Long story short, my tranny is flaking out. Looks like its time for a visit to the car doctor. I assume my options will be to rebuild the old one or replace it with a new one. Does anyone have a ballpark estimate what this would cost? Car is a 97 Ford Taurus. Also, which would be a better option? Are rebuilds "like new" or are rebuilds a bandaid that'll give you problems later on. If the price is a bit more for a new one but the quality far superior then obviously I would go that route. I'd also prefer to not be in it much over 2 grand if possible.
So, whats the verdict? Rebuild or replace? I really know jack shit about trannies so I dont want to blindly make the call, and I dont want some shady mechanic blowing smoke up my ass about my taillight fluid needing replaced and end up getting screwed so just looking for a few opinions before getting bent over the counter here.
Thanks guys

*UPDATE*

Went by the shop and got the low down. He thinks its a loose linkage and estimated 100 or 150 bucks low end to go in and fix it. He said worst case I could have a rebuild put int. It would run 2300 and come with a 3 year 75,000 mile warrenty. My jaw hit the floor at the 75k mile warrenty!!
Anyways, heres to hoping its a loose linkage! 150 bucks to get her up and running like new, that would be nice!

do a BBB check on the shop you intend to take it to.

I haven't done automobile mechanics for over 20 years, but a buddy of mine had a Ferd Taraus, and appearently those trannies have a ceramic valve body into them and Ferd has been have problems with them for the past 20 years, and he was quoted $3,500 to rebuild the trans! I hope you can find a cheaper option. Don't buy Ferd autos based on the Taurus platform.

What he said.  You have no idea what is wrong or how bad it is.  Lots of possible causes, some big dollar some low.

The tranny in my truck(97 GMC Sierra 1500) caught on fire in Feb. To rebuild the tranny, replace the wiring harness, and add a tranny cooler( that I should of had in the first place- probably would of prevented the fire) cost me $2300. That includes the chunky discount I got for being a good friend of someone who sends this tranny shop LOTS of busniess.

Trannys aint cheap. Hindsight tells me I should of let the truck burn to the ground instead of putting the fire out. At least that way my Ins. company would of totaled the truck out & sent me a check instead of it being a "mechanical issue" that wasnt covered

echo6

Its had a tranny flush at 60k, right now its got 125k on it. The transmission slips into neutral when you turn left (Yeah, its wierd) but otherwise is fine although you can get it to hunt a bit for gears if you work the throttle just right. I did top off the fluid and add a bottle of tranny conditioner. The tranny conditioner fixed it right up for about a month, month and a half but its starting to slip into nuetral again on left turns.
Everything else about the car is fine, but Taurus trannies are notoriously bad anyways. I figured I'd play it safe and just get it replaced (Or rebuilt) since I figure it wont be long anyways till it fails. This was the car I had for a year or two in college so it was run hard on a few drunken nights when I was blazing with intelligence.......

Ford taurus/windstar engines and tranny are junk. they had a silent recall on the engines because the head gaskets were blowing. They replaced a hell of a lot of engines. I had a 95 windstar and was lucky that nothing broke before I traded it in. BTW did anyone mention the resale value. If its cost more than the car is worth,scrap it and move on.

Quoted: Ford taurus/windstar engines and tranny are junk. they had a silent recall on the engines because the head gaskets were blowing. They replaced a hell of a lot of engines. I had a 95 windstar and was lucky that nothing broke before I traded it in. BTW did anyone mention the resale value. If its cost more than the car is worth,scrap it and move on.

The car is worth about a grand on a good day if I'm lucky. But, its paid for, ahs been for sometime and really the only problem is it needs a brake job, the tranny is flaky and the A/C needs recharged. We currently dont have a car payemnt which is why I'm so gung ho to fix this one up. On the whole its been a good car with no problems till recently, and the fact its paid off goes a long way to being a good car. As such, if I can get by with 2 or 3 thousand to get it back up and running in good condition thats far preferable to a 3,4,5 or longer year loan and making monthly payments.

