Trans-Temp Sensor Replaced . . . portending problems?

[studio460]

Since there have been a few transmission failure posts lately, I just thought I'd post my problem history with my own transmission.

Symptoms:

1. Constant "whine" heard inside car at all times (upon receipt of the car). The "whine's" pitch had NO correlation to changing RPMs. Originally diagnosed as a bad fan; however, when the transmission sensor was later repaired/replaced, the "whine" magically disappeared after the work was completed on the transmission problem only.

2. OD indicator light would go and off for no apparent reason. After 12 hours of inconsistent OD light--OD light began constant slow flashing. This was in first 24 hours of ownership.

3. I allowed condition to persist for several weeks until repaired (which according to the manual could cause further damage). Ford's response was, "If anything else was damaged, we'll fix that too."

Diagnosis:

1. Ford diagnosed problem as defective transmission temperature sensor. Repair required about a week in their shop (they had to drop the entire transmisson in order to replace sensor).

Could this event have caused further as yet undiagnosed damage to transmission internals? When looking at the repair paperwork, the temperature sensor was the only part replaced.

[TripleTransAm]

Tough to say. It all depends on what the PCM does when it detects a fault in the tranny.

How does the fluid look now? How does it shift? Best bet is to get it all in writing, that they will extend you some sort of extra warranty on the transmission due to this occurrence.

I'm only familiar with GM trannies, and there was a problem in some mid to late 90s models where the PCM would incorrectly detect high tranny temps, disengage the converter clutch due to 'panic', which in turn would serve to actually raise fluid temperatures and accelerate wear. So it would help to know what the Marauder's PCM does when it detects tranny problems, and brainstorm from there.

[SergntMac]

Shooter, I've been told by good sources that repairs inside the tranny are not completed at the dealership anymore. If the wrench has to pull the tranny and front pump to complete a repair, FMC/LM orders a replacement and swaps out a whole tranny. Seems it's cheaper to R&R the tranny and crate it back for rebuild by an outsourced vendor, that it is to pay the dealership for getting inside and making traditional repairs/rebuilds.

When you get a moment, please post here the part number(s) from your repair order? I'd like to compare your parts list against this policy. Thanks.

[studio460]

Thanks for your comments, Triple-T, Sarge! Just got into work now--I'll track down the paperwork when I get home (about 01:00AM EST). Get this! After this initial repair about five months ago, I'm starting to hear the whine again (just started last night)!

[studio460]

This is all the information taken directly from the service invoice pertinent to the transmission temperature sensor failure and repair work performed by a local Ford service department on my '03 300B. The repair took nearly a week and my service writer mentioned that, "the job was much more involved than Ford had indicated." Not exactly sure what he meant by that statement.

"03-31-2003"
"TRANSMISSION (AUTO)"
"C/S OD LIGHT IS FLASHING"
"VERIFIED CONCERN P1718 TRANS TEMP SENSOR NOT RESPONDING"
"REPLACED SENSOR OK AT THIS TIME"

"FP NUMBER: F8AZ-7G276-BA"
"DESCRIPTION: BULKHEA 004664"

Anyone here who can verify what that part/assembly actually is, and what that implies as far as the specific installation details (vis-a-vis Sarge's post below) would be most appreciated! Thanks for all your input!