Fix Durashift Gearbox Problem Easy.

[lasse1955]

(Sorry for some bad English language in this….)

The durashift on my Fusion has malfunctioned sometimes the last month.

No reverse sometimes, no forward gears other times, gears get stuck and at last no gear at all (but the display showed “4”).. Always with the sprocket warning-light lit.

Ford workshop wants 1000£ to fix it, at least.

But the solution was simple, if you are normally handy and can spare an evening.

Everyone think durashift is complicated, complicated and more complicated, BUT THIS IS NO ROCKET SIENCE!!

The problem was the shift actuator (see picture 1).

The shaft from the gearbox that is connected to the actuator was stuck. It should be possible to turn and pull, if normal.

So I disconnected the gearbox shaft from the actuator (one screw), and discovered that the gearbox shaft then was possible to turn, but the actuator was stuck (motor no 1. The one with the white plastic ball joint).

I connected 12v to the actuator motor (motor 1. Pin 1 and 6) but the motor was only "humming". It was really stuck.

I removed the actuator from the gearbox (4 screws). Then I removed the actuator motor no.1 (four screws, se picture 2.) but the actuator was still stuck. It was not possible to push and pull the slider (that now should be really easy to move, as the motor now was gone).

I took a big screwdriver and bent it loose, and discovered then that the rack was stuck in its plastic slide surface (I don’t know the correct English word) inside the actuator housing.

The plastic was a just little deformed but enough to get the rack to stuck really hard.

I drilled a hole in the closed end of the “plastic slide surface” (se picture 3.) and then a bigger hole (see picture 4) to see well and to be able to put in some tool.

Now I saw a little “bump” in the plastic surface (and some dirt). I took a 16mm reamer to make the plastic surface smooth (picture 4.). Now the rack was sliding nice and easy.

If you can’t borrow a 16mm reamer you sure can use a sharp knife or a file or a Dremel or something similar.

I put a plastic cap over the drilled hole and glued it (picture 5).

I mounted the actuator, and the gearbox is working as new.

It feels so good!

Cost? Nothing!

Some tips: DON’T turn the motor when you have removed it from the actuator!!!!! It has position sensors in it, and needs to match the position of the rack!!

Make a mark on the rack before you bend it lose, it must match the position of the motor when you mount them together.

I am not really sure what causes this, but plastic deformation over time is nothing new.

But more likely I think the problem is water. As the plastic slide tube is pointing upwards I guess a small amount of water have come between the plastic tube and the aluminum housing. Either has it there frozen to ice and therefore expanded to a “bump” in the plastic, but more likely it has there caused corrosion on the aluminum which expands to a “bump” inside the plastic tube.

As I glued the cap I assume no more water can enter, to cause more problems.

Greetings from Sweden.

[Dan62]

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[lasse1955]

Yes, to prevent water (with road salt) to penetrate the space between the plastic bush and the aluminum housing you can seal this space with some elastic mass.

I sealed mine with glue, as I glued the plastic cap at the end of the bush.

Only glue, or something similar, should be enough in your case (clean area first).

I have got information by "Meikel_K" that this problem has been notified, so that later actuator parts, and spare parts, have a similar modification.

[Dan62]

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[lasse1955]

Thank you for your encouraging words.

I am glad you could make use of my experience.

It is always nice to be able to help somebody.

Lasse

[GAZZ..A]

Hi lasse my 53 plate fusion in in the ford shop now and are saying £403.61 for a new actuator, i have the same problems as you,lose of gears , reading 4 ect ..I am handy with the tools and am thinking should i pay to get the job done.or take it out the shop and have a go at this Gary..Thay will fit it free as have i already paid for software update that thay said it would fix gear problems..but 50 feet down the road and it did it agine ,reading 2 but light came on and no driveNICE POST MATE ,,GOT ME THINKING

[Dan62]

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[koslanski]

Hi guys, I have similar problem as above with fiesta durashift automatic, it does not start at the moment, the gears seemed to be changing ok when it was driving, but it had moments when it would not start, then after some time it starts and drives well until next time. A couple of days ago it started ok, took off with the first gear but then it was only reving but not pulling. I had to tow it home and after coming across this forum decided to do the same adjustment to shift actuator as described in the above posts. I thought that would solve my problem, but to my disappointment, the rack was not stuck and the plastic housing was smooth so the rack was able to slide normally. After I assembled everything again, it started to my surprise, and I drove a few miles with it, gears changing nicely, and then suddenly it got stuck on the second gear and was not pulling anymore, only revving, and it was not possible to put it into any gear after that. It hasn't started since, and I am not sure what the problem could be. The gearbox shaft, that is going into shift actuator, seems to have a mind of its own, its moving up and down when the ignition is on, maybe that is normal, I don't know. Maybe some of you had similar problems and could drop me a hint what to do in this situation. I had it put on diagnostics, I got some codes about solenoid and incorrect data from the ecu. It is probably down to electronics more than mechanics I guess, but maybe some of you have some thoughts about it, I would greatly appreciate if you could share them here. Thank you.

