2000 4.0L SOHC Explorer. 5R55E transmission issue.

How many miles does it have? You should drop the pan, check the valve body bolts to see if they are loose, and the gasket for deterioration. If these things check out fine, then replace the filter, and the fluid.

If the trans doesn't work properly and the parts are not all fairly new, it's time to go through the whole VB group of parts.

Guessing at one part etc, and ever guessing wrong, that makes it wrong to be trying to save a few bucks. The time that it takes to pull the pan and change just the filter or a simple part, that isn't bad but it's also not plain and simple either.

The cost of the many likely parts that could fix it and/or help it are under $200. The EPC solenoid is a critical known wear part, that should be changed within every say 75k miles anyway. It's also the most expensive, and buy the Borg Warner better EPC when you get one. The shift solenoids are not expensive for the early 5R's, replace at least the TCC and SS1 solenoid.

The extra labor it takes to install all of those parts is minor when you already have removed the pan. That two hours of work is well worth it. The key is having the tools and skills, and patience, to work on the VB. You must have high quality snap ring pliers, a good pick or tiny screwdriver, even a paper clip is very useful.

Patience is a big factor, and you must be prepared by reading instructions thoroughly. Don't rush any trans work, ever. More people have issues related to a tiny mistake made in doing the work, leaving out a VB bolt, or loose, or not getting the manual valve in correctly etc. Take your time, allow for several long hours of ATF covered work.

Drop the pan quickly, loosen the VB bolts, and let the trans drain for a long while. Take a short break and reread the instructions.

For all of those parts replaced, and the VB kit, that money is never wasted. If the trans needs rebuilt, those parts are still good, they will still help just as much. Every Ford auto trans needs a VB kit and all the Sonnax upgrades that there are. Every single one, no matter what the age, model, or mileage. Don't drive it until there is a problem, or worse until the vehicle stops moving(you destroyed the trans).

For any Ford you buy with an auto, find out when you buy it if there is a VB kit for it. Install any available VB parts as soon as possible, the day you buy it, a week later etc. Don't wait until a problem occurs. Regards,

All Ford automatics need a VB kit installed. I am not exaggerating, every single one of them needs the help. The new, the old, the wore out, and every other one with zero problems, or minor issues. They all need a VB kit.

Don't R&R the trans to rebuild it, leave a full rebuild to a person with the proper tools to do it.

The 5R55E has a gasket issue which is related to the design of the case itself. Sonnax has an article written about it, and recommends installing 2-3 set screws in the case passages. The passages above the VB in one area are very deep and long, too deep and not supported. Those passages move side to side due to pressure changes while running. The passage walls move just enough to cause wear at the gasket surface, sometimes or eventually leading to a blow out of the gasket. It may or may not be visible from the outside.

Any time you remove a VB, change the gaskets. That issue has been chronicled by Sonnax, and they have a solution. I suggest that people listen to them and do as suggested.

Not really. look in the trans oil passages for the gasket pieces also remove the separator plate and look in the valve body, just don't turn the valve body on its side or upside down when removing the plate or the check balls and some of the valve L keepers will fall out. Cut the old filter apart, the gasket pieces may be inside.
The engine lean condition is either bad oxygen sensors or the upper and lower intake gaskets are leaking, if both sides are lean it is the gaskets.

A bad fuel pump can cause lean running, don't assume it's the intake gaskets. Check the fuel pressure before removing any parts.

The VB gasket can clog things up, but the VB itself is the biggest worry. So have a VB manual close by to be ready if any parts come out of the VB, or fall out etc. Those tiny "L" keepers are very tough to place without a manual as a guide.

As mentioned, look around in the passages and the VB itself, basically any debris causes issues there only. The gasket would have managed to fall apart into lots of little pieces and passed through most things except for the VB internals. So concentrate on the VB and the filter to find it.

I suggest reading up on those set screws which Sonnax recommends being installed in the passages. I bought a few from Lowe's with the intention of doing mine when I get the trans out. It didn't look hard to do at all. It should be a common repair soon if enough people start documenting it.

yes, it should be loose, it is only tight when the servo applies the band. When you put the valve body in be sure to use an INCH LB torque wrench.

the moving part

EDIT: You posted while I was uploading the picture. Good to know that it's okay if it moves.

missing sections of gasket

I did not have any luck finding the missing pieces of the gasket. The gasket on the other side was completely intact and the EPC screen was not clogged at all.

The gasket blow out in your picture looks like a lot of pieces should have went into the pan and you should have found some in the filter.

The reason that the bolts near the EPC & TCC solenoids get loose is because they are producing a constant modulated vibration. The gasket will deteriorate as soon as the bolts get loose because of the friction of the separator plate & valve body. Always check the torque of the valve body bolts in the vicinity of those two solenoids whenever you remove the pan to replace the fluid & filter.

PopRichie77 said:

The gasket blow out in your picture looks like a lot of pieces should have went into the pan and you should have found some in the filter.

