--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THis car is gonna kill me! JUst when we think we've gotten on top of it, she craps again.

THis time after a stint on the highway fro about an hour we stopped for gas. Then when we got back on the road she wouldnt upshift from 2nd. Sudden, no warning, running and shifting fine til then. No response to manual shift lever either. Fluid dirty but not burnt.

Whats goin on? 89 MArk VII.

AOD Tranny gurus?

normally its the OD gear that will go, it'll actually rip right off.

This sounds more like the connection at the throttle linkage. Look up by the throttle body and there's cable that comes from the tranny that connects to a bracket at the throttle body. Its a plastic connector that usually snaps. I know someone had complained about this within the last couple of months and Oldschool posted some pics of it. Try searching it and see if you can find it.

Cable's on and attached. Somethings stuck inside there.

Hi Bub Badiali

Did I mention the possibility of a faulty direct clutch before?

Regards

Dereck

On the other channel...yeah. I dont disagree with the possibility, but I dont the failure would not have happened that instantly under my driving conditions. From perfectly functional to inoperative in a single stop. Dont see how.

Im starting with the valve body cleaning and going from there. Letcha know.

Hi Bud

It happened instantly on my Town Car, I drove to work in the morning transmission shifting perfectly, went to drive home in the evening pulled away from the shop and it shifted 1 - 2 - Neutral, no shudder, no harsh shift, no funny noises, no nothing, except 1st & 2nd.

Regards

Dereck

Some things to look into:
I would assume in 2nd it freewheels, or has no engine braking when you let off the gas. This is the classic sign of either STUCK governor or VB or Dirrect clutch failure.

If you had all 4 gears before this happen, if you place the shifter back into the 1st position while accelerating in 2nd, it should go into MANUAL 2nd and have engine braking via OD band application. When you let off the throttle, it should have engine load to slow you down....if not, the OD band is fried.

Another possibility is dirrect shaft is broke, but it usually is a night and day event that snaps it, noticable event that leaves you wondering.

If the fluid is not burnt or dark colored, the VB or gov might just be hung up...however it would also show signs of not wanting to shift out of 1st very easy in the morning as well.....if the 1/2 shift is still nice and fluid as it should......my vote is clutch failure.

let us know.

Thanks for the feedback.

I got the ATSG manual and got into the valve body. FOund a good deal of dirt caked up in the bottom of the 2-3 shift valve bore (15)and the pistom was pretty tight in there. Tough, but worked it out cleaned it up and got it nice and free. But the 2-3 backout valve and the 2-3 modulator vavle were fairly snug too. (bore 3 and 4) SO I cleaned them up. Hoping thats it. I Think its worth a try.

Of Course I ended up cleaning ALL the valves and bores one at a time till they all moved nice and free and flushed out the entire rats maze too . SO soon we'll see. I give it 50/50 . IF not, out she comes anyway for overhaul. Let you know.

well, I would make use of your cleaning abilities on the governor assembly as well if you want to do it right.

if the pan was full of balck dirt....your wasting your time.

Well, my valve body attempt failed miserably and we hauled out the trans today.

So looks like Dereck and Silver Fox have the right theory. I ordered a kit and tomorrow I start my trial by fire.

Today I did take off the extension and detached the governor assembly. The governor valve moves freely in the bore. Is that how it should be, or can it be collapsed within itself?

While we had the cleaned valve body installed we road tested and tried the manual shift tricks you mentioned, Silver Fox and did get the engine braking in manual second. ANd the 1/2 shift is smooth and right on.

There wasn't all that much dirt in the tranny, but I suppose it could have been changed recently before we owned it. In fact this trans had salvage yard crayon marks written all over the top of it so someone did something.

So just how is it that this direct clutch goes instantly? OR is it that it slips unnoticeably and then wears quickly at the end? What about the other clutches?

What else should I look for while I'm in there?

Pulled the guts out of the case this afternoon. No broken shafts.

In fact saw nothing remarkable or obvious. All bearings nice and smooth, no scoring, got plenty of material on the bands ,no burnt smell. Tomorrow I'll get into the clutches and hopefully see whats up. But I dont expect to see wear. If its in the clutches I think its seals or stuck check balls or possibly broken shaft rings . Seems like something's letting pressure escape or there just isnt enough. WEll see.

Meantime, I read that sometimes a broken converter hub can cause no 1/2 shift. What would I look for or how would I check the converter? ANyone know? What about the front pump?.

I mean the 2/3 shift

Did all the clutches today. Used a 2" wide strip of shim stock wrapped inside the drums to make my seal protector/funnels. Worked good. USed tape over the hub grooves to work in the hub seals. Aluminum flashing would do it too.

One thing . Do you know how thick is that end play bar they use to measure the clearance at the assembled intermediate clutchpack and hub. WHat a stupid way to specify something, to include a tool in the measurement.

Interesting project tho.

Hope to have it running this weekend or Monday.

...
Hope to have it running this weekend or Monday.
I have a lot of respect for you and mechanics (just ask Dereck C). The last time a tranny took a crap on me, FORD rebuilt it.

http://thelincolnmarkviiclub.org/Gallery/albums/oldschool2/PA140001.thumb.jpg (http://thelincolnmarkviiclub.org/Gallery/albums/oldschool2/PA140001.jpg)
http://thelincolnmarkviiclub.org/Gallery/albums/oldschool2/PA140001.jpg through
http://thelincolnmarkviiclub.org/Gallery/albums/oldschool2/PA140015.jpg

Thanks, but I couldnt have done it withut this forum. And I have a lift at my disposal which REALLY helps alot. HAtws off to anyone who does this on the ground . IT all came together at the end and what a rush that first time 2-3 shift was. Had to tweak the cable a bit to get the time just right, but so far so good. Ended up costing about 250.00 for parts and fluid. And quite a bit of time. But a really interesting project.

Hope I never have to do another one.

...
Hope I never have to do another one.
This is all I needed to hear to convince me to pay the shop to do it. You daMan Bud.

Trust me; I've done hundreds of high speed, HVAC pumps in my lifetime that required tollerences within three thousandths of an inch, but I plan to leave my tranny in the hands of the tranny guys :)

http://thelincolnmarkviiclub.org/Gallery/albums/oldschool2/PA140015.sized.jpg (http://thelincolnmarkviiclub.org/Gallery/oldschool2/PA140015)

I make em hold 800HP, not that bad :)

Congrats, I don't have the balls to tear into a tranny. Hope it holds up good, that's always my fear...hahaha.