5R55e testing after rebuild -- problems | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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5R55e testing after rebuild -- problems

EricB123

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Year, Model & Trim Level
2002 Mazda B4000
I rebuilt my 5r55e, changing all the soft parts and several of the hard parts. Everything looks good tolerance wise. But since I've never done this before I thought I would test it before reconnecting the drive shafts. Without a load, I found that in R it spins ok and the engine idles up. However shifting to Neutral doesn't seem to do much. The engine idles down and the rotation is less, however it doesn't seem to be in neutral as the drive plate keeps spinning in the same direction. Shifting into D doesn't seem to change the direction, it idles back up.

When shifting back into park, it sounds like the parking paw won't engage, as it rattles and rattles until I shut off the engine. Once off, if I turn it by hand it is engaged. Putting it in any gear with the engine off, it seems to spin somewhat freely in any direction.

1. Is this R -> N -> D spinning normal behavior with no load? Or should it stop in N and spin the opposite way in D?
2. The parking shifter can't seem to get to 1, however if I disconnect from the level it can. It seems like the range on the shifter isn't quite right for some reason. Could it also be not letting the parking paw engage? Or is there a problem with coasting (Neutral) so that it doesn't stop spinning and thus can't engage.

Does anyone have some suggestions as to the problems or what I should look at? Or other tests?

It's possible that the shift solenoids could be in the wrong locations. I was under the impression that they were the same. I did change out the EPC.

Thanks,
Eric
 



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I wouldn't worry about anything until you install the drive shaft and test drive the vehicle..

Its is common for the output shaft to spin in neutral without the drive shaft, there is drag from the clutch plates even when they are disengaged. If the output shaft is turning it will ratchet in park because the parking pawl cannot catch the park gear, it will lock once the shaft is installed and the vehicle is on the ground.

Let us know what happens after a good road test.
 






Thanks! I wasn't sure if I should keep putting parts back on or drop it again and recheck things at this point.
 






I just had time to work on it today and put both drive shafts back in and there is still a similar problem. There doesn't seem to be a neutral, all gears want to go forward. I rolled it out of the garage and drove it forward a few times. It seems to handle a little torque with no problem, however there's a slight kick when I move it out of park and reverse just moves forward.

Any ideas on what I could have done wrong or where to start looking? Like I said I wasn't aware that the shift solenoids were gear specific. I don't know if that is part of the problem, but it seems strange it moves forward instead of reversing.

I should mention that in park it stays still, but appears to strain a little when running. When I put it in neutral with the engine off I can push the truck around with no problems.

Thanks again for any help.
 






You missed the manual valve when you installed your valvebody. I will post a picture later when I am at my laptop.
 






31614DA7-7175-4F87-8D19-D324CC6A55C2.jpeg
Her you go guys. Have this picture handy James.
 






I think you're correct. That doesn't look familiar at all to me. I'll have to drop the VB and take a look.
 






Thanks Brad, I have used that picture so many times by now! lol
 






Should I worry about having the shift solenoids in the correct locations? I read somewhere that they were all the same, but I see on a different thread that they have specific locations in the valve body. I'm not sure.
 






The 3 shift solenoids and the coast clutch solenoid are all the same, the EPC and the TCC solenoids are different.
 






Thanks James. They looked the same to me but I didn't double check when I reinstalled them. So I'll just work on fixing the manual valve connection and see how that goes tomorrow.
 






Ok, good news, bad news. The manual valve was definitely the issue. Now it behaves properly. However I noticed 2 problems on a very short test drive.

1. Upon hard acceleration, I have to back off the gas a bit to get it to shift. Shifting is smooth however.
2. The O/D Off light is flashing and doesn't seem to be responding to the button presses. This could be a problem with the switch as there are some other small electrical issues with the dash. However could this be a symptom of something wrong on the transmission?

Thanks again for the help.
 






You are going to need to get it scanned as it has a transmission code and may have more pending. That’s why the OD light is flashing. That may explain your shifting issue. Let us know what you find.

Here is a solenoid ID chart for reference.
3D973F7A-1124-432E-8DED-22A1BBD580D5.jpeg
 






That's a much nicer VB diagram than in the rebuild manuals. I've never owned a Ford Ranger and I bought this one (Mazda b4000) with the burnt out transmission, so I don't know what is normal for its performance.

I don't have a check engine light on, but when I ran my scanner I get P0141 which is an O2 sensor: P0141 is the OBD-II generic code indicating the Engine Control Module (ECM) has tested the O2 sensor heater circuit and detects a problem with the bank 1 sensor 2 oxygen sensor heater circuit.

I'll have to do another road test and then check the codes again. Maybe my reader isn't getting the transmission codes.
 






When the OD light flashes thats indicating of transmission code or codes. You probably not going to get it with a code reader. Good luck
 






How do you "scan it" then if a code reader won't work? It does clear the code, but it shows no codes present. It seems to happen when switching from 1 to 2.
 






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