Ford Escape XLT v6, 2002
Before Failures occurred, O/D light would flash at high speeds while it was working, and the check engine light was on almost permanently.
Vehicle ran smoothly and fine till one day at a stop light it was time to go and our drive would not engage. Reved engine multiple times to see if it would engage and it did and would engage Intermittently, but not reliably.
Intermittent engagement of all gears.. When failure happened we checked the codes using an OBD tool, and it came back with a p1744 code, (torque converter clutch stuck in the off position.)
Sometimes at high rpm's vehicle will engage in drive reverse 1 and 2, and sometimes at low rpm's it will engage in drive reverse 1 and 2, when it engages it NEVER shudders or clunks the car....it is smooth. When it does work it works normally, for only perhaps a few minuet or untill switching gears or pressing brakes. Most of the time it feels like it is in Neutral while revving the engine.

First we changed out the tranny fluid, and no improvement in performance.
Second we replaced the Transmission solenoid valve body assembly, this also did not affect the shifting or performance. BUT IT DID remove the check engine light.
We are doing all the work ourselves, we cannot REPEAT! cannot afford a transmission rebuild or expensive transmission shop diagnostics.

Looking at the transmission repair Manual it seems these might be suspects for causing this problem....
1) engine coolant temperature sensor; the engine coolant seem to read normal in dash board.
2) manual lever position sensor: although the dash board always reflects the correct gear that it is in.
3)Brake on/off switch: although break lights work and the car engages gears even at low rpm's.
4)crank shaft position sensor
5)mass airflow sensor
6)throttle position sensor
7) transmission speed sensor
8) output shaft speed sensor
9)power train control module

What can we rule out? what is causing this?

 

Did you ever get this problem resolved? I'm having the exact same problem and I have done the same thing by replacing the shift selonoid.

 

Yes we did fix the problem. Whole tranny needed to be rebuilt. Linkage needed to be fixed as well. I recommend going to a junk and pulling a perfectly fine tranny and using it as opposed to paying the 2,800$ we paid to have it rebuilt. It has since failed us again. But that was completely our fault. It's the tranny my friend promise.

 

the shift solenoids failing will cause band and clutch to wear excessively. very smooth shifting is a sign of slow shifting or low hydraulic pressure.... shifting up and down is a sign of a bad wiring connection or a bad control signal....go through factory service bulletins, it will have any chronic issues with the suggested repairs listed.... sometimes it's due to factory defects or poor design. (company is not required to do a recall on most issues not causing a safety issue)...
next time you see a red dash light, even if it goes away, have the code read... it can save you lots of $$$$$$...
also most lube shops do not lube the fittings and joints for shifters, door hinges and many other items that require lubed.
as you have found out....