I've heard some horor stories about people with similar electric shift automatic transmissions changing out the filter and the trans never working right again. I have the new filter for my 58 Edsel Transmission, but am hesitating to replace it becuase of some of the stories I've heard. We've only driven the car a quarter of a mile TOPS, but the transmission didn't feel like it slipped at all. If ya'll can share your experiences with similar tranmissions and help me decide to go ahead or not I'd greatly appreciate it! Little_E
btt Ok, we got the Edsel out on the road this weekend. Made it about a half mile before the trans felt like it was slipping out of gear. At about 45mph we could barely get the car to put the power to the pavement anymore. Also, when returning to the garage we had to manually downshift the automatic into low gear to take off from a stopsign. Checked the fluid and filled it to where it was most of the way full took it back out for round #2 and ended up with more of the same results. Anyone got any suggestions?
its just a ford-o-matic (edsel called it cruizomatic) 3 speed standard trans with an extra casting on the side for the shift motor.... has no difference in the inside that i know of.
A heads up, totally unrelated to your question. When parking your car, do it in neutral with the brake set, instead of putting it in "park". A friend of a friend lost his frame-off restored convertible when his house caught fire. He had plenty of time to get the family and pets out of the house, then went to the garage to save his car, but the battery was dead, so he couldn't get it out of park. If it had been in neutral, he could have pushed it into the driveway, but with an electric shifter and a dead battery, the car burned with the house. Now, related to your question, the tranny is just a tranny. The only difference is the shift mechanism is electric. I can't imagine changine a filter could ever have any effect on the shifter. But, the shifters are notoriously "touchy", and fail frequently. They were a large part of Edsel's bad reputation over the years. So, hearing that you're having problems is not suprising. When I had an Edsel, it would not shift into drive or reverse, without first being put into low. So, there may be a similar work-around that you can come up with for your car. You'll just have to do some experimenting. In my opinion, as cool as the push-button shifter is, it's probably not worth the trouble if you plan on driving the car regularly. I would seriously consider a tranny swap. Which is kind of a shame, because the motors are great. Lots of balls in those V-8s.
Thanks for the help. The filter question was actually a few weeks before we actually got it out on the road. Never thought about using the brake to park it, GREAT POINT!!! Thank you very much on that! I'm thinking that a 4-speed swap may be the preferred option here, we'll see what we can come up with. But I really do appreciate the help!!!
I had a '58 Pacer fro a while. It would just DECIDE to change gears when parked. A couple of time it rolled out into the street before I figured out what was happening. One day I was standing near the car ahd heard a loud CLICK.....and the car started rolling. I used blocks after that. Otherwise, that tranny is EXACTLY the same as a regular Ford Tranny inside. Glenn
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