How to: 5R55E Valve Body Rebuild Diary

[SCHOE2]

I got the Superior kit, the Ford bonded gasket/plate assembly and the Ford blow off valve. But now I need a clarification. The Superior kit says that I need to enlarge 2 different holes on the plate with 2 different supplied drills. Since I am not using the original plate but have gone to the new plate from Ford, do I still need to drill and enlarge the holes or should I not drill out the holes?
Schoe2

 

[CDW6212R]

The Ford kit is intended to be part of their upgrade parts, not to be mixed with the other kits. There are basically three ways to correct a 5R55E, with one of the three company's parts.

I know that TransGo states that theirs is compatible with any of the Ford models, but none of them are meant to be used along with the other kits. Choose one of the three companies, and install their parts.

The Sonnax parts are made for any models, they don't conflict with the parts of the three other companies. There may be a part or two which Sonnax makes that are basically the same as available in the kits of the others, you can tell which those are by the part descriptions. I highly recommend those in almost all cases.

 

[SCHOE2]

Back in 2005, "Runnin on Empty" did the Ford parts and Superior shift upgrade and it went great. Others did the same and I am trying to tap into their wisdom. The Ford parts fix the gasket blow out problem and the Superior parts fix the shifting problems. Both are compatible, but do I need to drill the new plate or was that only for the old plate???

 

[CDW6212R]

No, both are designed to do basically the same thing, correct inherent VB problems. I'm not stating which parts of which kits did manage to work together, or who used which parts.

The fact is that Ford, TransGo, and Superior make correction parts for the 5R55E. Which you choose I leave up to you. Be careful about trying to copy a mixture of other's examples, it's hard enough to follow just one set of instructions for a transmission.

I chose TransGo because they have been in the VB kit business longer than anyone. They invented the term shift kit, so long ago that the copyrights to the term has expired. They have always made correction kits for Ford automatics, they did it long before Ford ever thought about fixing their own mistakes. TransGo tries to correct the problems, without causing other odd symptoms, like harsh part throttle shifts. All the earlier competition for them made awful VB kits, with wild performing results, hard WOT shifts, and unpredictable light throttle shifts etc. They have been doing it right longer than anyone, seamlessly, thus their description, "classy shifts." I will stick with them for a long time, and I've installed about nine of their kits so far.

 

[EZ-E]

Hey everyone, wondering if anyone out there can help out a neighbor to the north. I was able to get every part that I need for this valve body repair with the exception of the valve body plate which I cannot find anywhere. The one place I was able to find that lists the part on their website has it on back order and they aren't sure if they can even get it. Does anybody have a line on a 1 F77Z-7A008-EB 97GT-AE/BE seperator plate for a 98 Explorer V6 SOHC?

 

[apolo607]

fluid on vb change

I have a question, I am about to do my vb this weekend. By doing this, how much fluid do I need? I understand that from the manual 10 quarts are required (4x4 sohc 98), but also I have read that around half of the fluid will remain in the sytem and I should need maybe around 5 quarts. I am correct? how much fluid have you need?

Thanks.

 

[CDW6212R]

Typically about four quarts or so will remain inside the torque converter and VB etc. If you loosen the VB bolts, all but a couple of quarts will be left in it.

 

[SCHOE2]

Plate hole enlarging

Thanks for all the help relative to the new Ford plate with bonded gaskets and using the Superior shift kit. I had asked if I needed to follow the Superior instructions and drill out 2 holes on the new Ford plate as opposed to drilling out the 2 holes on the old non-bonded plate. I did not know what to do. Well, I was cruising through the diary on page 11 and it says to drill the new plate in accordance with the Superior instructions. Sweet deal! Thanks again. Now I can bring the truck back to life! Wahoo!!

 

[lr60pilot]

Help!

I bought a new 5R55E valve body from Donny at CVB. I installed it tonight and when I went to shift the truck out of park, it was very hard to move the shift lever. I forced it a bit and it finally shifted. However, I am stuck in park. I cannot get reverse, drive, or any other gear. Any ideas what I screwed up?

 

[lr60pilot]

Well, I figured out the problem. The little rod that goes into the manual valve broke off and was sitting in the bottom of the tranny pan. So, now what? How do I replace/repair that?

 

[BrooklynBay]

Click this link for the part: https://www.wittrans.com/SchematicParts.aspx?Transmission=A4LD/4R44E/4R55E/5R55E&LinkCode=991

 

[lr60pilot]

Thanks for the link. Any idea how to actually replace it? Is it something I can do myself? Does the tranny have to be removed from the vehicle? What am I looking at here as far as a repair? I have no idea what to do at this point. Thanks.

 

[BrooklynBay]

This photo is from post # 117 in the 5R55E rebuild diary:

 

[lr60pilot]

The "rod" that connects into the manual valve lever is what sheared off when I moved the shifter. I don't think that is the parking pawl. Any idea what it is and how to replace it?

 

[BrooklynBay]

It's part of the rooster comb. Maybe you could temporarily use a bolt?

 

[lr60pilot]

I might try a bolt, but the other thing is that the car is in neutral now. Is that because that rod sheared off or is there something else wrong?

 

[BrooklynBay]

You could move the shift arm manually to place it in park. The manual slide valve won't respond to the correct position unless you move it manually.

 

[CDW6212R]

Ditto, that "rooster comb" is not hard to replace, but first be sure that the manual valve is not hurt either.

Slowly move the manual valve with your fingers and see if it feels perfect, smooth and with no wobbling. If you have the slightest thought that it may be hurt, bent or scratched etc, replace that also. The manual valve is also not hard to replace.

To swap the rooster comb that engages the manual valve, use two wrenches and a side cutting pliers. You have to remove the bolt/shaft that the rooster comb is mounted onto, it's what the shift cable attaches to on the outside.

There should be a tiny roll pin that goes into the case near where the shaft passes through. That holds keeps that shaft from coming out of the case if the nuts are all removed. So you take the nuts off, the rooster comb is loose etc, and then gently pull the roll pin out. It just taps back in gently when you put it all back together.

 

[BrooklynBay]

You should replace the shift seal when everything is out. 2 flat screwdrivers could be used to pull the pin out.

 

[lr60pilot]

Thanks!

Well, after much debate and severe frustration, I took th SUV into a tranny shop to replace the rooster comb for $300. I just couldn't afford any more time and effort on my back getting a tranny fluid bath. The true test was today when I picked up the truck. I was hoping the rebuilt valve body would solve my 2-3 flare issue that started this whole mess.

Sure enough, the truck is shifting like its new! Thanks to all of you who helped me with this project and for this awesome thread. My truck feels like new again. The tranny shop did tell me that the reverse seems a bit sluggish to enagage. I've tried several times and the delay is 1, maybe 2 seconds at most. It has been like for the 7 years that I've had this thing so I am not worried about it.

The other thing the shop mentioned is a slow drip from the forward part of the tranny. That drip has been there for at least 2-3 years. It is so slow, I never have to add fluid between fluid changes. So again, I am not going to worry about it.

Do you guys think a stop leak additive is worth it? Or, could it do more harm than good?