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Ford Escort ZX2 Transmission Problems

40 messages,  Last post on Jan 22, 2013 at 5:59 AM

You are in the Ford Escort ZX2 Forum.

What is this discussion about? Ford Escort, Transmission, Coupe

Messages Page 3 of 5

#13 of 40 How? by belinda1

Jun 04, 2008 (6:34 pm)

Could everything go bad at once on a car? I bought a escort zx2 new in 2001 and 2 weeks ago it started acting like it didn't want to go and started cutting itself off every time I had to stop that was really aggravating. Then it wouldn't get over 40mph. I took it to one person and he couldn't find what was wrong so I took it to ford's and the estimate was 2000.00 said it was the cam sensor and timing belt and sensor, oxygen sensor needs new water pump and some mor things so I asked about putting a motor in it and they said it would still need all these other things so the total price to fix it and put in a motor would run me close to 7000.00. I am so disgusted I paid 200.00 to find out that I need 2000.00 to 7000.00 to fix my car this is driving me crazy..........I can't afford another car but 2000.00 ain't easy either. I found this site and saw people talking about trans problems and now I am terrified iis it worth even trying to fix it..........Getting close to buying a moped

#14 of 40 Transmission issues by avos_5

Jun 24, 2008 (4:44 am)

as far as getting the car into gear with the manual transmissions, i have no idea. however with the automatic transmission i may have a suggestion, most of you seem to be complaining about transmission issues about 75 to 80k miles, about the same time that you should change your transmission fluid. my car is starting to shift roughly into the next gear when at 3.5 - 5k rpms, talked to my friend (a mechanic) he suggested that i change the tranny fluid, will post again with results.
 
also, to those of you with an auto that are having issues getting out of park, that is usually (in my experience) a problem with the switch that tells your car the brake pedal is engaged so that you can shift out of park (a safety feature on many new cars) the switch can sometimes fail causing the shifter to stay put, and the button to fail to depress. many times mechanic shops will just remove the switching mechanism entirely to fix the problem.

#15 of 40 Bouncy First Gear by owen99zx2

Sep 23, 2008 (11:17 pm)

I Have a 99 ZX2 w/124K miles on it. After my car sits over night it wants to shake as if its not is enaged all the way. But after a coulpe of stops and shifts, to and from, First Gear its stops the jerking back and forth. Any and all help is appreciated.

#16 of 40 1996 Escort LX transmission problem by hardeeboy

Oct 04, 2008 (5:23 pm)

I have a 1996 Escort 1.9 Liter. I just took it in to have the trans fluid changed and after I picked it up I drove home about 4 miles from the shop with no problems. The next day I am going up a hill and it slips out of gear for about 3 seconds and the engine reves. After 3 seconds it went back into gear. I have never had problems before and change my trans fluid by the ford recommendations
 
I went back to the mechanic and he said it was not his fault because he did everything right. Could he have put to much or not enough fluid in or maybe did not disconnect and reconnect certain things? I am not a mechanic but if he did not change out the trans filter would that contribute to the problem also?
 
Has anyone encountered this before? It only slips in drive not in any other gear.

#17 of 40 2002 escort zx2 transmission problem by anvil21

Nov 11, 2008 (11:58 am)

about 3-4 years ago I had my 5 speed manual transmisson completly redone.Well about 1 year ago while on long drives hour or more the trans. would pop out of 5th gear.Then I would have to drive the rest of the way only in 4th gear.
 
Has anyone have or had this problem ? What could be causing it?
 
Thanks

#18 of 40 Re: 2002 escort zx2 transmission problem [anvil21] by owen99zx2

Nov 14, 2008 (3:39 pm)

Replying to: anvil21 (Nov 11, 2008 11:58 am)
I had a 87 Toyota MR2 and I was having the same problem. And what was found was the person that fixed the tranny had either left something loose or didn't realize there was a chip. Long story short, my fifth gear was chipping away and it was replaced again.

#19 of 40 Re: ZX2 shifter stuck [obiwampa] by fordman

Dec 15, 2008 (11:39 pm)

Replying to: obiwampa (Mar 05, 2007 8:49 am)
hello i was told by someone recently the lever your mashing is connected to a small box on the side of the shifter say about 1inch x1 inch also do both your brake lights work you can use a 12 volt test light at this box plug on the shiter to see if you got juice to it then if you do my dear go to a salvage yard ford a ford escort or zx2 shifter grab the box put it on yours you should be ok now merry christmas ford man

#20 of 40 Re: It's the tranny [ogilthorpe] by JRQC

Dec 18, 2008 (1:04 pm)

Replying to: ogilthorpe (Jun 18, 2007 12:20 pm)
Dare I be the one to stand up to the reliability of these cars when maintained properly.. but instead of bashing and complaining, realize you have a car that has so many high performance aftermarket parts available for it for.
 
In 2000, Ford offered the ZX2 S/R. This model had over $4,000 in aftermarket parts as a paltry $1,500 option. Of the items pre-installed by Ford was a "Centerforce Dual-Friction Clutch". As one who had his clutch replaced at 88k miles for no good reason (worked fine but was upgrading to S/R spec suspension), I ask why not go buy a Centerforce clutch which is light years more durable than the OEM clutch?
 
If you were not aware of this option then go visit http://www.zxtuner.com and get the parts then have your mechanic put it in. I have the B&M short shifter and polyurethane shifter bushing too and talk about a night and day difference!
 
Look - if it was good enough to surpass Ford OEM specs in 2000 then why should you question the durability of the Centerforce clutch?
 
Also, I have used Mobile 1 synthetic since 2k miles and the engine has zero blowby on the rings, the compression on each cylinder is within 5lbs of original, and the internals are spotless (viewed when open oil filler cap). I change the oil at 15k miles and the filter (Mobile 1 part# 209) every 5k. Oil stays tan until approx 2.5k miles too.
 
If you have not done so, run some Seafoam additive through your engine (full quart) for 1k miles then change to Mobile 1. Your engine will thank you for it by not breaking down.
 
Hope this helps.

#21 of 40 Ford gets an F- by Ratony

Feb 18, 2009 (3:33 pm)

I bought my 2000 ZX2 brand new in November of 1999. I baby my car and have kept it well maintained and serviced. I have less than 50,000 miles on it and was pretty happy with my car. Happy until last week when my “check engine soon” light went on and I started to notice a delay when shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear (I have an automatic). Turns out I need my transmission rebuilt (Took it to Aamco). A quick search on the internet tells me I am not alone. There is even a group trying to bring a class action suit against Ford. Seems like the Escort, ZX2 and Focus all have faulty transaxles. Aamco stated it looks like a defect in the metal (Ford used cheep metal that eventually fails far before it should). I need my car so I’ll pay the $2,500 bill for a car worth only $4000. The one thing I learned from this: NEVER BUY FORD again.

#22 of 40 Re: It's the tranny [ogilthorpe] by anvil21

May 31, 2009 (7:53 am)

Replying to: ogilthorpe (Jun 18, 2007 12:20 pm)
I own a 2002 Ecort Zx2 and it has been a nightmare. To let you know how bad it has been overall,the car has only 39.320 miles. The latest is I can not go out of town because after an hour in 5th gear the transmission pops out.Then after that I have to drive in 4th gear,
 
During Hurricane Gustov I had to drive from Laplace,Louisiana to Houston and back in 4th gear.

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