Totally NOT Duck Related, Transmission diagnosis?

Scott Bell

Scott Bell

Active member
I know there are several folks around here that know a lot more about cars than I ever will. I need a reality check on the diagnosis by the local transmission shop.

I have an '06 Escape with 150,000 miles on it. Saturday night, we were about 70 miles from home when the check engine light comes on. Typically that's emission sensor, so I paid more attention but kept going. about 20 mins later the OD/Off light came on, which got my attention a lot more. I pulled off and check the transmission fluid (ok) oil (ok)...so we limped home. This morning I took it to Autozone and they diagnosed it as Torque Converter. SOOOO, on to the Transmission shop. On the way out of the parking lot, I was pressing the gas pedal and there was no transfer of power. The engine would rev, but it wouldn't shift into gear. I let it sit for a minute or so and then it would shift into gear. At the tranny shop, they tested it out and want to replace the whole thing. I asked if they know the transmission is dead or just the TC. The response was that when the TC goes, it "sprays" stuff around inside there damaging parts of the transmission and the labor to go through and rebuild the transmission will be about as much as replacement.

That sounded odd to me that they didn't actually look at the transmission itself? Am I just being overly skeptical?

Thanks for any help you guys can provide!

Scott
 
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Unless the TC destroyed itself the only thing it can spray around the trans is fluid. The TC may be leaking (replace) but the trans problem is probably a problem with the solenoid bank. The bores wear out and will start to shift funny. Did you have any hard shifting lately? Try going to explorerforum.com and do a search on transmisions they are all pretty much the same
 
Mike,
There weren't any problems until after the lights came on. On the way from my house to the shop, there were two times where it simply wouldn't shift into gear. Restarting the car a couple of times and then it would.

Scott
 
Scott one thing you can try is disconnecting the battery for 15 minutes and then reconnect and try it then. Disconnecting the battery will reset the ecm and may fix the problem. easy enough to try
 
What's the warranty for drivetrain components for your vehicle? Still qualify by chance?

There are so many things this could be. I'd get at least a second opinion.

Mark W
 
at a 150,000 miles there is no trany shop or dealer that is going to just toss in a converter. they are not going to warrenty it at all. if the converter went bad it would contaminate the trans and trans coolers. so you might have to replace the rad and an external cooler if it has booth. just drop you trany pan and take a look inside to see what is floating around. if you see alot of big shiny metal you most likely have some kind of hard part failure. if it is not metal you will see clutch material possably from the lock up clutch for the converter. eithre way your proably looking at a rebuild. now you can go to a trans shop or the dealer. i would recomend the dealer if you plan to keep the truck. they give you a better warrenty and also if there was any updates to the trans the new reman from ford will have it. insted of having some one rebuild it. usually dealer is 3yr 36,000 miles and local shop 12month 12,000 miles. good luck

also trans temp has a lot to do with trans performance. it is best to install a trans temp gauge in the out going trans cooler line if you do heavy towing. excesive trans temp breaks down fluid and leads to failure.
 
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Mark,
We're way past the warranty mileage.

Michael, I don't tow much with this vehicle (small trailer with lightweight boat similar to a FatBoy on it). Reading various forums over the last couple days, Ford Escapes have a pretty bad history with their transmissions/torque converters.

Thanks for the info/ideas guys! It looks like a new transmission is where we will end up.

Scott
 
Sorry about the warranty question - I missed the 150,000 miles part. Good luck with the repair.

Mark W
 
If it has the cd4e trans. in it they can be expensive to rebuild.Most common problems are torque converter failures and failures in the direct and forward clutch assemblies.I used to be a Ford transmission tech and u did good if you made it to 150,000 with that transmission.If the torque converter came apart internally it can send a lot of metal through the trans.. If you get it replaced or repaired make sure they flush the trans. cooler and lines,and in some cases the cooler needs to be replaced.Hope this helps some.
 
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