Been having issues with mine (2008 Ford Escape) and I’ve narrowed it down to a broken band. Found videos on YouTube and the process is pretty straightforward - lower the transmission, remove the pump, pull out the old band, replace it, etc., and of course make sure everything is done carefully.
Here’s the video:
I’ve called several transmission shops and none of them want to just replace the band, they want to rebuild the transmission and of course that would cost a couple thousand. When I say that I’m thinking about doing it myself, they start talking about how complex transmissions are and it’s always best to have a professional do it and of course that I should rebuild it, not just change the band.
I’ve been working on cars my entire life but I’ve never worked on a transmission (mostly because of how much I’ve heard about how difficult it is) and I’ve got the same speech from mechanics before about other things - changing spark plugs, valve cover gaskets, shocks/struts, even oxygen sensors, and I’ve fixed all of those things myself with no issues. I’m pretty confident in my abilities. But is a transmission actually different in that you really shouldn’t do it yourself, and that’s not just the repair shop trying to make money?