1998 Mountaineer/Explorer Trans lost OD?!

[Zaldor]

Hey guys, got a Trans problem - this weekend my trans OD stopped working. Whenever it revs high enough to shift into OD, it feels like it just went into neutral - I've tried reving it high to see if it would shift, but no luck. All the other gears work, in fact I drove it about 100 miles today with OD-off. Granted I couldn't go much faster than 60mph though, and the gas was being used up twice as fast... but it was running.

Question - what might the problem be? I've checked the fluid levels, but i'm not sure if I did it correctly or not. I checked the trans fluid when it was sitting for about 2 hours, started it up, left in park - then checked it. When I checked it, it almost looked like the fluid was over the gage and touching the metal of the dipstick... Did I check it correctly?

Also, the OD light has been flashing for a while, I haven't had the cash to have it looked at - I knew it would be a problem eventually. A few times it stopped flashing, only to return a month or so later. Also, in the past, it sometimes shifted hard into OD...

I did have the fluid changed around 60-70k (and it just hit 120k yesterday)...

Another related question- what's the risks by driving the car without the OD on? Can I continue driving at 4200 rpms for long periods?

Thanks for the help!!

-Les

 

[4544x4]

Get to a shop.4200 rpms :frustrate

 

[Opera House]

You have something more wrong than just missing OD and TC lockup. That would take you to about 3K at 60 mph.

 

[Zaldor]

As a follow up, I took the mountaineer to a trans shop, they basically told me I needed a to put in another trans. They hooked up the computer, and the codes it was throwing did not indicate anything electrical wrong...

So I managed to drive it without problems for another month or two, then got ahold of another car that I could drive instead... The problem I face now is this. I need to get rid of this Mountaineer. I am WAY upsidedown on this loan, which is why I need to get rid of it. Other than the Trans problem, it needs a new catalytic converter/emissions, there is a big dent on the driver rear qtr panel, and scratches/minor dents all over the car... What would be best to do, fix the Trans (about $1600), then sell it for around $5k... or sell it as is, hoping I can get at least $3k for it (more would be nice)? Or pay off the loan completely, then sell it and get what I can get... Obviously the easiest would be the latter, but I'd also be probably losing the most money...

I guess what I need to figure out is, what's the best selling price for this mountaineer? 1998, V8, Leather, needs new trans, needs new emissions/catalytic, dent on driver rear, and minor dents on passenger.

Thanks to all that can help!

-Les