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Brought my new to me escape home last night. I drove the escape home, brother drove my taurus home, and dad drove his escape home. Well i get home before them, and as i get ready to get out of the car my brother calls and says the taurus wont move.... go down the street and sure enough wont engage into gear at all. all you hear is a loud wine from the bell housing. Torque converter went out ( very very common on the 03 taurses). Towed him home with my new to me escape and is now sitting on the street. Dont have the time to mess with it at work.

I was looking to get $1,500 for it as it was. Now im trying to get $500 for it. I got a quote for $600 to replace the torque converter from a shop tht family works for.... so idk what to do...
 
Fix the Taurus in an attempt to make it more valuable when you sell it, or try selling it for $500 or whatever the highest paying junk yard offers?
What you do with it is ultimately up to you.
 
If you have a decent set of tools, a helper, a chain and some lumber to support the engine, jack(s) + stands... you can replace the torque converter yourself within a day - with a lot of cussing.

But on the off chance that it's not the torque converter stripped or the pump shaft splines, you might have to rebuild the AX4N.

Ford definitely cut some corners. It's even more disappointing that it's not a more 'impressive' failure. Ford saved maybe a few cents on the thinner splined washer welded in the torque converter that led to major failure later on.

Only you can weigh the risks/payoffs but personally, I'd just get rid of it.
 
That $600 is a decent price if it includes everything. Around here, it was almost $1000 to replace a torque converter, about $700 to pull the transmission another $100 for the torque converter and another $100 or so for fluid and other misc parts. So if $600 includes everything, that's not bad. Yeah the 2003+ was know for a weak spline in the converter.
 
Is that specific to 2003s? I’ve got an 02 and hadn’t heard anything about it, wanting to know if it’s sometbing I should be aware of
 
Originally Posted By: Aero540T
Is that specific to 2003s? I’ve got an 02 and hadn’t heard anything about it, wanting to know if it’s sometbing I should be aware of
Taurus transmissions suck
 
Take the $500.00 or best offer and be content with your newer Escape. I personally never had any true longevity out of a rebuilt transmission on an older vehicle if driven daily.
 
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What is the general overall condition of the Taurus?

If its in good condition then repair, if its run down condition then sell for $500
 
Originally Posted By: JLTD
Fix for $600 then sell for $1500?


~$400 profit maybe.. plus there's hassle involved.
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I'd have it fixed and list it on CL for a lot more than $1500. Prob $2500 or so. Last week a guy was looking to buy a Taurus from a trans shop that wanted low $3000 or so. With no warranty on the trans. Tax refund time is coming up. Buyers will be flush with cash, just don't get too greedy. Keep a good car on the road.
 
Originally Posted By: Aero540T
Is that specific to 2003s? I’ve got an 02 and hadn’t heard anything about it, wanting to know if it’s sometbing I should be aware of


It's 2003+. Earlier AX4Ns were better than the AX4S, although later they all had AX4Ns. They put in a weaker spline in the torque converter in 2003 and after.
 
We had a Taurus. The seats were very comfortable which was great for waiting for a wreaker every time it broke down. 3 transmissions, then the radiator or starter or alternator would go out. Every month it was something. This POS cost more then a Lamborghini with all the money we threw at it. One day my wife was driving down the highway and the hood flew open and mashed the windshield. I sold that POS to the junk yard. It tried to kill my wife.
My advice is have the car crushed before it tries to kill you. It is the Devil!
 
Hard to follow that post!

Can a trannie rebuilder use better parts?

My Mom's 1991 Taurus GL was a nice car EXCEPT for the tranniepoo.
Since it was a Ford "Program Car" (a lease return from Budgit) and she was a low mileage driver (under 60,000 at the time of failure AND mailing of the notice), she qualified for a rebuilt unit. It too faultered with time.

Eff Ford. (Eff means FORGET-yeah, right!)

Seriously, if $600 gets it rollin' DO IT and sell it.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Originally Posted By: Aero540T
Is that specific to 2003s? I’ve got an 02 and hadn’t heard anything about it, wanting to know if it’s sometbing I should be aware of
Taurus transmissions suck


They do if you don't maintain them.
I had a 2000 that I bought new that went over 300K on the original transmission and engine, and is still going.(I drove it to 275K, sold it to a guy I worked with, and he made sure I was behind the wheel when it turned 300K.)
The key to longevity: 30K fluid changes. These transmissions are hard on fluid due to their shifting pattern, and are known as such. I did mine every July (my vacation time before I retired, which put me at 35K.)
I would qualify mine as one of the best cars that I have ever owned. However, I did my homework before purchasing, ascertained the weaknesses of the platform, and tailored my maintenance toward proactively countering the deficiencies of the platform.
Would I buy a used one? Not on a double dog dare bet unless I had verified service records demonstrating that the car had 30-35K ATF changes.
 
Originally Posted By: Stevie
We had a Taurus. The seats were very comfortable which was great for waiting for a wreaker every time it broke down. 3 transmissions, then the radiator or starter or alternator would go out. Every month it was something. This POS cost more then a Lamborghini with all the money we threw at it. One day my wife was driving down the highway and the hood flew open and mashed the windshield. I sold that POS to the junk yard. It tried to kill my wife.
My advice is have the car crushed before it tries to kill you. It is the Devil!


You'll have to be a bit more specific. We were talking about fourth generation Taurus. The third generation was known to have bad transmissions. Which one were you talking about?
 
Well im gonna tow it to work this week, and our shop Forman is prob gonna buy it and fix it. I just dont feel like messing with it no more.
 
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