Taurus tranny problem

Taurus are notorious for tranny problems,get rid of it

Inside the transmission on valve body.

You may want to change your transmission fluid and filter for a start

The OD light flashing is usually a sign the TC is overheating. I know it will come on when the ATX fluid hits 300F.

Coasting in neutral will cook a TC if done for very long. This is because the TC is spinning at a relatively higher engine speed but the tranny pump is not putting out enough fluid to keep it cool.

A locked TC is always better for the tranny and full power output. An unlocked TC is wasting energy churning up the fluid and causing a parasitic drag.

Once tranny fluid has reached this temp it is junk and should be changed. If you don't then it gets worse and worse and soon the tranny will fail.

Start with changing the filter and fluid and check for shifting issues after that. If it is shifting to O/D and clean, you have fixed the problem. If not, it could be a solenoid problem, a torque converter problem or worse. That is when your real work begins. Let's just hope the problem is the fluid is not flowing properly and the filter and fluid replacement fixes the problem.

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the shifting solenoids inside the tranny will make the check engine light go off. Check the wires leading into the tranny and if necessary you may have to go inside the trans to inspect the shift solenoids. It's odd you do not have shifting problems,. neither did I - yet the wire was broke inside and wound up eventually burning off the terminal to the shift solenoid..
Best regards
Ck

You may want to change the vehicle speed sensor first. Is your speedometer working? The shift solenoids are inside the side cover of the transmission and it's quite a job to get that cover off, you practically have to take the trans out of the car. Are you getting a "check engine" light there may be a code in the computer that will tell you what is going on. If one of those solenoids fail it should trigger a "check engine" light, the solenoids are usually pretty trouble free as a rule. I'm not sure on that transmission, but I think there are two shift solenoids, but there is also a "torque converter clutch solenoid". Also, if you can get it to a trany shop they can put a scan tool on your car and tell you exactly what's happening. Have you tried manually shifting the car? Pull it down into 1 then manually shift it up, see if it will shift that way.

I wouldn't worry about the button, for some reason they let you shift the OD back then, now ,they shift for you. If that newer tranny fits, I hope you checked, It should be OK, don't worry about the old button. But,,,, I would look close at the electrical plugs on the newer tranny, make sure they look like the old ones, the ones in the rear of the tranny are for the speedo, the ones on the side should be for the shift solenoids. They are the ones you want to fit.

Ford is very common for tranny problems. Most likely your tranny will have to be rebuilt. As a mechanic myself, I would suggest taking to tranny specialist to see if i needs to be rebuilt, or if the electrical unit is faulty. It will have to be tested with voltmeter/ohmmeter/multi-tester

men you need to have a tune up, change the plugs, wires and air filter and the oil transmission, and if is doing the same your transmission is bad

They are called shift solenoids and they are inside the transmission pan on the transmission valve body