my 1994 aerostar is starting to give me trouble getting it into
reverse. It has 75,000 miles. I can still " find " reverse, but it is
getting harder and harder. How much trouble am i in?? Is my
transmission " going " after only 75,000 miles??

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Request for Question Clarification by revbrenda1st-ga on 15 Jan 2004 19:18 PST

Hi alanhatt,

My husband, who is a Ford trained mechanic, wants to know is the
problem that the gear selector is stiff to move from one position to
another or does it move freely but reverse doesn't kick in?

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Request for Question Clarification by revbrenda1st-ga on 15 Jan 2004 19:30 PST

Hi again,

Also, this is an automatic transmission?

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Clarification of Question by alanhatt-ga on 16 Jan 2004 04:03 PST

It is an automatic and ( no ) it is not stiff to move-it just doesn't
want to " find " reverse ". I have to fool around with the shifter for
it to " catch ".

Hi Alan, 

Okay, this is probably not good news for you. He was hoping you meant
the gear selector was stiff, because that was the lesser of the two
evils, indicating that the external shifter linkage was binding in the
bushings due to rust buildup. This happens because of age, not
mileage.

However, since reverse gear doesn't kick in without you having to
fiddle with the selector, he says you should take the Aerostar to a
transmission shop and have the mechanic run a diagnostics test on it.
What the mechanics should be looking for is an internal problem where
the seals or clutches are worn, causing a delayed shift.

The same thing happened to my Bronco. First I slowly lost my reverse,
then one by one the other gears starting disappearing. It's an '88
(the smaller Bronco II), with a slew of miles, and a 4 x 4 to boot. We
had a heck of a time finding a rebuilt transmission for it. New ones
are definitely too expensive!

Good luck with it all,

revbrenda1st