bradleyheathhays Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 Have an '02 Ford Taurus that's been grandma driven for all of it's 95k miles. After doing some very easy driving in town for a couple hours today I accelerated up to about 50 and noticed the car didn't seem to be responding to the gas pedal anymore. Looked down and the engine was doing 4k rpm so I let off the gas. Pumped the gas a couple times to see if the car responded and got nothing. Coasted to a stop in a safe lane and tested it in all the gears...nothing. The car stays put if you put it in park but you can roll it back when in any other gear position. The gear leaver on the tree does still give resistance when you move between gears. No music was playing and there was no noticeable sound whenever the breakage occurred. Called a friend and was advised to check the gear shift linkage at the top of the transmission. I'm not familiar with what the arm's full range of motion is supposed to be but I noted it's position while in park and low 1 and it seems to be moving well. Felt the connections and they seemed solid. Without the benefit of being able to do a proper run-up to a transmission fluid check I wiped and re-dipped the stick and it read fairly high although I hadn't added any fluid for at least 10k miles. The fluid was just a shade darker than light pink and although I didn't check specifically it didn't seem to have a burnt smell. There's no way low engine oil could cause something like this is there? Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradleyheathhays Posted January 18, 2020 Author Share Posted January 18, 2020 I don't think this would have anything to do with it but it's worth mentioning. Two months back I did a slow speed rear end into the back of a lifted pickup. The front of my hood hit his trailer hitch right at the hood latch point which crumpled the hood and broke and pushed back the upper radiator support...what the hood latches into. The equipment on that support, radiator ect were also pushed back but luckily nothing came in contact with the engine. Pushing the upper radiator support back had the effect of pushing both front fenders outward about 3/8 inch. Just yesterday I got the car back from having the front bumper plastic and that upper radiator support piece replaced. I was referred to that shop but I'm not too sure how good they are..definitely cheap though. What I'm wondering is...is it possible something got disconnected then not reconnected properly from that job that's resulted in my transmission misbehaving? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordtech1 Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 Does the trans fluid level go down when you start the engine. With the engine off the trans fluid is higher. Start the engine and the fluid level should be Lower because the pump is pumping the fluid. If the fluid doesn’t change then I suspect the torque converter splines are stripped and it’s not turning the pump resulting in no line pressure. It’s a known issue but was more an issue on windstar vans but would happen on Tauruses also. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YT90SC Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 Fordtech is right. Check fluid level as he said. Aftermarket converter is about a hundred bucks. Plus seal and fluid, just call it $200. Its the labor that will kill you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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