Ok, I apologize for the long post, but the details may help you now that some of our X's are reaching "maturity"...

For over a month now, my X has been having lockup problems. ONLY WHEN COLD, the torque converter would lock up, but NOT unlock after coming to a complete stop (IE, stop light). I'm still on the surface streets every morning, so I never have a chance to exceed 35-40mph. When at the light, the X would sometimes stall and/or have a very SLOOWWW start (in a 5-speed, imagine getting started in 3rd gear). When the tranny was warm, all worked normal. After combing this forum and checking out as much as possible myself, I decided to call into AAMCO for an appt.

Weekend before Jan 31, 2005 (day of appt), the transmission was shifting very poorly. Slow to shift between gears (similar to riding the clutch and taking over 6 seconds between shifts in a 5 speed) overdrive would engage & disengage on the highway (yes, drivetrain was already warm).

After taking into AAMCO, they claim they were unable to recreate the problem during a test drive. I asked them to keep the X overnight and let everything cool down. SF only reaches lower 50s upper 40s overnight this time of year.

Tuesday, AAMCO calls and is suprised the transmission was even drive-able. All of the valves were stuck or very difficult to budge with a screwdriver. Although the "Check Engine" light has never come on during these problems, their diag computers lit up like a christmas tree. I visited the shop and saw physical evidence of the wear. I gave them the "OK to GO".

$3100 ($1500 Labor + Parts + Tax) and 4 days later, they replaced the Torque Converter with a rebuilt one, and the transmission itself was rebuilt. The lockup solenoid was replaced along with some of the directly related electronics.

Friday, Feb 4, I asked if it would be okay to continue with my road trip to SoCal. "Sure, it should be just fine".

So I'm driving 70mph down the interstate, headed up & over hills. I usually turn O/D off, and noticed a good 3-4second delay before it kicks in. No biggie I thought, I'll talk to the shop when Monday rolls around. However, when coasting down a hill, I generally use O/D for engine braking...in the case of my so-called "rebuilt" transmission, my engine would go idle & drop to 1000rpm. Again, I'll have to wait until Monday to call AAMCO.

Drove all weekend, nothing harsh, no towing, just the usual (about 400lbs of cargo & work related tools and equipment)

Monday morning, my trip to Big Bear was thwarted by transmission problems. 450mi after my newly rebuilt transmission the X wouldn't shift into 4th. Funny burning smell, I was sure the Transmission overheated. I pulled over on the freeway (using hazard lights at slow speeds), looked underneath, and saw tons of tranny fluid leaking and the exhaust was creating a bunch of smoke from the splatter.

Found the nearest AAMCO (luckily 5mi away) in Corona, CA. Called my SF AAMCO to let them know. Both AAMCOs were very proactive and took the X in. Looks like they need to completely rebuild the tranny again.

So here I am, in a Rental (Ford *SS-Scape, ugh). My X is in SoCal. I live here in SF. I hope to get it back in a week. I'll most likely fly down, get the X and drive it back.

PS. The 170K mi are about 96% pavement driving. Puchased in Nov 2000. Being a fellow Service / Field Tech, I completely respect that all mechanical parts will eventually wear and fail. I've taken care of the X with regularly scheduled maintenance. I also respect that even when repaired, there's a chance for immediate failure.

Geez.
Thanks for your time. From a post just a few months back, my X is the 2nd occurance on this forum for high-mileage transmission failure (please correct me if I'm wrong)