my friends got a '95 taurus and the transmission has a hard time shifting from 2nd to 3rd. Literally, if he is accelerating anymore than grandma style, the tires will actually squeel.
Is there any other solution other than replacing the tranny or junking the car?
-- also, what could be causing this?

 

I'd try something cheap, like replacing the trany fluid filter. On the car itself, it's located inside the trany pan on the bottom of the vehicle. This means a change of the Tranny fuild, a new gasket to replace the existing one for the tranny pan, and a new filter.

Total cost, maybe 20 to 35 to do yourself, or a shop will charge you about 110, because of labor charges.