[lasse1955]

I wish I could say what the problem is, but I cant. I agree with you that it is probably down to electronics more than mechanics. Some hint is that the gearbox shaft, which is going into shift actuator, should not be moving up and down all the time when the ignition is on.

When my rack was stuck, the motor was "humming" 4 or 5 times as it tried to turn the actuator and then it "gave up" as it didnt succeed.

Also motor number 2 turned, as it "tried to help" motor no 1 to put in a gear. After that they didn’t turn any more while the ignition was on, until I switched of the ignition. When I turned on the ignition again then they behaved the same way.

Every time I pushed or pulled shift stick, the motors behaved like I described above and then they didn’t move any more until I moved the shift stick again.

If your actuator behaves like this it dosen´t succeed put in the gears for some reason. If so, there may be some mechanical trouble anyway.

I wish you luck.

[koslanski]

Thanks for your reply, my problem does not seem to be stuck gear actuators, as they can move easily within their constraints, but the clutch actuator/TCU might be another problem. I took it out, checked for any loose connections, did a bit of soldering, put it all back together, bled the actuator and the car does not start now at all. But when ignition is on, it seems to find gears and change them properly. I was joking with my friend, we will probably be the only or some of the very few people who have actually opened the clutch actuator unit :) Maybe sounds like too much of DIY stuff going on, but anyway, after all this I guess I will still have to go to dealer and get something serious done to the car in order to drive it again. But now I can vouch for the mechanical part of it, it might only be something in the electronics, if the ECU or TCU has got errors in it, then I have no way of solving that in my driveway :). Anyway, I will let you know what I ended up doing to make it work.

[Juraj]

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[judas]

I think I had the same problem. My car would drive ok until I hit a round about and would want to switch between 2nd and 3rd gears and stay in between and then would not kick into gear quickly. Then kind of slow down a bit. I broke down when I was going down a road and when it was time to go from 2nd to third it slowed down and stopped. The dash was not reading gears or even starting. You guys think its the actuater?

[simpledan]

this thread will save someone alot of money. good job

[jaw]

(Sorry for some bad English language in this….)

The durashift on my Fusion has malfunctioned sometimes the last month.

No reverse sometimes, no forward gears other times, gears get stuck and at last no gear at all (but the display showed “4”).. Always with the sprocket warning-light lit.

Ford workshop wants 1000£ to fix it, at least.

But the solution was simple, if you are normally handy and can spare an evening.

Everyone think durashift is complicated, complicated and more complicated, BUT THIS IS NO ROCKET SIENCE!!

The problem was the shift actuator (see picture 1).

The shaft from the gearbox that is connected to the actuator was stuck. It should be possible to turn and pull, if normal.

So I disconnected the gearbox shaft from the actuator (one screw), and discovered that the gearbox shaft then was possible to turn, but the actuator was stuck (motor no 1. The one with the white plastic ball joint).

I connected 12v to the actuator motor (motor 1. Pin 1 and 6) but the motor was only "humming". It was really stuck.

I removed the actuator from the gearbox (4 screws). Then I removed the actuator motor no.1 (four screws, se picture 2.) but the actuator was still stuck. It was not possible to push and pull the slider (that now should be really easy to move, as the motor now was gone).

I took a big screwdriver and bent it loose, and discovered then that the rack was stuck in its plastic slide surface (I don’t know the correct English word) inside the actuator housing.

The plastic was a just little deformed but enough to get the rack to stuck really hard.

I drilled a hole in the closed end of the “plastic slide surface” (se picture 3.) and then a bigger hole (see picture 4) to see well and to be able to put in some tool.

Now I saw a little “bump” in the plastic surface (and some dirt). I took a 16mm reamer to make the plastic surface smooth (picture 4.). Now the rack was sliding nice and easy.

If you can’t borrow a 16mm reamer you sure can use a sharp knife or a file or a Dremel or something similar.

I put a plastic cap over the drilled hole and glued it (picture 5).

I mounted the actuator, and the gearbox is working as new.

It feels so good!

Cost? Nothing!

Some tips: DON’T turn the motor when you have removed it from the actuator!!!!! It has position sensors in it, and needs to match the position of the rack!!

Make a mark on the rack before you bend it lose, it must match the position of the motor when you mount them together.

I am not really sure what causes this, but plastic deformation over time is nothing new.

But more likely I think the problem is water. As the plastic slide tube is pointing upwards I guess a small amount of water have come between the plastic tube and the aluminum housing. Either has it there frozen to ice and therefore expanded to a “bump” in the plastic, but more likely it has there caused corrosion on the aluminum which expands to a “bump” inside the plastic tube.

As I glued the cap I assume no more water can enter, to cause more problems.

Greetings from Sweden.