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That's what I had hoped, but they're not in the filter. So either they came apart in small pieces that were shredded into dust as they passed through the transmission, or they came off in pieces large enough to get stuck somewhere inside the transmission and possibly clog something up. That's why I was wondering if there is any way to backflush the transmission with the valve body off. That way if something was blocking fluid flow it would hopefully get flushed back out.

I got the codes scanned and p0705 came up?

any way that would cause it to lose R and D? I cleared the code but haven't driven it

DTR sensor?

bam22422 said:

I got the codes scanned and p0705 came up?

any way that would cause it to lose R and D? I cleared the code but haven't driven it

Click to expand...

P0705 Transmission Range Sensor Circuit malfunction (PRNDL Input)

If the Digital Transmission Range (DTR) sensor is not adjusted properly then there's no telling what might happen. Does the starter crank in Park and Neutral? Do the reverse lamps illuminate when Reverse is selected?

2000StreetRod said:

P0705 Transmission Range Sensor Circuit malfunction (PRNDL Input)

If the Digital Transmission Range (DTR) sensor is not adjusted properly then there's no telling what might happen. Does the starter crank in Park and Neutral? Do the reverse lamps illuminate when Reverse is selected?

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yes sir. although the needle on the column points a bit left on each position it starts in P and N and reverse light work as they should.
I also adjusted the band closest to the bellhousing and no change.
after erasing codes it acts exactly the same. in D it barely tries to creep forward at about 3000 rpm's (don't worry only tried this for a second) and reverse is the same. it drives close to normal in 1 and 2 but as soon as I move it the OD light starts blinking again. only pulls up the p0705 code also.

sounds like the DTR sensor is adjusted right could it just be bad? connection is tight also.

I'm baffled. shouldn't it pull up other codes if there was something bad wrong?

and to recap I changed the fluid and filter and found no shavings.

DTR sections

The indicator on the instrument cluster above the steering column is strictly mechanical and the PCM has no way of knowing what it indicates. Mine has been broken for several months and always points past 1.

According to the 2000 wiring diagrams there are seven ganged 6 position switches in the DTR. One switch enables the reversing lamps in the R position. One switch enables the starting function in the P and N position. One switch is enabled in the N position and goes to the neutral switch input of the generic electronic module (GEM). I can' find any communication between the GEM and the PCM so the PCM probably can't detect the position of the neutral switch input to the GEM. The other four switches generate a 4 bit binary word to tell the PCM what gear is selected as follows:

TR4,TR3,TR2,TR1
0,0,0,0 > P
1,1,0,0 > R
0,1,1,0 > N
1,1,1,1 > D
1,0,0,1 > 2
0,0,1,1 > 1

Any other combinations would be invalid. I don't know what the PCM would do if it detects an invalid binary code but it might generate the P0705 code. It also might not select a gear for an invalid binary code. The gray/red wire connected to the DTR is the common signal return for the four switch sections. Zeroes are generated when a switch closes the path between the PCM and the gray/red wire. There are numerous gray/red wire splices and one could be open. Since it drives normal in 1 and 2 which includes zeroes I doubt there is a problem in the return (gray/red wire) connection. There may be a problem in the switch. You might remove the DTR and test it with an ohmmeter. Or one of the wires between the PCM and the switch could be shorted to ground creating a permanent zero. My guess would be TR3 (light blue/yellow wire).

2000StreetRod said:

The indicator on the instrument cluster above the steering column is strictly mechanical and the PCM has no way of knowing what it indicates. Mine has been broken for several months and always points past 1.

According to the 2000 wiring diagrams there are seven ganged 6 position switches in the DTR. One switch enables the reversing lamps in the R position. One switch enables the starting function in the P and N position. One switch is enabled in the N position and goes to the neutral switch input of the generic electronic module (GEM). I can' find any communication between the GEM and the PCM so the PCM probably can't detect the position of the neutral switch input to the GEM. The other four switches generate a 4 bit binary word to tell the PCM what gear is selected as follows:

TR4,TR3,TR2,TR1
0,0,0,0 > P
1,1,0,0 > R
0,1,1,0 > N
1,1,1,1 > D
1,0,0,1 > 2
0,0,1,1 > 1

Any other combinations would be invalid. I don't know what the PCM would do if it detects an invalid binary code but it might generate the P0705 code. It also might not select a gear for an invalid binary code. The gray/red wire connected to the DTR is the common signal return for the four switch sections. Zeroes are generated when a switch closes the path between the PCM and the gray/red wire. There are numerous gray/red wire splices and one could be open. Since it drives normal in 1 and 2 which includes zeroes I doubt there is a problem in the return (gray/red wire) connection. There may be a problem in the switch. You might remove the DTR and test it with an ohmmeter. Or one of the wires between the PCM and the switch could be shorted to ground creating a permanent zero. My guess would be TR3 (light blue/yellow wire).

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thankyou kind sir. I will do this and respond (not fast because I already bought another car but I would like to have this as a third. it was great when is was running.