Tranny slipping

I just bought a 2000 windstar lx. It has 196000 miles on it. The tranny is slipping in all gears, could it be some other problem besides the tranny? What should I check for?

at this point, assuming that you don't know the history, about all you can do is check the trans fluid looking for colour, smell, amount. I'd see about doing a fluid removal and fill (the "flush" part has a lot of controversy). I don't know if you're stuck with this van or not but I'd be checking it out asap. Possibly going back to previous owner/shop/dealer.

good luck.

Piper

You can try a fluid exchange.....
Flush and exhange are terms that are often interchanged....
You do NOT want to use ANY chemicals in the fluid exchange...
Most places that do a fluid exchange have a machine......that adds new fluid in the same amount....at the same rate as the fluid comes out.
IF you are a DIY person. ....you can do it yourself at one of the cooler lines.
You need a fluid that meets the Mercon V specification.
Mobil 1 ATF is a good fluid, that is readily available.
You will need about 15 quarts to exchange the fluid......the total system capacity is 12.25 quarts.
The extra is because you will have some mixing in the torque converter.
The method that I show in my pictures includes a pan drop at the begining of the process.
I would recommend this......and a new filter at this many miles.

Beyond a fluid change, there is not much that I can recommend.
Problem is.......it is not a good idea to pay a shop to dig very deep into the transmission to repair something.....as the rest of the unit has all these miles on it.
Very quickly, with a rebuild......you get into the price range of a FORD Remanufactured unit....that has a good warranty on the whole unit......and will have the wear items all replaced.

Sometimes, I recommend adding some Auto RX to the transmission and driving for 1000 miles before changing the fluid.....I am not big on any other additives.
In your case.....I do not recommend it....because the slipping condition needs attention right away.....driving around in this condition is only going to make things worse.
I imagine that this slipping is also creating a lot of extra heat....which is also bad.

This is a link to the first in a series of pictures that I took during my fluid exchange and filter change process
http://rides.webshots.com/photo/1503284711011220610kYSGCI

If you have not worked on cars much.....I would take it in to be done.....does not cost that much more.
You can buy the 15 quarts of Mobil 1 ATF and take it with you for them to use......rather than their "house" brand.
The fluid exchange.....particularly the pan drop is a messy job for the DIY'er in the driveway.

If you have a warranty on the vehicle....I would take it right back.
A transmission repair is EXPENSIVE.

Thank you, wiswind and northern piper. I bought it from a private party so I can ask and see what he has had done.
(http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/member.php?u=232194)

I agree with above posts ... your symptoms sound like a plugged filter is possible ... reducing the tranny pump pressure. Filter can only be changed-out by dropping the tranny pan. A new filter along with the 15 qt self-flush may be all you need for many more miles of service.

IF the tranny fluid change works......and IF the previous owner may not have stayed on top of the 30K mile fluid changes.......I would order some auto RX.... available at www.auto-rx.com and add it to the new fluid......drive for 1000 miles....and change the fluid again.
This will help get the built up dirt out......and if the fluid has not been changed regularly....there WILL be a lot of built up dirt......which the new fluid will work loose.....so the double change is important.

If it does NOT help.....then it could get expensive.....I would then consider a quality remanufactured unit.
When I went through that with my '96 windstar, I did a LOT of reading on the internet....and there were a lot of posts from people who had gotten rebuilt transmissions at savings of up to 1/2 the price of the FORD remanufactured......and were very unhappy to have them fail a year or so later.
So....In short.....it is not a savings if you have to go through it again.
FORD and Jasper seem to have good units....with a 3 year warranty.

I am also big on an auxillary transmission cooler, if your windstar does not already have one.

I took it in and had the codes read, this is what I got:
P1740
P1761
P1000
P0741
P0141
P0401
P0171
P0174
P0302
I did go to a site ,
"Get'n Rid of Them There 171 and 174 Codes on Your Windstar"


and printed it out, was very informative. Any ideals on the rest of the codes?

According to my FSM, the following codes P1740 and 1761 are:

P1740 TCC TCC failure. Mechanical failure of the solenoid detected. Torque converter never applies.
P1761 a SSC Shift Solenoid B functional failure. Mechanical or hydraulic failure of the shift solenoid. Incorrect gear selection depending on failure mode and manual lever position.

The rest of the codes are in the OBDII "P" Codes and What They Mean post near the beginning of this forum:

P1000 OBDII monitor testing not complete (common if codes have been cleared recently and system has not gone through enough cycles to complete the tests)
-------------
looks like someone cleared the check engine light (cel) so that they can sell the car...
-------------
P0741 Torque Converter Clutch (TCC) Mechanical system performance
P0141 Downstream Oxygen sensor bank 1 HEATER circuit malfunction
Downstream sensors monitor the catalytic converter operation
P0401 EGR flow lower than expected (DPFE and clogged EGR ports are most common cause)
P0171/P0174 - these codes go together and the website you referred to is the best one out there.
P0302 Misfire on cylinder 2 (rear bank middle)