Shifting Problems

cyoder

Registered User
Ok guys I need your help with this one. Last night I was on my way home from eating with some friends and my 1990 SC automatic decided that it didnt want to shift out of 2nd gear. I managed to get it all the way home. This morning I woke up to go to work and it is the only car I have to drive so I had no choice but to drive it. I could not hit past 30 mph as it was now stuck in first gear. Once i hit about 4500 rpm's it decided to slam into 2nd. So my question is, is it that the transmission is completely gone or is it the control module? The fluid looks and smells good and it only has 90k miles on it.
 
Hi your 90 automatic doesn't have a control module. It's controlled by a cable actuated by the throttle. Passenger side back towards firewall. The adjustment on this cable is done with a plastic bushing that is prone to break especially at this age if it's the original piece. If this is the actual problem it is extremely undesirable to drive the car as your transmission WILL fry in short order if it's not already. Search the threads, this is covered in detail many times.
By the way I have a '90sc auto with 98k original, my tranny went at 68k due to this problem. Be aware that Ford no longer offers the trannys that were designed to handle the torque of the SC motor. The guts are only available in housings/tailshafts which mate to trucks. Your tranny may already be a replacement and that might be part of the problem. It's possible to build one up to original specs if that's important to you. If you get on it a lot this is advisable.
 
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Had mine done at dealership as I didn't know about it at the time and I'm a factory-stock type of guy. Be aware it's athreaded assembly and it needs to be adjusted properly, this is critical, there are threads covering that if you're a do-it-yourselfer. I'm GUESSING it might be common to any AOD and it might be part of a whole cable assembly but I can't be sure since it's associated with the throttle assembly that is SC specific. If you search for AOD you'll see tons of threads. It's the "TV cable" I think. I'll double check and edit if neccessary.
Yeah it's the TV cable it controls the valve body in the tranny from the throttle position.
By the way I've had mine for 6 years and 50kmi now don't let the "SC newbie" fool you. I lurk here often.
 
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Ok heres what happened. When i first bought the car I had to change spark plugs and numerous other things on it because it was not well maintained. When we took off the throttle cable the plastic piece broke off so the only way that i could get it back on was holding it in place with a retaining clip. It has been that way for months and I had no problems with it until last night. It was shifting perfectly fine, I even ran it at the track 4 or 5 times this year and had no problems so, my guess is that my transmission is probably shot.
 
That certainly sounds like the problem then.. Yes it can seem fine for a while then just go. On mine, all the clutch packs were disintegrated, the inside of the casing was so scarred it wasn't rebuildable. You may not smell burnt fluid 'cause there wasn't any actual slippage til it went. Good luck!
On second thought it's POSSIBLE that only the retaing clip finally slipped a little and it may be ok once it's adjusted properly. Try not to drive it if possible until you can check that out.
 
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Thanks for your help. Im gonna go and look at it here in a few. One more question....How do I figure out when it is adjusted properly?
 
Again, the search feature will help you....

There is a lot of info on this subject....

It is suppose to be set to a certain tension.....

Before I was a member of SCCOA, I drove my 89 SC over 90,000 miles with the TV cable zip tied to the linkage.....:eek:

It eventually failed and the trans burned up shortly after that.....:eek:

I've set a few TV cables by pulling all the slack out of the cable and then pull the cable just a little bit more (a few clicks)....

Test drive and adjust as needed....

A few clicks of adjustment can make a big difference in the shifting process of these transmissions, so be careful......
 
man, im sure glad i have a manual. its so easy. either its broke or its not. no real trouble shooting or adjustments to make. :p
 
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