If you KNOW a good tranny man, he's worth his weight in gold.  If not, a GOOD RELIABLE mechanic IN LIEU of a good tranny man should do.

if you are not sure...I'd NOT go with a rebuild

a tranny can cost ~ 1000 to ~4000 depending...My 94 T Bird's factory tranny lasted 119,000 miles, a replacement at the Ford Dealer cost 3K, I got lucky and found a GOOD rebuild guy who did it for $1400. The rebuilt tranny has got 65K on it and still runs like new.

OTOH, my bro got a replacement tranny for his minivan cheap, ~$800. after 50K miles on it, it needs to be replaced.

One last thing, replace your Tranny fluid and filter every 45,000 miles, or more ...don't rely on the regular scheduled maintenance to do it. Check your manual, unless it specifically states on the service schedule in the manual that there is a tranny fluid and filter change,  they won't do it. An automatic tranny with regular fluid and filter changes lasts the longest, trannys that don't get the regular fluid/filter could fail prematurely...as early as 80K miles or so.

good luck

This is going to sound harsh but if I were to spend the 3k it might cost I would go out and buy me a good used Honda or toyota.

BTW I'm not biased against ford. I drive a 02 Explorer

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Ford taurus/windstar engines and tranny are junk. they had a silent recall on the engines because the head gaskets were blowing. They replaced a hell of a lot of engines. I had a 95 windstar and was lucky that nothing broke before I traded it in. BTW did anyone mention the resale value. If its cost more than the car is worth,scrap it and move on. Your assuming the car will stay in mechanically sound. The question is, do you trust your Taurus this much?

Honestly yes. The car runs absolutely flawless barring the tranny and A/C problems. The engine always fires right up, and doesnt burn but MAYBE a a quart of oil at most between 5k changes. It could use a tune up but otherwise yes, I trust it. Also, aside from that even worst case scenario I could probably have the entire powertrain redone for around 5,000 so even worst case I'm well below the price of a new car and not making payments forever and a day.

Quoted: Quoted: Ford taurus/windstar engines and tranny are junk. they had a silent recall on the engines because the head gaskets were blowing. They replaced a hell of a lot of engines. I had a 95 windstar and was lucky that nothing broke before I traded it in. BTW did anyone mention the resale value. If its cost more than the car is worth,scrap it and move on. The car is worth about a grand on a good day if I'm lucky. But, its paid for, ahs been for sometime and really the only problem is it needs a brake job, the tranny is flaky and the A/C needs recharged. We currently dont have a car payemnt which is why I'm so gung ho to fix this one up. On the whole its been a good car with no problems till recently, and the fact its paid off goes a long way to being a good car. As such, if I can get by with 2 or 3 thousand to get it back up and running in good condition thats far preferable to a 3,4,5 or longer year loan and making monthly payments.

Considering it's paid for and that every mile is equity...it might be worth your while to look through some salvage yards and get an el cheepo tranny from a wreck to replace your dying tranny..  no warranty (as you might get from a rebuilt or new) but who cares!

BTW...if you got 125 K from that tranny, you are doing very well IMHO!  it sounds like you got your money's worth from the car.

My wife drives a 97 Taurus and loves it. We bought it used with 86,000 miles on it. The transmission stopped working at 120,000 miles. Literally.

I changed the fluid and filter and the transmission came back to life, only now it slams into second gear with a harsh jolt. A transmission tech explained that the accumulator piston (aluminum) is probably cracked. A steel piston is used during rebuild.

I changed the fluid and filter again about 30k miles later. She is still driving the car. It still slams into 2nd gear with a mild jolt. The cost of rebuilding the tranny is going to be about $1800, so we have decided to keep driving it until it quits. Of course we only use it for local transportation.

The car has 190,000 miles on it now and is still going strong. The engine doesn't smoke or use oil. Except for the transmission problem, this is the best car I have ever owned!

Quoted: My wife drives a 97 Taurus and loves it. We bought it used with 86,000 miles on it. The transmission stopped working at 120,000 miles. Literally. I changed the fluid and filter and the transmission came back to life, only now it slams into second gear with a harsh jolt. A transmission tech explained that the accumulator piston (aluminum) is probably cracked. A steel piston is used during rebuild. I changed the fluid and filter again about 30k miles later. She is still driving the car. The cost of rebuilding the tranny is going to be about $1800, so we have decided to keep driving it until it quits. Of course we only use it for local transportation. The car has 190,000 miles on it now and is still going strong. The engine doesn't smoke or use oil Except for the transmission problem, this is the best car I have ever owned!

