Issue with my Fairmont

[autickfordfairmont]

Hi guys,

Only started happening today, but when driving along at around 55km/h, when my car drops into 4th gear it drops down to about 1000rpm, and has a major vibration, like an old deisel engine vibrating under load when your in a gear higher than you should be.

It only does it in 4th, if you shift it back to third and try at same revs it wont do it.

I had the auto serviced noly a couple of months back so i hope its not that.

The car is a '98 AU Fairmonth Automatic

Any help would be great.

Cheers

Col.

[GK]

Torque converter playing up perhaps?

Sounds like the trouble I was having in my SR before I converted it to manual. I found that if I gave it a bit off the line and then eased up on the pedal, it did what you're describing. It would then seem to find itself and be okay again.

It was like it was going straight up to 4th, where it was labouring, then dropping back to 3rd or so.

GK

[Papa Smurf]

Maybe you could look at the bush in the Gearbox rear extension housing? when they wear they can allow a vibration? The bush is replaceable just takes a little bit of time. A Bush, new extension seal and that just might be the ticket? Could be a good thing to start with

[The Dok]

It will also pay to inspect/replace the universal joints.

[Mechan1k]

Originally Posted by Papa Smurf

Maybe you could look at the bush in the Gearbox rear extension housing? when they wear they can allow a vibration? The bush is replaceable just takes a little bit of time. A Bush, new extension seal and that just might be the ticket? Could be a good thing to start with

This is usually the main cause ... tailshaft needs to come out to replace it though ... it's not the bwest of jobs ... but has to be done.

Another thing that can cause it is the rear rubber transmission mount can crack and cause excess movement in the transmission and cause vibration as well. (I have this at the moment ... but it's not that noticable for now).

[Night]

Had the exact same problem in a old vn I had. I can't remember what it was called, might be torque converter I'm not sure but when I took the trans off there was a few bolts holding this thing on and they were loose. It vibrated in forth at about 55klms just like yours does. The only way I could tighten these bolts was to remove the trans but I have been told that some cars have a plate under the belmouth I think that you can remove to tighten these bolts. I'm not the best when it comes to transmissions so sorry if what I wrote is unclear but I hope it helps.

[Adgum]

Yeah, same thing happens with mine. Apparently the possible cause on mine was the previous owner who towed a boat around.

Since i brought it 5 days ago i can probably get it covered under the 3 month warranty :P

[Chamelion]

Originally Posted by Adgum

Yeah, same thing happens with mine. Apparently the possible cause on mine was the previous owner who towed a boat around.

Since i brought it 5 days ago i can probably get it covered under the 3 month warranty :P

I wish you luck and hope your car dealer is better to work with than mine. My car heads back one day before the warranty runs out (Thursday) for the FOURTH time to fix issues that have been known about since a week after I bought the car.

[T-Pak Addict]

Originally Posted by Chamelion

I wish you luck and hope your car dealer is better to work with than mine. My car heads back one day before the warranty runs out (Thursday) for the FOURTH time to fix issues that have been known about since a week after I bought the car.

if the issue is raised while under warrentee they have to fix it... thats my understanding..

so make sure they dont stonewall you

[Chamelion]

Originally Posted by AU Falcon 99

if the issue is raised while under warrentee they have to fix it... thats my understanding..

so make sure they dont stonewall you

Car goes back in about 7 hours.. Will let them send it to their alternate mechanic and see what happens.
If there is anything they refuse to fix that I've notified them about I'll go straight to fair trading with my case. No more mucking around and no more mr nice guy.

[atec77]

Originally Posted by autickfordfairmont

Hi guys,

Only started happening today, but when driving along at around 55km/h, when my car drops into 4th gear it drops down to about 1000rpm, and has a major vibration, like an old deisel engine vibrating under load when your in a gear higher than you should be.

It only does it in 4th, if you shift it back to third and try at same revs it wont do it.

I had the auto serviced noly a couple of months back so i hope its not that.

The car is a '98 AU Fairmonth Automatic

Any help would be great.

Cheers

Col.

Converter bolts are loose .Gte under there and fix it before it munches the box .

[autickfordfairmont]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I booked into my auto mechanic today. Just took it around there, he believes it to be a computer issue, locking in the talk converter to early. He had a check over it while it was there and says thats it. He has seen it with other falcons aswell, utes especially bad as the vibration is amplified by the tub.

