Transmission Shift Flare/Slipping on 2-3 shift 5R55S 2004 Explorer

[4pointslow]

My 2004 has started slipping when going from 2-3.
The transmission was rebuilt by me a year ago, not sure about the miles but probably under 10,000.
Remanufactured pump, valve body, torque converter, New OEM Ford solenoid pack (off eBay), complete clutches and seal kit etc, All parts with bonded seals were replaced with Ford OEM parts including all servos.
The servo bores had already been sleeved with bronze sleeves.

The transmission worked great up until this past week when it slipped during a downshift from what I think was 4th to 3rd gear. So I parked it for the week, and then just drove it yesterday and today to try to define the symptom better.

I am thinking a valve body or solenoid pack problem.
I am not ordering any parts until I drop the pan though, I want to make sure the transmission is not full of metal before I order parts. If it is full of metal I will get a used transmission to put in.
I ordered parts for my 1998 4 door Ex and when I drained the fluid it turned out to be full of metal then I got a used transmission and have all these 5R55E parts I don't need laying around. lol.

I have an old factory Ford scan tool called the WDS, I will try to use that today to look at the TPS readings off the drive by wire throttle body and also look at the transmission pids to check for any thing that looks unusual.

Any advice on how to accurately diagnose precisely what has failed would be greatly appreciated, and any suggestions on what I should do before dropping the pan would also be appreciated.
I am no transmission expert, I will never claim to be. My area of experience has been engine performance drivability diagnosis not transmissions.

Anyway here is the video of the symptom that I recorded this morning. Look and listen closely from 30-34 seconds to hear it and see rpm flare.

 

[transman304]

Have you tried tightening up the bans a bit? Sounds like a timing issue as one component is stopping before the next is applied.

 

[4pointslow]

Thanks, I will add that to my list.
I did adjust them when I rebuilt the trans but it has been some time since then.
So far my plan is to:
1. Record the data I can access with the WDS, then look it over to see if anything shows up.
2. Remove and reinstall the electrical connector then re road test.
3. Check band adjustment
4. Drain some fluid to check for metal.

I will add there are no leaks and have not been since rebuild.
I have a supercharger on the engine and I drive it hard.
I did soak all the clutches and bands overnight during the rebuild.
Once the gear change does happen it holds strong. the only slip is between 2-3 and during downshift 4-3.
Manual 1,2,and 3 work fine.

 

[4pointslow]

I have to add I did get a P0745 when driving it hard and problem occurred.
I also have a transmission pressure gauge if I need to check Line and Pressure control pressures.
I am checking TSB's now.

 

[4pointslow]

Picture of WDS scan tool with transmission data on it.
The red circle is where the rpm goes up (shift flare). It was commanded where the blue arrow is.
The red arrow shows Shift Solenoid C or 3 shutting off right when the flare happens.
SSC/3 is supposed to shut off for third but the rpm is not supposed to flare up like it does.
SSB/2 turns on when 3rd is commanded, but the shift takes to long and has the rpm flare up.

I don't quite know what to make of it yet.

 

[4pointslow]

Mileage was 100,868 when rebuilt, now it is 113,746. That's 12,878 miles.
I finished installing transmission after the rebuild, on aprox 5-3-2016, lasted until about 9-13-2017 so one year and 4 months.

The solenoid pack was part number 4L2Z-7G391-AA, I wonder if there is an updated one or was this the latest design.
I have seen some videos on you tube about replacing them, they seem to be a common failure part. One video mentioned some brass from the overdrive planetary gear set getting in the solenoid pack and causing problems.

I plan on dropping the pan next weekend to get a look inside.
One thing I really am pissed about is the lack of dipstick, If it had a dipstick I could check to see if metal particles were in the fluid.
Now I have to pull the pan down just to see if there are any signs of metal in there.

 

[4pointslow]

I dropped the pan Friday night.
Mostly clean looking in there but I did find some junk on the magnet that I am not happy about.
I decided to install a new solenoid pack since the trans was not full of metal.

The bolt for the electrical connector for the solenoid pack broke off in the solenoid pack.(6mm X 1.00 thread pitch X 45mm long)
I should have put anti seize on it.
I had a connector that had been cut off the harness of a used transmission, I mangled that connector getting the bolt out.
To stop from mangling the one on the truck I decided to use an air saw that has a mini blade, to cut the head off the bolt to allow removal.

