[Thor5689]

This is not about a mustang. it is about my little brothers 95 thunderbird V8. it shifts into reverse like its brand new but wont go into first very well and when it does the rpm's kick it hard and spin the tires. same problem when he slows down. the transmission kicks out of gear and creating the problem again. what could the problem be? and what all transmissions could i easily put into his car? just in case it is easier just to replace it. i have looked online and can find nothing so im coming to you guys for help

 

[2Manystangs]

4R70W is what it has...I'd just have it rebuilt
A revised version of the AODE was released in 1993 with the Lincoln Mark VIII. Compared to the AODE, it has lower 1st and 2nd gear ratios for better take-off acceleration and was designed for better gearset strength. On vehicles powered by a 5.4 L V8, a stronger gearset is used than in normal duty 4R70Ws. In 1998, due to durability concerns, the intermediate one-way roller clutch was replaced with a mechanical diode providing extra holding capacity and longer service.
While there is speculation that the 70 can be multiplied by 10 to indicate the ft-lbs of torque this transmission is capable of handling including torque converter multiplication, (i.e. 700 ft-lbs of torque), there is no reliable source indicating this. In fact a Ford document stated that the 2003 "Expedition's 4R70W transmission is rated to handle up to 506 foot-pounds of torque, which provides a large performance cushion beyond the peak torque rating of Expedition's largest available engine." http://media.ford.com/products/pres...cle_id=548&press_subsection_id=423&make_id=92 . It is more plausible that the number indicates the torque handling capability in N-m, as 506 ft-lbs converts to 686 N-m which could be rounded to 700 N-m. The "70" may also refer to the transmission's torque capacity after torque converter multiplication which occurs at low rpm's when the torque converter is more "elastic". 4R70W stands for 4 gears, Rearwheeldrive, 70 is a measurement of horsepower and Wide gear ratio compared to the AODE.
The gear ratios are: 1st: 2.84 :1 2nd: 1.55 :1 3rd: 1.00 :1 4th: 0.70 :1 Rev: 2.23 :1
Applications:
1993–1998 Lincoln Mark VIII
1993–2003 Ford F-Series
1994–1997 Ford Thunderbird
1995–2004 Ford Crown Victoria
1996–2001 Ford Explorer
1993–2004 Lincoln Town Car
1994–1997 Mercury Cougar
1995–2004 Mercury Grand Marquis
2003 Mercury Marauder
1997–2004 Ford Expedition
1997–2001 Mercury Mountaineer
1996–2004 Ford Mustang

 

[Thor5689]

thanks for the info. i called a couple salvage yards this morning and they are telling me a 94-95 thunderbird and cougar only are a direct fit. the differences are as simple as a 3 bolt starter instead of a 2 bolt or even the computer chip in the tranny. just dumb odds and ends that they should have never made as many different parts as they did

 

[lefty310]

I have a friend who had the same car same year same engine.. and Ofcourse same problem. His eventually got so bad that it was hard to move it into drive or reverse. His was automatic. after some time the car would not go over 35 mph because it would short out of first or second gear. he had it rebuild only for the same problem to arise again after 4 months.

I had done some research and I found that there is a solenoid of some kind on the transmission, some kind of sensor that is known to fail on those cars and causes the transmission to fail in such ways as described by you and me. Might want to look into that aswell before or soon after you have it rebuild. Hope this info didn't come to late. Those transmissions were made to handle a v8 with no problem.

 

[lefty310]

It turns out the transmission solenoids are to blame. They give out somewhat early in life.

 

[SoCal2V]

Something your friend may be able to try in the meantime if the car needs to be driven is try shifting manually down to 1st, get the car moving and then upshift manually again to 2nd and then finally Drive to pick up 3rd and 4th gears.

I'm actually taking an auto trans R&R and diagnostic course right now, too bad it's not June yet or I'd know a little more about this and be able to give some better suggestions. At this point I'm really not sure if replacing the faulty solenoid(s) by themselves would fix it or if possibly the faulty solenoids allowed too much slippage by way of lack of line pressure through the valve body and burned up a clutch pack.