420A 98 ESI stuck in 1st

[koval21184]

I am looking to purchase my first DSM. It is a 98 Talon ESI. It currently has 90k miles on it. The guy that is selling it says it won't shift out of first gear (4spd auto). The majority of the threads I am seeing here say that the TCM is the cause. Which is fine by me, I can find another one online somewhere. My 2 questions are, what is the difference between the TCM and TCU? And what are your thoughts on picking up a TCU/TCM and bring it with me when I go to look at the car to see if I could fix it on the spot and drive it home?

 

[VelocitàPaola]

what is the difference between the TCM and TCU?

Same thing.

And what are your thoughts on picking up a TCU/TCM and bring it with me when I go to look at the car to see if I could fix it on the spot and drive it home?

Sounds reasonable as long as you're okay with having purchased a TCU that may or may not fix the problem, and for a car that you may or may not buy. But if you can find one to borrow, or one to purchase cheaply, it could help you get some answers quickly.

 

[jesse12345]

Another thing is maybe he might think it's stuck in 1st when It could be stuck in second which is limp mode. I know when I had that problem it was the shift solenoid pack on the front of the transmission. It was an easy and relatively cheap repair.

 

[koval21184]

Same thing.


Sounds reasonable as long as you're okay with having purchased a TCU that may or may not fix the problem, and for a car that you may or may not buy. But if you can find one to borrow, or one to purchase cheaply, it could help you get some answers quickly.

Thank you for getting back to me. I found a couple on ebay for about 50 bucks that claim they are in working order but I might hold off until I can do some diag on the TCU.

 

[koval21184]

Another thing is maybe he might think it's stuck in 1st when It could be stuck in second which is limp mode. I know when I had that problem it was the shift solenoid pack on the front of the transmission. It was an easy and relatively cheap repair.

Thanks for the info. Is there 2 solenoid packs on the transmission or just the one that you changed?

 

[jesse12345]

I just changed the one and everything was fine after.