[jaw]

HI,

YOUR POSTING IS FANTASTIC AND VERY HELPFUL.I AM USING YOUR POST TO REPAIR GEARSHIFT CONTROLLER.YOU SAY TO MARK POSITION OF RACK BEFORE REMOVING MOTOR AND PUSHING SLIDER.UNFORTUNATELY SOMEONE HAS HAD A GO AT THIS BEFORE ME AND DID NOT MARK THEIR POSITIONS.IS THERE ANY WAY I CAN STILL MATCH THESE POSITIONS SO THEY ALIGN CORRECTLY AS SLIDER IS NOW LOOSE,I JUST DO NOT KNOW WHAT POSITION IT SHOULD BE IN WHEN I CONNECT MOTOR.

[lasse1955]

Hi jaw. This is only some thoughts from me.

I really don’t know how to synchronize the motor with the rack when the marking is lost, but the motor has got a worm gear that is hard to rotate by hand. So I guess you can assume that the motor has held its position.

The cogs are quite "wide" so there are a limited numbers of positions to "try"... and I don’t think anything will break if you got it wrong (no promise!).

Try to get the gearbox in "neutral" (if it isn’t already), by turning the gearbox shaft.

Push the car forward/backwards to check that the neutral is engaged (gearbox in neutral is a common position when this error happens).

Put the rack in the middle position and mount the motor. Then mount the actuator on the car.

Start the car and make a wish it was the right position.

If it wasn’t successful,dismount and move the rack one cog. Try again...and again....

I haven’t tried this so I really don’t know if it works. But it is how I should work if I got the problem.

Correct me someone, if you think this is craziness.

Good luck.

PS.

If no one has turned the gearbox shaft, you maybe can figure out what position the rack had when it was removed.

DS.

[fliegergott]

(Sorry for some bad English language in this….)

The durashift on my Fusion has malfunctioned sometimes the last month.

No reverse sometimes, no forward gears other times, gears get stuck and at last no gear at all (but the display showed “4”).. Always with the sprocket warning-light lit.

Ford workshop wants 1000£ to fix it, at least.

...

I am not really sure what causes this, but plastic deformation over time is nothing new.

But more likely I think the problem is water. As the plastic slide tube is pointing upwards I guess a small amount of water have come between the plastic tube and the aluminum housing. Either has it there frozen to ice and therefore expanded to a “bump” in the plastic, but more likely it has there caused corrosion on the aluminum which expands to a “bump” inside the plastic tube.

As I glued the cap I assume no more water can enter, to cause more problems.

Greetings from Sweden.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH! THAT WAS IST! YOU SAVED MY WIFE € 1.000,-! AND I HAD A NICE DAY SPENDING THE AFTERNOON UNDER HER CAR! ;-)

Greetings from Austria.

[lasse1955]

Thank You fliegergott! It is always nice to be able to help.

[Faraz]

Could someone help me, my car is completely broken down and the garage is asking for £2400 as both Actuator and Control Unit are gone, do I've any way to get it fixed cheaper otherwise I'll have to scrap the car :(

Here's my thread for full details:

[Tola]

I have a 2009 Mondeo. The problem is similar to that posted by @lasse1955 but mine gets stuck in the 3rd gear with a prompt to service the transmission. Also the car jerks when i try to rev to see if i can force it into higher gears. When i slow down, it does not downshift unless i switch off the engine. Can anybody suggest anything to help fix this problem?

Regards,

Tola

[Faraz]

I got my car fixed following your instructions, Dan62 from this forum came to help me. Just don't trust what garage and showrooms says always explore yourself. Ford showroom quote me £2400 to fix it, so i was almost going to scrap my car.

You guys rock! Thanks

[mashery]

Great post, this also fixed the problem for me - garage quoted us 800 quid. Unfortunately the top of the nylon bushing cracked slightly while i was smoothing things out, I had a look around and you can purchase them in just about any dimension so could probably source a new one (cost only around 5 GBP), however I have no clue if you remove the bushing, how do you secure the new one?

just hammer it in or are they glued or what?

[ayybeek]

Recently I bought Mondeo 2004, 2.5 petrol engine, automatic gear box. The problem occuring is this, when accelerated slowly then can reach up to only 80 km/h. But, when push the gas pedal suddenly, the engine revvs and whistles as turbo engine or Ferrari, but the speed does not change, as if you are revving on neutral. Sometimes it speeds up but again very slowly and engines revvs up to 5 to 6 thousand before it shifts, but acceleration is very slow, as if it is towing something huge. I had checked in computer diagnostics - they found that ABS sensor is out of order, so the mechanic said that because of that fault - it is not accelerating as it should. Please tell us about any similar problems, if any occured in the past. thanks a lot. Should I change the sensor or is it gear box fault or anything else?

[mussyal]

Hi guys, ive just had a go at this, the shaft was stuck solid, marked everything up, reamed out the plastic sleeve and reassembled, display on dash stays on N and wont shift into any gear ? wot do u reckon ? i checked for 12v on the loom connector at the actuator but no voltage there ?

[Dan62]

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