95 escort transmission problems

nosinjcted · 11-09-2008, 07:45 PM

I have a 95 escort, sometimes the car will have a hard time shifting out of first gear, like it's stuck in gear. I have done some research and think that it could possibly be the VSS? I haven't been able to find anything on a procedure to test the VSS, does anyone know how to test it? Or am I going down the wrong path, could it be something else? Thanks.

LastTudor · 11-09-2008, 07:56 PM

This is bad advice by the textbook. I forewarn you. The right way to do it is to diagnose properly before buying any parts.

But practically, it can cost a lot of money just to acquire the test equipment. A VSS isn't that expensive and is usually easy to install. I'm not sure on yours where it's mounted, or the exact price of the VSS. But if it were my car, if the VSS was $30 or so, and if it wasn't a PITA to install, I'd just buy a VSS and try it. You'd spend more than that buying a decent VOM to start testing things.

Let me repeat the disclaimer. What I just told you is the wrong way to do it. It's called "throwing parts at it," which is frowned upon by real mechanics.

nosinjcted · 11-09-2008, 08:21 PM

I have a VOM already, test lights, plenty of tools to do just about anything. I hate throwing parts at something and hoping they work, that's why I asked if any one know's a way to test the VSS. I priced one online at autozone and it was somewhere like $45, I've thought about just trying it, but would really like to test it first.