Mercury Forum - Mercury Enthusiasts Forums - Before I Drop the Transmission...

Hi All,
Got a 2003 Mercury Sable with the 24V Duratec motor and 75K miles on the clock. The car had a no gear engagement situation after a loss of speed on highway. A small whine was heard and car coasted to the breakdown lane. Car will not engage into any gear selected. Park and neutral appear to work as normal. Did some initial tests with resources found here. I am expecting that the torque converter is bad from history of this model car, but have some conflicting evidence. Just wanted to make sure that I am not missing anything before dropping tranny and replacing torque converter. Anything else I should check? Here are some results of testing:

- Gear selector on transmission moves with shift lever positions
- Fluid is present and at same (high level) when engine is off and when hot idle
- Removed pressure plug from top of transmission and fluid gushed out when engine started
- Dropped pan and no evidence of clutch material or metal. Fair amount of sludge around magnet

Any information or ideas are greatly appreciated.