Thats exactly the situation I'm in! We use the car (97 Taurus!) for local driving and the Expedition for vacations or family things (3 kids).
We both like the car, and since its running strong I see no reason to get virtually no money out of it on trade to sign up for a long car payment. Did that 1800 include labor on the rebuild?
And I know a good tranny guy is worth his weight in gold. I had a shop change out a tranny in another car I had and they FUBAR'd it BADLY. Ruptured the A/C lines putting it back in and it still went out about 3k past warrenty. Around 35 or 36,000 on it. Ridiculous. Wont be going back there.

Quoted: Ford taurus/windstar engines and tranny are junk. they had a silent recall on the engines because the head gaskets were blowing. They replaced a hell of a lot of engines. I had a 95 windstar and was lucky that nothing broke before I traded it in. BTW did anyone mention the resale value. If its cost more than the car is worth,scrap it and move on.

+ 1 on Windstars being junk. Don't ever take one in your shop to determine where a rattle from the front end is coming from!

Quoted: Ford taurus/windstar engines and tranny are junk. they had a silent recall on the engines because the head gaskets were blowing. They replaced a hell of a lot of engines. I had a 95 windstar and was lucky that nothing broke before I traded it in. BTW did anyone mention the resale value. If its cost more than the car is worth,scrap it and move on.

+1

I had a Windstar as a company vehicle that had to have the trans replaced.  Was common, took it to the Ford Company fleet garage and they did ALOT of them.  Does your vehicle have Traction Control?  The TC system was poorly done, when it would engage it triggered very hard shifts which trashed the transaxle.  Ford dropped TC as a standard feature on many vehicles.

A 97 Taurus may have depreciated enough that it's not worth a few grand to replace the trans.  Just consider that any used trans you put into it will be a crapshoot.

I hate transaxles.  I don't know if anyone makes a good one.  

I put 150,000 on a '94 Taurus.  I bought it used from my mother-in-law.  (That's a whole other thread there.)  The tranny was slipping when I got it at 50k miles.  Immediately took it in for warrentee work and had it completely rebuilt.  200,000 miles later, still runs great.  My daughter blew the head gasket at 200,000.  I rebuilt it in the garage over her Christmas college break.  

Tauruses have bad trannies, bad head gaskets, and undependable a/c units.  I wouldn't put a dime in a high mileage Taurus.  I would drive it until it implodes and then hopefully find a salvage yard to take it.  Start saving money for a dependable used car.  Go online or to the library and find out what are good used cars as per Consumer Reports.  They are a leftist organization, but their car info is good.

Don't get a Chrysler.  They are bigger junk than Fords.  Sadly, I don't know of any good GM products.  The last good one was the Chevy Prism, which was a California-made Toyota Corolla.

Unless you are a Pallestinian terrorist, Mazdas are a good choice.

Quoted: I hate transaxles.  I don't know if anyone makes a good one.   I put 150,000 on a '94 Taurus.  I bought it used from my mother-in-law.  (That's a whole other thread there.)  The tranny was slipping when I got it at 50k miles.  Immediately took it in for warrentee work and had it completely rebuilt.  200,000 miles later, still runs great.  My daughter blew the head gasket at 200,000.  I rebuilt it in the garage over her Christmas college break.   Tauruses have bad trannies, bad head gaskets, and undependable a/c units.  I wouldn't put a dime in a high mileage Taurus.  I would drive it until it implodes and then hopefully find a salvage yard to take it.  Start saving money for a dependable used car.  Go online or to the library and find out what are good used cars as per Consumer Reports.  They are a leftist organization, but their car info is good. Don't get a Chrysler.  They are bigger junk than Fords.  Sadly, I don't know of any good GM products.  The last good one was the Chevy Prism, which was a California-made Toyota Corolla. Unless you are a Pallestinian terrorist, Mazdas are a good choice.

