My daughter is away at school in RI and will be coming home this Columbus Day weekend. She has mentioned an infrequent problem with the 2008 Ford Taurus AWD that she uses for transportation to student teaching on a daily basis. She describes the problem as severe slipping. The engine will race and the car will barely move. Then it will catch and all seems well. It happens very infrequently, maybe once every month or two. There doesn't seem to be any correlation to temperature, car being on an angle, etc. Appears to be completely random. The problem has never occurred when I am driving it. I try to get her to tell me about any problems with the car right away, no matter how trivial, but she says this has been occurring for over a year. Again, it is very infrequent. I have driven the car for decently long trips (over 600 miles round trip) with no issues. All other transmission factors seem normal (smooth shifting, downshifts properly, etc.).
The Taurus has roughly 170,000 miles on it. I got it at 90,000 miles and have performed ATF drain and fills roughly every 20-30,000 miles. Not sure of the exact date of the last drain and fill since my maintenance log is in the car in RI. I am not sure if the trans has ever been serviced before we got the car.
According to what I have read, the filter for the Ford 6F50 transmission is not easily replaced. The trans must be somewhat taken apart just to get to it. Hoping to avoid this if possible.
I will likely do another set of two drain and fills this coming weekend when she comes home and was wondering if anyone had any other suggestions. I am generally not a believer in additives for fixing problems, but there may be some magical elixir that others been successful with. I'd love to hear about it. I am looking to avoid her call that tells me the car wont move and she is several hundred miles away. Also not looking to throw a bunch of money in the form a new/rebuilt transmission at a car with high mileage.
Thanks for any advice that you can provide.
Taurus Trans Slip
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How does one check the transmission fluid level on this vehicle? I am wondering if the fluid level is low, or restricted by that hard to get to filter. is it possible to raise the transmission oil pressure (like it was on older cars that used a cable?)
That probably takes the Mercon V. That's a pretty long life on a Ford transmission that you got at 90K miles. Not bad at all. If it were me, I'd also add 12 oz of Lubeguard (red?) on your last D&F. It can improve/restore some of the frictional qualities of the fluid, especially since you'll still have 30-50% old fluid in there after 2 D&F's.
Lubeguard
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I always figured Ford filters were in the trans pan, and that all of them were easy to drop. What year is the Taurus?
Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
How does one check the transmission fluid level on this vehicle? I am wondering if the fluid level is low, or restricted by that hard to get to filter. is it possible to raise the transmission oil pressure (like it was on older cars that used a cable?)
Originally Posted By: 14Accent
Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
How does one check the transmission fluid level on this vehicle? I am wondering if the fluid level is low, or restricted by that hard to get to filter. is it possible to raise the transmission oil pressure (like it was on older cars that used a cable?)
Originally Posted By: 14Accent
Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
How does one check the transmission fluid level on this vehicle? I am wondering if the fluid level is low, or restricted by that hard to get to filter. is it possible to raise the transmission oil pressure (like it was on older cars that used a cable?)
Originally Posted By: 69GTX
That probably takes the Mercon V. That's a pretty long life on a Ford transmission that you got at 90K miles. Not bad at all. If it were me, I'd also add 12 oz of Lubeguard (red?) on your last D&F. It can improve/restore some of the frictional qualities of the fluid, especially since you'll still have 30-50% old fluid in there after 2 D&F's.
Lubeguard
Catalog
I always figured Ford filters were in the trans pan, and that all of them were easy to drop. What year is the Taurus?
Since it is electronically controlled, I suspect a solenoid is sticking, or not activating ... Most likely a bad wire connection somewhere ...
My first inclination is to add some new grounds to the system. The car is getting long in the tooth and has seen some winters. She prolly parks outside (?). Slush, rain, snow all eventually get to the ground contact points in the form of crevice corrosion which makes them semi-conductors at best...
#4 cable with crimped and soldered lugs. One from battery neg clamp bolt to engine block. One from another handy bolt on engine block to fire-wall. And in this case one from a tranny bolt to the chassis somewhere.
Maybe find the ECU and partially (carefully) pull the connector part way and reseat so all the pins have new metal contact.
I have found that new grounds cure all sorts of issues with ECU controlled systems. There is voltage on the applied side to move the current, But on the ground side it is just current and anything interfering will cause gremlins ...
My first thought is low fluid or an electrical issue. Perhaps a bad ground etc. I would consider doing a drop and fill with Maxlife ATF and throw in a bottle of LGR
Seems to be the most common problem with the 08 Taurus, transmission issues:
https://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Taurus/2008/
Check out the tsbs, many involving what you're describing. Too bad it's not the FWD version with an Aisin trans in it. Maybe trade it for one of those if you can. They seem to be cheap.
Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
Seems to be the most common problem with the 08 Taurus, transmission issues:
https://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Taurus/2008/
Check out the tsbs, many involving what you're describing. Too bad it's not the FWD version with an Aisin trans in it. Maybe trade it for one of those if you can. They seem to be cheap.
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The older fords used to have issues with the resistive-multiplex PRNDL switch. So the car would be hydraulically in Drive but electronically in Neutral with the hilarity that ensues.
The catch for this would be a data stream scan tool when it acts up reporting the selected gear.
Or she could drive around in 3rd the whole time, b/c the worst that could happen is she gets "regular Drive" since it's "off by one".
Originally Posted By: eljefino
The older fords used to have issues with the resistive-multiplex PRNDL switch. So the car would be hydraulically in Drive but electronically in Neutral with the hilarity that ensues.
The catch for this would be a data stream scan tool when it acts up reporting the selected gear.
Or she could drive around in 3rd the whole time, b/c the worst that could happen is she gets "regular Drive" since it's "off by one".
Originally Posted By: earlyre
Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
Seems to be the most common problem with the 08 Taurus, transmission issues:
https://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Taurus/2008/
Check out the tsbs, many involving what you're describing. Too bad it's not the FWD version with an Aisin trans in it. Maybe trade it for one of those if you can. They seem to be cheap.
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