Why would a rebuilt 1997 Ford Taurus wagon transmission only last for 35000 miles The car has 134000 miles The rebuilt put in at 110000?

Answer 1

In most cases, either dirt in the coolant lines or transmition cooler portion of the radiator caused a premature failure, or the torgue converter was failing or dirty and not replaced when the transmition was rebuilt are the causes. In some rare occastions, the rebuild was not done properly or parts that should have been replaced and where not replaced is the cause. The only other option is that the computer or wiring harness to the transmition is failing or damaged, as the shifting of the transmition from gear to gear is controled by the computer. This can cause a pre-mature failure. The only other cause would be right out of the gun, so your situation doesn't sound likely, is the shop forgot to re-fill the transmition with ATF "Fluid". This sounds crazy, but it's far too easy to do, but the transmition usually won't even move the car at that point, so it is usually caught right away not by the owner some 40K miles later.