 

[4pointslow]

It took 7 quarts of fluid to fill the trans back up after letting it drip all night with the solenoid and filter removed.
Even burnt my finger filling the fluid through the bottom of the pan.(stupid design).

The transmission seems to shift fine now, the shift happens before solenoid 3 turns off. (like it should)
It doesn't feel late and the rpm doesn't flare up like it used to.
I hope it stays together for another year at least.

 

[4pointslow]

Well it lasted for a day.
Doing the same thing again.
Maybe I will try replacing the valve body or just remove the trans altogether and go through the whole thing.

 

[Dono]

****. my money is on the valve body now, but its a lot of work, and money in fluid to keep dropping the pan. think you could save the atf this time and try changing the valve body? maybe the gasket let go?

 

[4pointslow]

I did check the gasket and saw no blow outs around the outside edges. That doesn't mean it isn't blown somewhere else though.
I wont reuse the fluid.
My thoughts are what if metal is entering the valve body screwing it up. Where is it coming from?
There was some grit around the magnet, may be a sign that a bearing failed.
Could also be parts of the bronze bushings that were pressed in to repair the servo bores.
I don't quite know what to do. I should just go through the whole thing.

Maybe I will reinstall the used transmission I have for this thing. I used it when I was rebuilding the first time.
I was going to rebuild the used one as a spare but a pan bolt broke off in the housing so I probably would have to get a case.
Problem is my only other daily driver has 284,000 miles on it and I don't trust it.
I am currently looking for another vehicle, got my eye on a used F150 since I need a pickup truck. If it has 4WD I may go buy it today.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

its too bad a 2000 trans wont work in it. one of the members here that lives not to far from you is parting his explorer out

 

[4pointslow]

Today I installed a valve body.
It was a remanufactured unit.
I decided to pull out the thermo valve and put the spring on the other side to keep the oil constantly going through the cooler.
I saw a guy named Hiram do it on you tube so I decided to do the same.

When I took the valve body apart to do it, I noticed a check ball in the wrong place. There are only two.
I put it in the correct place and changed the spring location on the thermo valve.

After putting it all back together It shifted perfect again, that is until it warmed up.
On a hunch I let it cool down and it shifted perfect again.
So the problem only happens when warm. It is still a slip between 2-3.

Since the problem sounds similar to a servo bore problem I am going to pull the intermediate servo cover and remove the servo tomorrow.
I hope to find the cause of this problem and hope it is not the transmission case, that would be more work than I want to do right now.
Maybe it is a broken servo, that would make my day.

 

[4pointslow]

The Servo piston was bad.

 

[transman304]

That would be a problem. Good catch and diagnosis. Take your old piston and cut it down and then use it to see how much wear is in the bore. That torn piston is a good indicator of worn bore or band adjustment was incorrect. Then you have a transmission specialty tool! Good luck!

 

[4pointslow]

That's a great tip, I will cut the old one down.

 

[jd4242]

I had Donny over at central valve bodys build my valve body for the aviator. Costed $270.

He put a sleeve in the boost valve..then got the sonnax 5r55WS-LB1 valve kit and every sonnax updated spring and valves they offer including the Oring end plugs.he also put the Transgo shift kit.lastly i asked for the thermal valve to be bypassed .

The solenoid pack i got from a company that rebuilds,test and adjust them..they offered a liftime warranty. .

I also put in o-ring servos, PATC stall converter and of course the deep pan with dipstick..

Its ran fine after all that but i do have a level 10 rebuild kit for it also

 

[4pointslow]

Those are some nice upgrades to the transmission.
I hear the input shaft should be changed too, they have a tendency to twist under higher horse power.

 

[4pointslow]

One more thing,
There is a valve on the back of the pump. A flow control valve.
Sonnax makes a better one.

I have a stock one on a remanufactured pump.
The stupid thing sucks, you have to start the truck and rev the engine a couple of seconds because if you don't it wont go into gear (forward or reverse).
Been like that since the rebuild.

 

[jd4242]

One more thing,
There is a valve on the back of the pump. A flow control valve.
Sonnax makes a better one.

I have a stock one on a remanufactured pump.
The stupid thing sucks, you have to start the truck and rev the engine a couple of seconds because if you don't it wont go into gear (forward or reverse).
Been like that since the rebuild.

Those are some nice upgrades to the transmission.
I hear the input shaft should be changed too, they have a tendency to twist under higher horse power.

Yea i plan on both those,just ran outa money before it blew up..lol