Dont say that..... I love Mazda's. You'll make me think back to the good old days..... Used to have a RX-7, man that was a fun car. I surely do miss that little bundle of joy....

Quoted: Quoted: My wife drives a 97 Taurus and loves it. We bought it used with 86,000 miles on it. The transmission stopped working at 120,000 miles. Literally. I changed the fluid and filter and the transmission came back to life, only now it slams into second gear with a harsh jolt. A transmission tech explained that the accumulator piston (aluminum) is probably cracked. A steel piston is used during rebuild. I changed the fluid and filter again about 30k miles later. She is still driving the car. The cost of rebuilding the tranny is going to be about $1800, so we have decided to keep driving it until it quits. Of course we only use it for local transportation. The car has 190,000 miles on it now and is still going strong. The engine doesn't smoke or use oil Except for the transmission problem, this is the best car I have ever owned! Thats exactly the situation I'm in! We use the car (97 Taurus!) for local driving and the Expedition for vacations or family things (3 kids). We both like the car, and since its running strong I see no reason to get virtually no money out of it on trade to sign up for a long car payment. Did that 1800 include labor on the rebuild? And I know a good tranny guy is worth his weight in gold. I had a shop change out a tranny in another car I had and they FUBAR'd it BADLY. Ruptured the A/C lines putting it back in and it still went out about 3k past warrenty. Around 35 or 36,000 on it. Ridiculous. Wont be going back there.

I deal quite a bit with a local Cottman's Transmission (yeehaww, here comes the mud-slingin!) and they do pretty good work (here, anyway). They offer a 3year 36k mile nationwide warranty on their rebuilds, and yes, the $1800 does include labor.

I plan on driving my Taurus until it quits. I may spring for the transmission rebuild when it finally quits altogether, or I may not. Right now, it keeps on going like the energizer bunny!

I'd consider looking at a used Chevy Cavalier.  They're not the most glamorous things on the road, but they depreciate massively so you can pick up examples with 60-70k miles for maybe $3500, give or take.  It's a car that has been around forever so the major systems are well sorted out.

Probably start a flame war, but I'd take a GM over a Ford any day of the week.  Much less likely that anything major will break, and what does break is much cheaper to fix.

My $0.02.  YMMV

Quoted: I hate transaxles.  I don't know if anyone makes a good one.   I put 150,000 on a '94 Taurus.  I bought it used from my mother-in-law.  (That's a whole other thread there.)  The tranny was slipping when I got it at 50k miles.  Immediately took it in for warrentee work and had it completely rebuilt.  200,000 miles later, still runs great.  My daughter blew the head gasket at 200,000.  I rebuilt it in the garage over her Christmas college break.   Tauruses have bad trannies, bad head gaskets, and undependable a/c units.  I wouldn't put a dime in a high mileage Taurus.  I would drive it until it implodes and then hopefully find a salvage yard to take it.  Start saving money for a dependable used car.  Go online or to the library and find out what are good used cars as per Consumer Reports.  They are a leftist organization, but their car info is good. Don't get a Chrysler.  They are bigger junk than Fords.  Sadly, I don't know of any good GM products.  The last good one was the Chevy Prism, which was a California-made Toyota Corolla. Unless you are a Pallestinian terrorist, Mazdas are a good choice.

I agree with everything in your post except for the Prizm; they are the biggest pieces of shit to ever grace an American highway!

USA-made automobiles are less expensive in terms of dollar need to buy, but they are terrible value for the money in the long term. The Jap autombiles are more expensive but are better values.

Well...former tranmission mechanic checking in (worked in the transmission business, before I got into fire/EMS)
Without actually DRIVING/examining the car...a definitive diagnostic can not be given.
BUT, I will offer some info based on what you have described.

If the tranny ONLY slips when you turn left...that makes it sound like it is not picking up fluid (i.e. the fluid moves to one side of the pan, and away from the filter when you turn)...are you sure it is full of fluid?...and that it has the correct dipstick?...It may even be missing part, or even ALL of the filter (possibly left out by the last guy to change the fluid)

(note: if it is, indeed full of fluid, and is not missing the filter, or part thereof...and still does not work properly, then it has some form of mechanical, or electrical proplem.)
EVEN if it starts working propely after you change the fluid/filter (that would indicate internal parts coming apart, and clogging the filter)

OR...who knows...it could be a problem with the differential, and/or an axle.
the splines might be gone/worn just enough that turing to the left might cause it not to grab.
Does it make any noises?...grinding?...whining?