Is there any way to check if the ecu is putting out fault codes for any of th sensors that may be involved??, Is there anything else that could help, as you cant modify the standard ecu at all can you to change shift patterns.

All he could suggest is drive in 3rd around town, and wait until up to 70 or 80km/h then drop it into 4th on the highway.

Thanks again

Col.

[Werd.]

Take economy off so it doesn't shift as early? Or if you look in the handbook theres 3 "modes" you can set using a combination of brake pedal and 1-2-3 gear or something.

[BLACKAUXR8]

To me it sounds like loose torque converter bolts. I hope your mechanic is right for your sake. If it is the converter bolts and they come out you'll be up for a new gearbox for sure. Your mechanic should have or have access to the codes and the tool for reading the codes. That would tell you if its an ecu issue.

[autickfordfairmont]

Ok, an update on this issue. The car had been running fine since, it seemed to have cleared up. or at least i thought.

I went for a run down to ballina to a car show & Shine on the weekend (about an hours drive) was fine on the way down, running on gas. On the way back i ran out of gas about half hour from home, switched it over to fuel. It has a major hunting/surging issue on fuel smack bank on about 100-110km/hr. When it was doing this it heated up, turned the climate control into diagnostic mode to see temp and it was getting up around 108deg. If i ran with aircon off and dropped back to 80-90km/h it would drop down again. When back intown i tested it abit, got some more gas and it still did it (temp going up). Got stuck in a traffic jam for about 15mins, sat there dead stopped with aircon cranked and sat perfectly on 92deg. Only when i start running it heats up. Also nioticed gearbox playing up again when hot. Tested since aswell. On a hotter day (29-30deg) it will play up when warm (gearbox & temp), but when cold gearbox will be fine & eng temp will be fine. Seems to be when box plays up, temp goes up.

So to sum it all up,

- Hunting at 100-110km/h is fuel related - Doesnt do it on gas. Changing fuel filter this week. Any other suggestions???

- Overheating - doing radiator flush & coolant change this week. Might change thermostat as well, hasnt been done in the 100,000Km i have had the car for. Any other suggestions what could be causing it, or all three issues??

- Gearbox - still unknown. Will get ford to test if still playing up after i do the above.

Any help would be great.

Cheers.

Col.

[T-Pak Addict]

dont forget to drill the thermostat out for lpg when you replace it.
Otherwise you get no flow to the convertor when cold

[autickfordfairmont]

Originally Posted by AU Falcon 99

dont forget to drill the thermostat out for lpg when you replace it.
Otherwise you get no flow to the convertor when cold

What???

Please explain.

Does it effect it that I have injected system on it??

Thanks.

[T-Pak Addict]

if it has a convertor for the LPG then you will have to drill a small hole at the top and bottom to allow water to bypass to feed the converor otherwise it will freeze up.

one small hole at the top and 2 on the second stage (bottom)

[JoesAu]

my car does the same thing at 55km-60, when i switch to power mode it stops doing it. its the overdrive isnt it?? also mine chugs like a old manual sometimes like its hesitating what could that be??

[autickfordfairmont]

Yeah my auto mechanic said its the ECU locking up the torque converter before it should, so its labouring. I tried running in power and it still does it. Mine also gets hot when its doing it though, which is a problem. I dont think my current thermostat was drilled when i had the LPG put on. My system starts on petrol then automatically switches over to gas when the engine temp is right, but i will look into it as i am hopefully doing it tonight. Thanks for the replies.

[Chamelion]

Try driving the car in 3 for a little while.. That should stop the converter from locking up. Flick it into D when you hit 80km/h (or put up with driving around at higher revs)

[autickfordfairmont]

Thats what the auto guy said, but the thing is i shouldnt have to do that and if im on the highway and i drop down to 60ish km/h in traffic i dont want to have to keep flicking it back to third all the time. If i need to drive it that way, i will pull the thing out & drop a manual in (which i am considering). Might do some more research on that actually.

Cheers.

[autickfordfairmont]

Hey guys, still havinging issues.

How do i check if the torque convertor bolts are loose myself, or do i need a mechanic/ford to do it?? Do i need to drop the box off like mentioned earlier or is there access without removing the box???
I do have a workshop manual somewhere but im in the middle of moving and i have no idea where it is so i cant check it out in that.

Im a dummy so as much info as possible would be great.

Cheers

Col.