No. What color is the trans fluid, bright red, or brown? The brown is clutch dust. Did it die all at once, or has it been slipping?

You can try lifting the drive wheels off of the ground and supporting the van on jack-stands. If the van will drive the wheels this way, you probably have burnt a clutch pack in the trans. There are a few people on here that have much better knowledge of your transmission than I do. I will leave the further diagnosis to them. At this point, I think you will need an overhaul. But please wait for some further comments. Good luck.

Thanks Bob, the ole fluid is bright red, the filter was clean and nothing in the pan. I'll lift the wheels and see what happens..I'v had them up 15 times should have already done that...Thanks Jim

Suspect the front pump is kaput...or the neutral safety switch may cause keep your fingers crossed

Thanks bwire, I'm hopeing for something less than an overhaul,all I way out in the sticks and the local Mechanic just laugh when I mention overhaul and say noway...I'm set to try another Neutral safety switch..I have another 96 with the same transmission..I'm old and slow but will drop motor and transmission if I can find a warm place...Jim

A generic code reader will not access transmission data on that car. If you want transmission data, you need a scan tool that will access the enhanced side of the PCM. If the transmission fluid is not bright red and smells burned, your transmission will need to be rebuilt. There are other things that can cause your problem other than the friction material being worn out in the clutches, like a forward clutch that quit working. Many mechanical things in this transmission will not set fault codes.

Thanks, I was counting on you.

bwrench, thanks for the info..I may have to dig deep and buy the proper code reader, may have to ask to find out the right scan tool...I have a 96 with the same transmission.It has a busted rod so may have to rob peter to pay paul..Thanks..Jim

The Windstar and Taurus are famous for severe transmission problems. We had failures in 1989 and 1994 Taurus. Ford finally paid for the 1994 redo of over 2K.

Check the web for history and recalls and unhappy owners. For our 89 it involved a total rebuild, based on a faulty piston on the lower gear as I recall. Good Luck

Steve

Hey Steve,'Hi', thanks for the input. I've read all the horror stories and they have all been from owners, paying to have the work done due to the complication of a product they don't understand and have to rely on what someone 'thinks'..There has to be a proper way to diagnose the problem and someone who 'knows' how to remedy the problem, what ever it may be....I have time and pacience[?] and want to know what causes no forward gears, may take a while and when I stumble on to it, I'll have an explanation for the stumble..Thanks again, God Bless you and yours,Jim

If it helps reverse is gear driven and I suspect the front pump which can discombobulates of a sudden but normally causes symptoms of a dirty filter before retiring.

If it were simple as a shift cable or speed sensor trouble you'd let us know right?

Let me do this again. The problem is real and well known to Ford and has resulted in Service Bulletins and yes, they have paid for many in warranty.

My first one started at a stoplight when the car whould not start in low gear. Was able to coast enough that it caught second and was OK then for a few days. Took to one shop and they could not reproduce. Called a friend in the business in another town and knew right away and could reproduce the problem time and again. His response was that it required a full tear down, and at that time there was not even an upgraded part to improve for the future. (70K miles) Our other car failed at 50K, and Ford claimed innocence. We paid, but when they later issued the bulletins, we got them to pay us back.

KNOWN PROBLEM, not trivial. Please talk to someone familiar before you waste more time with standard troubleshooting. They should at least be able to tell you if it is the same problem, without a tear down and without you having to buy diagnostic tools. Steve

No special diagnostic tools required; pressure is pressure.

Automatic transmission troubles fall into two distinct categories, a) doesn't go, b) doesn't go smooth.

There is no great mystery.

Pick any three automatic transmissions, take a part and notice each works upon the same principles

The fix maybe simple or complex if complex most will replace but many will disassemble because they are mechanically adept and have the time or more time than money

Once again. Any transmisison shop worth its salt can diagnose this particular malfunction with only a simple driving test. Mine took less than 5 minutes from the time I drove up until the tech had demonstrated the problem based on my description. He knew EXACTLY what was wrong. He was able to explain clearly what was going on. I can recall, "Piston," being involved, and that would follow with t he description in the other comment about the low speed clutch. It takes a full tear down to reach it. steve

I have had the Taurus transmission nightmare also. Mine acted as if there was not enough pressure to apply the low clutch. I removed it and installed all of the upgrades I could find for the trans. I never could get it to engage correctly. Gave up eventually and junked it.

There is a device that varies oil pump function in the Taurus. If you have the same trans. The answer is to use a pressure gauge to test what the pressure is at the specific locations that are accessible. If I look, I have the OH manual for a 91 model. I will see if I can find it .

Hey, 'Hi' you all. I haven't went to sleep, I'm in a cow pasture in the country..I very much like the idea of the pressure testing to see if the transmission was trying to shift or shifting and not moving. This will separate the Mechanical from the Electrical and give a good shot at attaching the real problem..I'm still working on getting the shift solenoids back on and the other checks you suggested..getting it up in the air and seeing what it does w/o load...Its been held up by the weather...I'd like to see the OH manuel part about the pressure points if you can find it..may be able to download one off the web. I;ll work on it , thanks for your help..Jim

You will find this very interesting...

Go to Transtar Industries.com ,click on view catalog,in lefthand payne select 2008 at catalog then look for ford then select that,scroll down to ax4n/4f50n select that one and agree to down ax4n catalog in PDF format and then you will see all of your internals of that transmission.

Thank you for the link. I just sent for a few of their catalogs.

Hey bwire, Thanks for the Catalog, I have the AX4S with OD and that was a great help, I'm going to replace the shift solenoids and the pump, put the cover back and find a place inside and get it high enough to see what it does with no load..this ole weather is whipping me..I'm looking for a pressure test proceedure. I'm into this 99 windstar about $50 so can afford to do a 'learn as you go' project. Also bought a 96 for parts for a $150 it has a busted rod, broke close to the crank, it runs ok just that constant clanking noise and has a definite miss..I pulled the pan, it had to be on the back side..Both are nice inside and out..but like the average good ole boy, I want to have it all..Thanks for the info..and God Bless...Jim