Like I said...it cant be diagnosed over the internet, because everybody will describe a problem differently...and, there are many different things that can cause a transmission to malfunction.
Some are serious...and some are not.

BTW...what kind of "transmission conditioner" did you add to it?
Some of the transmission additives on the market do nothing but cause the rubber seals, and o-rings inside to swell (just like freaking brake fluid would do)...so, the trans suddenly holds fluid pressure (for a while)...but, when it quits working again (and it will), it is completely fubar inside.
STAY AWAY from anything that claims to "stop leaks", and fix worn out transmissions.

As far as making the choice between "rebuild", or "replace"...(as stated by others above), It really depends on wether you are in close proximity to a reputable transmission shop.
If you choose to buy a transmission from Ford, it will be re-manurfactured (meaning it is a rebuilt transmission...not a new one, off the assembly line).

At any rate...have it looked at, before you go buying a transmission.

Went by the shop and got the low down. He thinks its a loose linkage and estimated 100 or 150 bucks low end to go in and fix it. He said worst case I could have a rebuild put int. It would run 2300 and come with a 3 year 75,000 mile warrenty. My jaw hit the floor at the 75k mile warrenty!!
Anyways, heres to hoping its a loose linkage! 150 bucks to get her up and running like new, that would be nice!

Chevy Prizms: great cars.  Basically a Toyota.  My parent's first one was a 1986 (called a Nova back then) and was still running great at 200k miles when they got rid of it (their mechanic bought it).  Their new Prism is about 5 years old now, cost almost nothing new ($12,000?), and has had zero problems.  

Transmissions: do some research on the internet.  I bet there is a Taurus forum out there somewhere and they may have idea on rebuilt units you can buy on the internet.  There may even be a mail order place which rebuilds them and fixes all the known weaknesses.  

I have been looking into having my Roadmaster transmission rebuilt (more on this in another post soon) and there is a place (Teamtripp.com) which sells an upgraded transmission for it for about $1300 (not including torque converter).  It has upgraded parts and new programming and shipping is around $100.  Factory rebuilt transmission from Buick might be as cheap as $1600-1800.  

You may just have an electrical or progamming problem.  As someone else said, you can always consider sticking in one from a junk car.  What is labor on a transmission swap??

GunLvr

Quoted: Quoted: Ford taurus/windstar engines and tranny are junk. they had a silent recall on the engines because the head gaskets were blowing. They replaced a hell of a lot of engines. I had a 95 windstar and was lucky that nothing broke before I traded it in. BTW did anyone mention the resale value. If its cost more than the car is worth,scrap it and move on. The car is worth about a grand on a good day if I'm lucky. But, its paid for, ahs been for sometime and really the only problem is it needs a brake job, the tranny is flaky and the A/C needs recharged. We currently dont have a car payemnt which is why I'm so gung ho to fix this one up. On the whole its been a good car with no problems till recently, and the fact its paid off goes a long way to being a good car. As such, if I can get by with 2 or 3 thousand to get it back up and running in good condition thats far preferable to a 3,4,5 or longer year loan and making monthly payments.

Don't know a tremendous amount about transverse mounted trannys, but have rebuilt a few of the old timers       Sounds to me like it's starving for fluid when you're saying it slips out of gear...

First thing I'd do is a new filter and fluid.   Older trannys will funk up the fluid faster than a nice tight new one will.  Especially considering the mileage on the thing.  It's amazing the crud that gets built up in the things and they still keep on chugging.  

I'd hazard to guess  that's probably the issue here.   And that's a pretty easy job in, and of itself to do.    Just messy as all hell, if  it doesnt have a drain plug on the pan.   You have to loosen the bolts in such a way as to let one corner drop first, so you can kind of 'aim' the mess into t drain pan.

