3k rpm's? Did it just start doing this after you went WOT one to many times, or has it been a gradule problem?

One more thing, where'd you get the MLPS, and for how much if you don't mind me asking?

The reason I'm asking all these questions is because it sounds similar to what happened to my 94 with 125k miles on it back in October, I'll leave out the end of the story for now...
 
ok all the accum. due is take the shock out of the gear change.but thay also have to be sealing properly to do there job.if the 1-2 accum isnt sealing the fluid that is trying to get tothe intermediate clutchlooses pres and cant apply second gear until line pressure can overcome the leak then applys.the 2-3 accum. works the same way.it is a good idea to have new parts in your trans ,the cheap parts usually take out he high dollar ones. you could also have a sticking/binding 2-3 shift valve in the v-body.i,d be a little scared of the thing catching 3rd gear if it slipped and caught,that is what normally takes out the inter.one way clutch is that sudden jolt at 6000 plus. dont give up.
 
PioneerCrazed, to answer your questions:
Car is a stock 96 with 63K and I have not owned it for too long. It appears that the new MLPS did firm up the shifts and made them more accurate according to RPM. However, the WOT throttle issue continues...and I seem to think that it may have been a few things, not just the MLPS. 1-2 shifts are fine and crisp - car will stay in 2nd to 6000 plus if I keep my foot in it - I bail out around 6K for fear of doing exactly what l-m tech describes. Then after a few, I feel it shift to 3rd when it catches and then immediately (since I don't have my foot in it anymore), shifts into OD. I bought the MLPS at Autozone for $24, Wells brand - looks exactly the same as the Ford part.

I with you l-m tech, it appears to be the 2-3 accumulator binding or sticking in some fashion. I think this might be the next logical step to take...
 
The good new is it doesn't sound like what happened to mine, this is my story, let me know if it is at all similar(I don't think it will be)... One day I gunned it at about 30mph, slamming it back into first from 2nd or 3rd, hard, to get up to speed on an onramp. Then I realized that when it went into second, once it hit 3k rpm's, it just slipped all the way to 6k; not accelerating the car at all. All other gears acted normal, and the trans actually shifted quite normal unless WOT in 2nd. I drove it like this for about 1000 miles until all of the I lost 3rd and 4th out of nowhere. Then it was new trans time.

Your symptons don't sound the same however, so you should definatley get the new 2-3 accumulator in there, as well as the 1-2 if you haven't already. I'd stay out of WOT right now, for fear that you could blow it.
 
id replace the accum. like pioneer said.thay dont cost a lot,and the repair is not that hard and it ashures that the accum. are good. i bet that fixes the delayed 2-3 shift .
 
If your having a problem from neutral or park to drive or reverse, meaning its slow to get into gear then that sounds like the pump to me. When you have to rev it up to pump it up enogh to get in gear thats the pump. Whats the mileage?
 
Def don't think it's the pump...shifts fine from standstill to drive or reverse from either park or neutral. As stated above - the car has only 63K miles.

I think my next step is to change the fluid and accums - hopefully that will clear up the problem.
 
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