1997 Mountaineer 5.0L, has no overdrive but all other gears are perfect, would it have anything to do with the overdrive selector? it goes on and off on the dash but maybe stuck on trans? just bought it and dont know much about it yet, thanks!

 

If the overdrive button light is on, it will not go in overdrive as the light means the overdrive is locked out. You want to push the button so the light is off (normal Position) to get overdrive.

The only two times that you would want to lockout (light on) overdrive is if you want to stop the transmission from shifting into & out of overdrive on a hill that is too steep for overdrive. (rare).

The other time is if you want a little engine compression braking at speeds below about 40 mph. If you have a tachometer, when you let on the throttle the engine speed drops to about 1000 rpm unless you have the overdrive locked out.

 

i understand that, but the problem is that overdrive doesnt work at all, was hoping that there is a switch in the transmission end of it...

 

Have you checked for any codes. Electronic transmissions were just coming on the scene when I retired from working on cars, so I haven't worked on them. I suspect that you may have a bad solenoid in the transmission that operates the overdrive circuit.

 

The only two times that you would want to lockout (light on) overdrive is if you want to stop the transmission from shifting into & out of overdrive on a hill that is too steep for overdrive. (rare).