6R60 is Driving Me Nuts!!! | Page 2 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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6R60 is Driving Me Nuts!!!

Well here is another update on this never ending saga!!! I picked up a Sonnax Zip Kit along with a new valve body gasket (the stock one had significant delamination when I separated upper & lower units) along with new SSD & SSC solenoids. I vacuum tested my original valve body and all the piston and bores pass the test specified on their site. I installed the zip kit on the original valve body and installed the unit on Friday. I reset the ecu so it could re-learn the shift points and took it out on a test drive. After 30 miles, everything seemed to be working great. It shifted pretty harsh between 1st & 2nd gear but other than that I had no problems.

This morning, I took her out again and after a few miles, I came to a stop at a traffic light and she wouldn't shift out of 2nd gear!!!!!! No error codes were reported and I was able to reset the system by stopping and turning the car off and then back on and she shifted great once again!!!

After getting her back home, I checked the fluid and everything was normal. I'm going to take her in the ford dealership to flash in the new program for the TCM to see if that's the issue since I've read the TSB for the 1st to 2nd harsh engagement.

Other than that, I'm stumped once again???
 



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After doing some more research, it seems it must be the TCM. She shift great in 2nd thru 6th gears but 1st gear is the problem. Since I replace the solenoid and vacuum tested piston and everything appears to have passed, the only logical step has to be with the tcm. Does anyone know how to test the tcm? I picked up a service manual for the 6R60 which will be dropped of tomorrow and I'm hoping they have a testing process to verify if the tcm needs to be replaced. Also, does anyone know of a source that sells just the new tcm? According to fordparts.com and my local ford dealership, Ford only sells everything as a complete unit (valve body, solenoids & tcm) which is pretty pricey ($1500 to $1800). I have an extra used tcm that came with my valve body but I'd rather buy a new one and not worry about the used one being faulty.


By the way, I pulled a P0173 code tonight!! The transmission is taking years off my life!!

Thanks again,
Brian
 






Hello everyone. I just wanted to post a quick update.

I finally gave up on the stock transmission!! I replaced all of the solenoids (both black & brown) and re-verified the valve body with some help from Sonnax guide and everything was in prefect working order. I re-flashed the TCM for the new solenoids but I still was having reverse issues along with hard 1st to 2nd shifts. I cracked open the new filter and found some sizable metal shavings along with clutch debris within the filter.

After doing so more research, I decided to pull the stock transmission and replace it with a used one. After having some issues finding one with low miles, I finally had one dropped off on Friday. Since this vehicle has been fighting me since January, I do have a concern the used one that was just dropped off. I pulled out the stock one this weekend (man, was that a battle!!!) and started verifying part #'s. The first one was 6L2P 7006 AE and both transmissions had that number.

I looked at the engineering numbers and I have a concern. The stock one has 7L2P-700 BC but the one that was dropped off has a engineering # of 8L2P-700 BA. I was fortunate that the place I bought the transmission from also supplied a vin # for the vehicle it was pulled from. After running the numbers, I realized it was from a 2007 Mountaineer with AWD. According to FordParts.com, the two transmissions are compatible but I'm not sure.


From FordParts.com
"Part Description: 4.6L 281 CID 8 Cylinders - AWD; engineering number: 7L2P-7000-BC,BD,BE, FB, engineering number: 8L2P-7000-BA"

I know this is a long shot, but does anyone know if I would have any issues with this transmission?

Thanks again
Brian
 






Did you get everything figured out? I was hoping for a happy ending when I stumbled on this thread.
 






He probably installed the replacement and it fixed the problem or he sold the car and got another. My best guess is that the tranny was OVERFILLED every time he changed or added his fluid.

These 6R60's take 5.4 quarts on a cold pan drop change. Adding 6 quarts can expand and cause an overfill issue. I'm not saying this was his problem but it could have been.

I have 220k on my original 2006 limited 6R60 and no issues except the TCM reprogram from the dealer about a year after it was purchased new and the fluid changed every 50k....

Brian we do appreciate your OP as we all learned a few things, sorry the EXP Forum couldn't solve your issues bud...
 






I wish Brian would post a final update.
I wonder if a tranny from another car would just work or needs to be programmed as well.
 






Hey Everyone,

Just quick update on my issues with the 6R60.
After trying nearly everything I could think of doing with the transmission, I finally pulled it and replaced it with a rebuilt unit. I paid $3500 for the rebuilt transmission and pulled it out myself which was a huge PITA!!!!! I kept the stock transmission and I'm currently rebuilding the unit and I found 3 seals/o-ring that failed and must have been the cause of why the TCU kept going going into fail-safe mode but I'm not sure. All the clutches are in spec and the transmission was really easy to take apart.

I'm waiting on a full rebuild kit and I'm hoping to sell the transmission to try to re-coup some the money I sunk into the Explorer. I sold my Explorer and will never buy a Ford again. I had nothing but issues with my Explorer and I could whine and moan on all the other issues (spark plugs fracturing, radiator, oil cooler, rear seat gears stripping, etc) but I just moved forward.

I should post a video on the rebuilding process since the internals and how everything slips together is pretty amazing but we'll see.

Sorry of the delay but I've become a little bitter when I think of this SUV but I did learn quite a bit so from that standpoint , so I am grateful.
 






Thanks David for posting.

What o-rings failed ?

I am fighting with mine as well :)
 






disappointing reliability

. . . I kept the stock transmission and I'm currently rebuilding the unit and I found 3 seals/o-ring that failed and must have been the cause of why the TCU kept going into fail-safe mode but I'm not sure. All the clutches are in spec and the transmission was really easy to take apart. . .

I was hoping that the 6R60 might be a more robust transmission than the 5R55S/W and a possible upgrade resource. I guess it's not worth pursuing and I should be researching aftermarket performance upgrades for the 5R55S/W.
 






6r60 is very robust
I have 214k miles on mine, lots of towing and plowing, and now I believe the mechatronic unit is malfunctioning, but the tranny itself pulls still very strong.
 






David -

If you could also share where you got your new tranny from and if it came with new mechatronic and if you needed to program it to the PCM.

Thanks
 






It did not have a new mechatronic. That would have been at least $2000 more.
I did replace the seals for the solenoids using the Sonnex kit since I bought it for the stock tranny. I had to re-flash the TCM at the ford dealership to remove the error code.

Over the next month or so, I'll put together a DIY rebuild blog showing the o-ring failure and the re-building process. The best I can figure is that the o-ring on the main input shaft failed and the oil was getting bypassed and causing the TCM to go into fail-safe mode. I could be wrong since I'm learning as I go and I'm not an expert but a pretty comfortable shady tree mechanic
 






So in the end, the issue was more mechanical in the tranny rather than the VB/TCM combo ?
Since you reused the mechatronic (rebuilt by you) and installed it in the rebuilt tranny, that would indicate that.

Am I correct ?
 






i know this post is old but i also have a 2007 ford explorer 4.6 with 120k miles. my stock radiator finally gave up so i replaced it myself and when i disconnected the transmission cooler line i only lost about half a quart of transmission fluid. when i topped the transmission up i used mercon sp fluid that i ordered online because i couldn't find it anywhere. you said in your post you used 2 quarts of amsoil i think that might have been your problem all along.
 






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