I just started having issues with my transmission shifting i looked at the fluid it is a brown color. Here are the symptoms that i am having viewtopic.php?f=66&t=2362&hilit=automatic+transmission+issues well… i dont know what gears but i believe 1 and 2 gears the car over revs and when i take off from a stop the tires stutter and jerk feels like from both sides. I will change the fluid in school next week. Another thing i had noticed i parked the car got out and moved the wheel back and forth depending on the way i moved it the engine and exhaust moved up and down pretty far. could someone please help me?
Have you already flushed the car and seen the condition of the fluid?
the fluid on the dipstick is brown no flush yet
gonna do that at school next week not driving till then
Highly recommended to definitely try not to drive it if not necessary anytime you have a transmission, it’ll cause more issues most times, so good call on that. Let us know if you need help 
My instructor took a test drive with me today. The clutches are slipping. I will have to tear apart and rebuild at school woot more money gone.
My ATX has a few issues as well. Actually pretty similar to yours. Do you mean that the engine revs when it makes the shift from first to second? I have been doing some research in preparation to tackle mine and actually I am more convinced that the problem has more to do with the valve body and accumulator. Apparently, valve body wear and buildup causes sticking valves and the accumulator piston bore can become worn and cause piston hang up as well. Occasionally mine will feel sluggish from a stop as though it is still in high gear and did not downshift to first when stopping. Sometimes I can feel it “slam” into first just as I roll to a stop like a late downshift. I also get the “stutter” as low speeds like it can’t make up it’s mind whether to make the shift to second or not. It usually acts best when it is good and hot and exhibits most of it’s symptoms when between cold and hot during warm up or during really cold weather. I have yet to perform a line pressure test to see whether or not worn sealing rings may be adding to my troubles. I do know that when I tried synthetic fluid it practically lost it’s ability to shift. After flushing out with Mercon it acted much much better. Adding a little Lube-Gard helped with the shifting so worn internal seals could be a factor as well considering it’s 150,000+ miles. For the most part though it seems to do well otherwise and only has problems occasionally.
You wont know till you take it apart. my teacher says the clutch packs are slipping. More could be wrong with it. I have to take completely apart then go through what has to be replaced. Yours could be valves that are sticking and worn clutch packs. I really am not sure though. Till you get it apart you wont know for sure.
Don’t feel bad. Have had basically the same kind of experience on my 944 since I bought it. What started as a $2500 turned into a $5000 in no time flat. Once you’re all done though you’ll feel better knowing it’s running as intended.
I like to think of it this way - any car, new or old, can have issues. At some point, something is going to break and you’ll have to fork out SOMETHING. If you can fix it now and be done with it for 100,000 miles then why throw it away and get another car that could end up having the same or worse problem. At least once it’s replaced you have a base to start with and you know where the car is at. And that my friend, is one of the most important things about maintenance.
The shutter or hunting for 2nd gear is caused by a burnt 2-4 band. The oem band was of a standard tan paper construction. The only way to fix this problem is to replace it with an updated band of black dakin material construction. The first component failure in the zx2 transmission or any transmission found int the 91-up escort equipped with the 4EAT-F is the aluminum thrust washer in the torque converter is the aluminum thrust washer. As the washer wears the fine aluminum particles act as an abrasive to the accumulator bores degrading the finish. The also embed into the clutches and bands and wear the bushings and teflon seals. One the seals start leaking you end up with uncontrolled internal leaks that result in line pressure loss and this severely shortens clutch life. Would be worth noting this transmission does not respond well to metal sealing rings and only teflon should be used
The PR valve also will hammer into the end of its bore in the valve body so the bore should be inspected for damage before final assembly.
The standard tan clutches should be upgraded to kevlar high energy as they resist heat better and reduce the chance of burning.
The solenoids should never be reused, as they themselves are prone to failure. I would recommend an aftermarkert set from Rostra Precision Controls.
There are litterally hundreds of mods that can be done to increase the torque capacity and durability of the 4EAT-F transmission.
As a rebuilder these transmission have a lot of potential once the factory flaws are overcome.
Oh if you need any rebuild parts, or tech info or a complete rebuilt transmission feel free to PM me.
Is it possible to provide full manual shift in the “EAT-me” trannys?
well if it would only be possible to have the 3rd and 4th shifts manual, as there is only 3 detent positions in the 4EAT-F transmission. the first two would always be manual unless you reworked the valve body to use the positions 1-3 for gears 1-3 and then activate OD with a switch on the sifter itself. its a cool concept, ill look into it for you. theoretically it is possible as the transmissions is electronically controlled, all you would need to do is activate the right solenoid to make the gear change. Would take some rewiring but it could be done
Thanx, I’d appreciate it. You hit on the problem I was trying to resolve with the conflict between valve detentes and the electronic control function. On my scanner, I can watch the solenoid on/off patterns for upshifts, just not sure how to hijack downshift control from the PCM/TPS matrix. I know this will take a flash of genius because any “rigging” will just trip trans. related codes and force FMEM (Failure Mode Effects Management) to occur which could lead to loss of performance regardless of gear “selection”.
the easiest thing to do would be to convert the valve body to manual and eleminate all but the od solenoid and the lock up solenoid. Ill start working on a prototype after hunting season