PDA

View Full Version : Question about car trouble! Please Help!



nooffal
07-20-2005, 01:11 PM
Greetings everyone, and if I may, it's a pleasure to join the community here.

Now, onto my question. I have a 1999 Ford Taurus with approximately 80,000 miles on it. Until recently, I have never had any major problems with it. It was originally bought in Florida and stayed there over the last 5 or 6 years until we just relocated 1100 miles north.

Just prior to moving, I would every so often (but very rarely) get some hesitation when I attempted to accelerate. Thinking it was simply bad gas or the fuel filter (which I changed) I went on without thinking much of it.

Once it came time to move, I was driving the moving truck with my wife following in the Taurus. Everything was fine until after a few hours of driving through mountains (it had never been in mountaints, if that matters) we finally exited to stop at a motel for the night. Upon doing so, the car began to hesitate and 'jump" violently when my wife attempted to accelerate from stopping at a red light.

We were fortunately able to get it off the road and we noticed it was leaking transmission fluid. We checked the level and it was very low (if not empty) and so we went and purchased more transmission fluid (yes, we checked to make sure we got the right type) and put it into the car.

This allowed the car to drive normally again and we unhooked our 2nd car that was being towed, hooked up the Taurus to the tow dolly, and continued to drive the next day to our new home.

Once here, I called AAA and had it towed to an apparently reputable transmission place (they only do transmissions). They seemed knowledaable, friendly, and were AAA certified (if that means anything).

The strange part is, they kept the car for 5 days and said they checked for leaks and problems, did road tests of 10 to 15 miles, and after all of that were UNABLE to find any problems. So I went and picked it up.

The car seems to be holding its transmission fluid fine and everything seemed OK for the past 3 weeks until just today when we got another "hestitation" and upped RPMs when attempting to accelerate from 50 to 60 on the interstate. It only happened for a few seconds and then "corrected" itself.

I'm now completely confused. What is wrong with the car? Is there a major problem waiting to blow-up? Is it safe to be driving it? The problem can't seem to be found and it seems rather strange for it all to just be a fluke.

What should I do?

Thanks for any and all comments!

QuasarCav
07-20-2005, 01:14 PM
All signs point the the tranny. Heat kills transmissions and that is why fluid level is so important. Driving thru the mountains puts extra stress on the tranny and extra heat. That combined with the low fluid could spell the end of your transmissions life.

The only thing a backyard mechanic can really do is keep up on the fluid and make sure it's not overheating.

Sorry I cant be of more help but It sounds like you are going to need a rebuild/replacement pretty soon.

2000_SI
07-20-2005, 01:18 PM
Shit, I have this same problem in my civic with the "hesitation." Fluid levels are fine and it has never leaked or "jumped" so I, like you, thought it could have been the fuel filter, so I changed it, and i still get this occasionally.........

nooffal
07-20-2005, 01:35 PM
Originally posted by QuasarCav
All signs point the the tranny. Heat kills transmissions and that is why fluid level is so important. Driving thru the mountains puts extra stress on the tranny and extra heat. That combined with the low fluid could spell the end of your transmissions life.

The only thing a backyard mechanic can really do is keep up on the fluid and make sure it's not overheating.

Sorry I cant be of more help but It sounds like you are going to need a rebuild/replacement pretty soon.

Do you have any ideas as to how the fluid got out in the first place if no leaks can now be found? Are you saying there is no preventative repair I can do so I won't have to replace the whole transmission?

Should I just drive it normally, check the fluid level often, and hope for the best until it dies?