P0741 4R55E + light flashing | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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P0741 4R55E + light flashing

andyman793

Member
Joined
July 21, 2007
Messages
20
Reaction score
2
City, State
Charlotte NC
Year, Model & Trim Level
2020 Limited X
I just bought my 96 explorer from a family member, just shy of 200k miles on it. The transmission fluid was horribly dirty and there's no history of it being serviced, so I figured I'd work on it. I put a transgo shift kit with new filter and fluid in yesterday. After the install I get the P0741 code and the torque converter locks intermittantly. Any suggestions or ideas? Is it a bad solenoid, bad connection, or bad seal? or any/all of the above? What would you do if you were me?

I was thinking of going back in and changing out the EPC and TCC solenoids since they very well could be on their way out. I also want to change the fluid and filter again to try to get as much dirt out of the tranny as possible.

Also, is it harmful to drive with the torque converter not locking sometimes? I'm guessing poor gas mileage will result. I've also been thinking that the converter wasn't locking before but without the firm shifting I may not have noticed it. I've only logged about 200 miles in the driver's seat of an explorer so far. The vehicle is a toy and I don't need to drive it, just wanting to be sure it's not harming it.
 



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Welcome to this forum! According to the code, it could be a problem with the TCC solenoid or possibly something which was done while the shift kit/valve body rebuild were performed. It makes sense to replace both of those high wear solenoids with this much mileage. Check this link for a list of OBD-II codes: http://www.fordforums.com/showthread.php?t=81076
 






more to add now...

drove it some more this evening and got a check engine light. Came home and scanned it, P1742, torque converter solenoid shorted. I'm ordering a new one and parking the explorer until I can get it installed. Shifting this evening was really harsh...
 






I would suggest that you check the TCC solenoid, and wiring harness before you install a new solenoid. The internal harnesses sometimes short to the case when the insulation gets damaged. It's possible that it's only a bad TCC solenoid, but you can't assume anything without testing everything first.
 






that is true, but since it's so time consuming and messy to get to, and with this many miles on it, I went ahead and ordered a new one as well as an EPC solenoid. I also am going to install a drain plug this time around, should have done that last time.

Also, the forward mod in the transgo kit had a "weight hauling commercial vehicle" orange and yellow spring selection that I tried. My shifts are really harsh and I don't like it, so I'm going to pull the yellow spring and stick with just the orange when I'm in there.

Once I get this vehicle proven, there's a good chance that I'll use it for some long distance driving, so any marginal parts that I don't trust will most likely get replaced. An extra $80 now is very cheap if it means I don't get stranded 300 miles from home.
 












Test the old solenoid, and harness while the pan is off even if you have a new solenoid.

Any specific method to test the harness? I'm guessing to check connectors, wire for cuts, and continuity. Anything else? Good idea, I didn't think to check the harness. Also checking the solenoid would let me know if that was really the problem.

Thanks
 






ok, installed new EPC and TCC solenoids. Same problem. I did inspect the wiring harness and it looks great.

more things that I noticed today, When it first starts, putting the transmission into drive will put enough drag to stall the engine, but only when cold. Also the transmission and torque converter work well in 1st and 2nd gear, then in 3 and 4 the torque converter slips until it flags the error code, then the torque converter locks up all the time unless the vehicle is stopped.

Two things come to mind that may be the cause of it, but I need more expert advice.

1. When I had the valve body apart, there may be a chance that I got the "converter relief" and "EPC limit" springs and valves backwards when installing the valve body plate. Are these the same? What exactly do they do?

2. I installed the 'tapered orifice' in step B of the transgo kit. What does this do? Could this be causing the band to not fully engage?

Any thoughts or comments are appreciated.

Thanks
 


















You might have to open up the valve body to retrace your steps just in case something wasn't put together properly.

that's what it looks like I need to do. I have new gaskets to try this weekend.

Any idea what the orifice that I had to install for the shift kit does? I'm inclined to pull it out and see what difference that makes. I've not seen any mention of this with any of the stickies here.
 












here's a scan of the transgo instructions. It seems that this restricts fluid flow to the intermediate band, but I have no clue why. What do others think?

Thanks

scan0001.jpg
 






ok, so now I'm really getting pissed off...

I pulled everything apart, pulled out the extra stiff spring, that made a difference in shifting. I also inspected everything, cleaned it all again, verified all parts I touched are in the right spot...

still get a flashing transmission light and torque converter locks up... I'm sure it's still the same code since it acts mostly the same. Also get a P0761 as well.

I'm ready to yank this transmission and get a rebuilt one. In my test drive this AM I hit the 200k mark on the odometer, so this has lived a good life so far. I want to be able to trust this thing on 2000 mile road trips, so I don't mind spending the $. I see some on ebay but don't feel too confident about buying one there. Where should i look for a transmission? What is a good price to pay?
 












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