Anyways,  That's the first thing to check out.  Mainly since you say it does this on cornering, which is a dead giveaway that when the fluid  sloshes to one side of the pan, the pickup/filter isnt getting good suction. Which is usually caused by  the filter being all packed with gunk, and it trying like hell to draw the fluid in through the now much smaller usable area.  

It's much more comon for the cornering trick to occur when the fluid is very low, but you mentioned that you've topped it off, I think ? So I'd check for a clogged filter first.

Also, is the fluid in there now all black and nasty ? Smell burnt ?   If it's burnt, it may also make this happen, as well as make it slip when in gear...  Burnt fluid is another major cause for problems like this, because they don't let the friction packs and band(s) engage correctly which starts to wear them out fast.  The heat a tranny produces is it's WORST enemy.  It's always a great idea to add an aftermarket cooler to help keep the fluid temps down, which drastically increases the life.

Don't know how much help this is for you,  It's hard to diagnose tranny problems without getting hands on.....  Just a few things I thought of.....

Hope it turns out to be something minor, Good luck !

JB


ETA : If it IS a loose linkage, you're golden, simple fix, but not a terribly comon problem, who knows though....  At the very least,  He's going to drop the pan, and may just find it is the filter after all.

Either way, you're good to go and it won't break the bank !

Quoted: Don't know a tremendous amount about transverse mounted trannys, but have rebuilt a few of the old timers       Sounds to me like it's starving for fluid when you're saying it slips out of gear... First thing I'd do is a new filter and fluid.   Older trannys will funk up the fluid faster than a nice tight new one will.  Especially considering the mileage on the thing.  It's amazing the crud that gets built up in the things and they still keep on chugging.   I'd hazard to guess  that's probably the issue here.   And that's a pretty easy job in, and of itself to do.    Just messy as all hell, if  it doesnt have a drain plug on the pan.   You have to loosen the bolts in such a way as to let one corner drop first, so you can kind of 'aim' the mess into t drain pan. Anyways,  That's the first thing to check out.  Mainly since you say it does this on cornering, which is a dead giveaway that when the fluid  sloshes to one side of the pan, the pickup/filter isnt getting good suction. Which is usually caused by  the filter being all packed with gunk, and it trying like hell to draw the fluid in through the now much smaller usable area.   It's much more comon for the cornering trick to occur when the fluid is very low, but you mentioned that you've topped it off, I think ? So I'd check for a clogged filter first. Also, is the fluid in there now all black and nasty ? Smell burnt ?   If it's burnt, it may also make this happen, as well as make it slip when in gear...  Burnt fluid is another major cause for problems like this, because they don't let the friction packs and band(s) engage correctly which starts to wear them out fast.  The heat a tranny produces is it's WORST enemy.  It's always a great idea to add an aftermarket cooler to help keep the fluid temps down, which drastically increases the life. Don't know how much help this is for you,  It's hard to diagnose tranny problems without getting hands on.....  Just a few things I thought of..... Hope it turns out to be something minor, Good luck ! JB ETA : If it IS a loose linkage, you're golden, simple fix, but not a terribly comon problem, who knows though....  At the very least,  He's going to drop the pan, and may just find it is the filter after all. Either way, you're good to go and it won't break the bank !

If that particular transmission is "gunking up" the filter...then there are problems.

