Will not Shift out of first gear

THEFRUGALTECH

MEMBER
1998 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL

Transmission problem V8 Front Wheel Drive Automatic 103,000 miles

I have the same exact issue that another member has reported:

1998 Lincoln Continental, will not shift out of first gear, it is not locked in first. On occasion the Check Transmission alert will come on the display, and the car will work fine until it hits about 40 mph, then its rpm's want to shoot up for the car to drive any faster. The alert goes away when this happens. Check Steering Assist will come up and then Check Ride Control will pop up. Steering and Ride Control work perfectly fine when these errors come up and work fine all the time. My doors will not auto lock over 5 mph like it used to, and the feature is still activated on the display menu. Also my cruise control does not work. It still drives, just my car will be damaged at high way speeds, I push close to 6,000 rpm's just to reach 45 mph, I did get the transmission fluid flushed (was a suspect at first sight, and was almost burnt anyways).

No codes are being stored. The transmission is not being raced for prolonged periods of time. Although the transmission will not shift out of first, it is not locked in first as if it was shifted to first. If the gas pedal is released it does not compression brake, it coasts. The speedometer works fine so I do not believe it to be the VSS.

When shifted to low the car operates as expected with engine braking.
A new symptom popped up today, twice it went to second gear only. But, it went back to first only for about 12 seconds each time.

6 Replies

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,815 POSTS

Coasting when accelerator is released indicates there is no engine braking. Does manually shifting to Manual low position have the same symptoms of no engine braking? If yes, possible causes are :

1. Low line pressure.
2. Low EPC pressure.
3. Valve body (bolt torque, gaskets and separator plate
damaged or positioned incorrectly.
4. Shift valve.
5. Manual downshift modulator valve and B8 check
ball).
6. Direct clutch assembly.
7. Direct one-way clutch assembly
8. Coast band.

Above are internal faults of the transmission as no trouble codes are present.

The symptoms indicates that there is a possible shift solenoid or valve body mechanical fault.

The dark colored fluid noted previously could be an indication the valve body needs some attention.

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Monday, September 20th, 2010 AT 2:15 PM

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
42,877 POSTS

Hey THEFRUGALTECH,

Looking at the wiring diagrams it looks like the problem could be related to the PCM power relay or the electronic range selector sensor at the top of the transmission. Here is a wiring diagram to yo u can do some testing to figure out what the problem is.

There is also a chance the shift the second gear shift solenoid is shorted out.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-use-a-test-light-circuit-tester

Please run some tests and get back to us so we can continue helping you.

Best, Ken

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Tuesday, January 10th, 2017 AT 2:31 PM

GBALDARELLI

MEMBER
1 POST
1999 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL
V8
2WD
AUTOMATIC
164,000 MILES

Lately, when I drive my car over 50 and for a period of time, when I stop and go again before my car shifts into 1st gear the RPM's rev up above the 3 and then the car will shift into 1st. It does not do that with any of the other 2 gears. Then on some days it does not do this at all. Could this problem be the speed sensor located on one of my wheels?

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Tuesday, January 10th, 2017 AT 2:34 PM (Merged)