Ford Repair: Torque Converter, or Something Else?, ford tauras, torque converter

Question
Hi, our 1998 Ford Tauras, which my fiance bought used about three years ago with about 46,000 miles, and now has 58,000, has recently developed a transmission kink. It is an automatic. Randomly, it will be driving along and suddenly the speedometer will crash to below zero, more often than not when the car is under 40 miles per hour, and the RPMs will essentially spike and it feels like the transmission slipped between second and third. If you play with it long enough, it will slip back into gear and the speedometer will start working again.

I've done some research myself, and I found that similar problems exist with a faulty torque converter. We had the fluids changed and the transmission serviced in the hopes that the problem would be alleviated, and they have not. The mechanic we've been working with is insistent that a new transmission is called for. Is this the next step, or are there other things to check out?

Thank you for your time!

Ben

Answer
Ben-

  That's a tricky one.  Tauruses do have a horrible record of transmission problems...most of which are converter related.  I'm slightly leaning towards the torque converter being the culprit, but usually if a converter had problems you wouldn't have any gears...period.  That said, it's not impossible for a converter to cause the problems you're having.  Especially with the speedometer problems and the engine free-revving.  If it were any other car I'd recommend replacing parts one by one...but with a Taurus I'd almost recommend having the transmission rebuilt.  I wouldn't buy a new or rebuilt model...just rebuild your existing unit.  I wish I could get more specific, but without seeing it in person I have to say I'm a bit stumped.  And even in person I'm not sure I could nail down anything specific.  Hope this helps.

Steve