Quoted: Quoted: Don't know a tremendous amount about transverse mounted trannys, but have rebuilt a few of the old timers       Sounds to me like it's starving for fluid when you're saying it slips out of gear... First thing I'd do is a new filter and fluid.   Older trannys will funk up the fluid faster than a nice tight new one will.  Especially considering the mileage on the thing.  It's amazing the crud that gets built up in the things and they still keep on chugging.   I'd hazard to guess  that's probably the issue here.   And that's a pretty easy job in, and of itself to do.    Just messy as all hell, if  it doesnt have a drain plug on the pan.   You have to loosen the bolts in such a way as to let one corner drop first, so you can kind of 'aim' the mess into t drain pan. Anyways,  That's the first thing to check out.  Mainly since you say it does this on cornering, which is a dead giveaway that when the fluid  sloshes to one side of the pan, the pickup/filter isnt getting good suction. Which is usually caused by  the filter being all packed with gunk, and it trying like hell to draw the fluid in through the now much smaller usable area.   It's much more comon for the cornering trick to occur when the fluid is very low, but you mentioned that you've topped it off, I think ? So I'd check for a clogged filter first. Also, is the fluid in there now all black and nasty ? Smell burnt ?   If it's burnt, it may also make this happen, as well as make it slip when in gear...  Burnt fluid is another major cause for problems like this, because they don't let the friction packs and band(s) engage correctly which starts to wear them out fast.  The heat a tranny produces is it's WORST enemy.  It's always a great idea to add an aftermarket cooler to help keep the fluid temps down, which drastically increases the life. Don't know how much help this is for you,  It's hard to diagnose tranny problems without getting hands on.....  Just a few things I thought of..... Hope it turns out to be something minor, Good luck ! JB ETA : If it IS a loose linkage, you're golden, simple fix, but not a terribly comon problem, who knows though....  At the very least,  He's going to drop the pan, and may just find it is the filter after all. Either way, you're good to go and it won't break the bank ! If that particular transmission is "gunking up" the filter...then there are problems.

Umm,  I think that fact is pretty obvious.....

And filters DO clog with normal use...  And 65K miles since the last filter/fluid change is a tad beyond the service life of such.  

Put a couple tablespoons of sawdust in the trannie.
OR
Chop up some banana peals and dump them in the trannie.

YMMV!  

Quoted: Its had a tranny flush at 60k, right now its got 125k on it. The transmission slips into neutral when you turn left (Yeah, its wierd) but otherwise is fine although you can get it to hunt a bit for gears if you work the throttle just right. I did top off the fluid and add a bottle of tranny conditioner. The tranny conditioner fixed it right up for about a month, month and a half but its starting to slip into nuetral again on left turns. Everything else about the car is fine, but Taurus trannies are notoriously bad anyways. I figured I'd play it safe and just get it replaced (Or rebuilt) since I figure it wont be long anyways till it fails. This was the car I had for a year or two in college so it was run hard on a few drunken nights when I was blazing with intelligence.......

I'd consider looking at a used Chevy Cavalier. They're not the most glamorous things on the road, but they depreciate massively so you can pick up examples with 60-70k miles for maybe $3500, give or take. It's a car that has been around forever so the major systems are well sorted out.

I've had personal experience with 3 Chevy Cavaliers that completly fell apart between 65 and 75k miles.

Buyer beware

echo6

Well Madmedic is the closest to being the most correct.
1. Having the fluid changed never fixes anything ever.
2. you have one hope of an easy cure. Neutraling around corners is a classic low fluid condition, if the filter is dislodged or if the fluid is low your in luck. One easy trick we do is to overfill it. put fluid in it until the fluid level is 1" higher than the full mark, then go drive around corners.  If it goes back to normal then get a fluid change and new filter installed properly.
If the filter is clogged it is clogged with debris and your unit is fubar.
Your problem is not axles, you would stop moving and your speedometer would still work.
3.Definations: USED.. transmissions from junk yards, if you choose this route and you have someone inststall a used one, if it doesn't work you have to pay the same labor to go get another junk unit( junk yards don't give refunds, just another unit.
REBUILT: This is where a transmission company or dealer opens up the unit, replaces a few obvious parts and disreguards many other things regardless of wear.  These units  have a high failure rate and the builder is concerned with one thing" making past their warranty period.
REMANUFACTURED: This is what we sell. every part of the internals is returned to new specs.  If you measured any part it would measure no wear. Full time machine shop machines certain parts for  longer life. Torque converters are matched and dynotested with the unit. Our philosophy is differant
BUILD THE UNIT SO WELL , THE CUSTOMER NEVER NEEDS WARRANTY WORK, EVER.
Good luck

One more thing change your transmission fluid every 15000 miles, regardless of what your told.
I tell people try for once a year, they'll remember that. A fluid and filter change is the only thing
you can do to take care of your transmission, you wouldn't let your motor go 20,000 miles without an oil change.

Here's our remanufacturing shop in OMAHA  Certified Transmission