[Gravter]

Well, my wifes 2007 Freestar Sport is having tranny problems.
It will not engage in any gear. I did a quick fluid check and all seems good.
I can also see the lever changing at the tranny while selecting R, N D, 2, 1, etc... so the linkage seems alright.
The minivan has 115,000Km, dang!!! 15,000 over the 100,000 warranty FFS
Any of you think Ford will meet us 1/2 way or something? If not, I've been told it will be anywhere from 2,000 to 2,500 for a tranny swap!

HELP!!!

[NOS2Go4Me]

Have you guys flushed the trans at least once in its 115k life? I'm ridiculous and do mine every 50-60k for autotragics. I.e. my Escape has already been done once with 84k on it.

It might just be that the transmission fluid filter is clogged.

[Gravter]

Nope, we have not had it flushed.
We bought this thing used with about 54,000 Km's.
I also read on the net that it could be the filter being blocked. I'm gonna have and see what my dealer charges for this and see if he will wave the charge if it does not fix it, becuase if it does not, then I smell a definite trans swap
We need to get the beast towed to our dealer... 40Km's away. I might make a call to one of the local shops to see if they would be up to looking at it.
This little local shop has an A+ reputation, and might be less expensive in the end. We'll try to figure something out this weekend. We can't be with only one working vehicle for long... we just can't.
Hmmm, my wife has been eyeing the Ford Flex (great reduction right now on those) for some time now... lol... but do we really want to lose 4-5 grand and have payments for another 5 years? Nope, not really.
Will update once we get more info.

[NOS2Go4Me]

I had an issue with my old SPI sedan where a wicked impact against the bottom of the trans oil pan blocked flow (partially) to the rest of the trans by the way it hit. I barely got it home.

The dealer hammererd the pan flat, inspected the guts for damage, did the filter and obviously put all new fluid in. Right as rain after that!

I have a sneaking suspicion you'll be ok.

[Gravter]

Ok, lets try this for troubleshooting:

Lets say the FILTER is clogged... would this still be true:
- I look at fluid level when engine not running = Way high on the dip stick.
- I take another look at the fluid when the engine IS running and the fluid is at the normal FULL mark.

Would this not mean there is flow going on?

[NOS2Go4Me]

That I couldn't answer you as I've never checked my fluid levels while not running / running on a "good" trans to see how it would compare. Depending on where the filter is, it's possible that with a running engine that the fluid could be "moving" but not actually getting to all of the right places that it needs to be.

That's beyond my ken and more for a mechanic / guy from here who's had this exact issue before.

[hardk0re]

to me it seems like maybe the valvebody has some blockage, pump is gone or blocked... its the only thing that would cause sudden death sort of deal with no warning signs.

[moon111]

Was there any problems leading up to this? I've lost a couple of automatics, and they all started slipping, etc. before finally letting go all together. You said you checked the fluid... it didn't smell burnt?

Check for error codes?

I swear all minivans have auto transmissions that are garbage. Does anyone make a minivan with a standard in it.

[Gravter]

No, no apparent problem leading to this.
I just went and did another test on the tranny/fluid situation. Here are my findings:

- checked the fluid when engine off = high on dip stick
- started engine, let warm up, ran through the gears without much rev, mostly idle
- checked fluid level again with engine warm, huh, same as when cold... hmmm.

So, I'm really starting to think something is blocked somewhere. The fluid might be mostly in the pan and not circulating to the torque converter via the filter.
I don't know the path the fluid goes through, so I could be way off.
I'm gonna get it toed to my local garage and get the fluid/filter changed. I'd do it myself but damn, it's a tight fit under there and I hate my jack stands.
Worst thing that will happen is it'll cost me a filter, oil and some labour (1 hour?) Better than 2+ grand if it works.

[NOS2Go4Me]

You need to swap a FWD manual transmission into there. Problem solved

[Gravter]

I'll just make a hole in the floor pan and use my feet like the Flintstones did
Odd thing is that once they were up to speed, they did not use their feet anymore! LoL

[Gravter]

Well, we might be getting our minivan back today.
I brought it to a transmission shop and they found that the torque converter had failed.
So, instead of swapping out a transmission for $2,500.00, it'll be about $1,100.00
While it was up on the hoist, the mechanic noticed some major wear on the right front lower control arm (ball joint) was about to fail.
Well, that part comes as the whole control arm... for another $450 bucks! DAMN...

Oh well, I hope it'll last us for another 3-4 years without any other problems!