Tranny

i had a '98 windstar that seems to have had a failure with the overdrive gear in tranny, likely in the 'converter lock up' system. it also would blow all the tranny fluid out at speeds over 45-50 mph. It would limp along at 40-45 forever. What finally fixed it for me was 'deleting' the overdrive, which i sadly forget the details of how to do, exactly, but it was an electronic fix. The first thing i did was simply push the overdrive 'on/ off' button at the shift lever's end, to stop it from going into overdrive. When high speed worked then, i found a wire and cut it.

just to be clear about my windstar 'overdrive delete'. [Gas mileage was a small cost!] The '98 windstar, [since died due to rust & other probs], ran for YEARS more with 3rd gear as it's high gear, once that wire was cut. When the wire was cut, i didn't have to worry about accidentally hitting the overdrive button on the end of the shifter any more, which would IMMEDIATELY return you to the transmission overheating, -if you happened to be driving like 55 mph at the time. But all you have to do to TEST if this will solve your problem right now is just turn off the overdrive! Turn it off and drive fast. If the 'converter clutch' system is faulty, [in a way that creates massive friction, in theory], eliminating the 4th gear/ overdrive will eliminate the transmission going into the 'converter clutch' system. This system is also called 'torque converter lock up' and other names. but that's the beauty of it. Just turn off the overdrive. Never mind paying for tranny replacement/ overhaul. Just drive it in 3rd gear til it dies! but once you've proved it's in fact this problem, you'll have to 'hunt down' the wire to permanently delete the O.D. electronically. Otherwise you may accidentally hit O.D. button and "bang". There you go again, with tranny fluid boiling out your dipstick and building up on your rear window on the turnpike... Another thing (in this forum) is that the AX-4S transmission was also used in '93-'03 Taurus and Sable cars. There may not be too many left, but let's not let this particular failure end their useful life. Some Sable/ Taurus cars [after '94] had the 'upgrade' trans., the AX4N, which may have had this 'bug' repaired(?), but my 1998 Windstar had the AX-4S. This fix kept me from having to junk it, -see the previous post above.

yeah, i'm sure a crushed cooler line may cause same symptoms, [moderator], but just putting this fix 'out there' cause it worked for me. If they turn off the O.D. and prob remains, -back to the diagnostics... Windstars/ Tauruses/ Sables were (are!) great vehicles.