1995 shift solenoid replacement

Hey guys, anyone have any experience replacing the shift solenoid on the 1995 explorer tranny? Mine is out and I've never replaced it. Any advice would be awesome!

Jonathansblack said:

Hey guys, anyone have any experience replacing the shift solenoid on the 1995 explorer tranny? Mine is out and I've never replaced it. Any advice would be awesome!

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What makes you think the solenoid is at fault? Trouble codes? I think you have the 4R44E transmission. My '96 was acting up, I was sure it was the solenoid, bought a new one, still no good. Tore trans. apart, found thrust bearings between clutch sections destroyed.

Wound up buying a reman. from Ford which worked perfectly. imp

The whole tranny has been rebuilt down to the torque converter. The only thing that wasn't replaced were the solenoids. With talking to other folks (not on the forum) they seem to think that's the issue. What leads me to believe it is is that when you're driving it and it comes to a stop the rpms go down and the truck dies out. When I explained that to other mechanics they said its most likely the solenoids.

Do you have any trouble codes? You have a 4R55E transmission. It sounds more like the TCC solenoid than a shift solenoid. The shift solenoids are basic on/off devices while the EPC & TCC solenoids are modulated.

If your tranny's out then it's pretty easy to test the solenoids for proper resistance. I replaced both shift solenoids on my explorer because they were both out of spec... though I have a 4R70W.

The solenoids on the 4R55E tranny are at the bottom of the valve body and look like they're easy to get to.

Brooklyn is absolutely right: If the vehicle in being brought to a stop in DRIVE causes the engine to die, it's likely the torque converter clutch is not being released, this either due to faulty clutch (not likely), or faulty solenoid. This is exactly the same as coming to a dead stop with a manual transmission without releasing the clutch with the foot pedal. imp

Let me explain a little more. The o/d light is flashing and when you are driving at say 45 or 50 the tranny will not engage o/d at all that of course is in addition to it dying out at a stop that I mentioned earlier. As far as codes go I don't have any because I haven't taken them to shop to get them read. This is my only form of transportation and I don't really have the ability to just take it and leave it somewhere for them to pull up the codes.

Jonathansblack said:

Let me explain a little more. The o/d light is flashing and when you are driving at say 45 or 50 the tranny will not engage o/d at all that of course is in addition to it dying out at a stop that I mentioned earlier. As far as codes go I don't have any because I haven't taken them to shop to get them read. This is my only form of transportation and I don't really have the ability to just take it and leave it somewhere for them to pull up the codes.

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Places like AutoZone will read the codes for you free. Takes about 5 minutes, if they aren't busy. Or, do yourself a favor and buy a code reader good ones are available under a hundred bucks. Be sure it will read "CAN" protocol. imp

Sometimes the code readers that the stores use don't always read manufacturer specific transmission codes.

BrooklynBay said:

Sometimes the code readers that the stores use don't always read manufacturer specific transmission codes.

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Maybe, but it's still worth a shot.

I am told if it's a 95, auto stores cant read that early, only 96 and up.

Susan Summerson said:

I am told if it's a 95, auto stores cant read that early, only 96 and up.

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Yes, pretty much. That's because the OBDII standard was only introduced in 1994 and became mandatory in California since 1996.
Stores like Autozone don't usually have code readers for the OBD1 or OBD1.5 standards or even older manufacturer specific systems. Those are much less common than OBD2 because the OBD1 standard was only around for about 4 years before OBD2 already replaced it. And other older versions are purely manufacturer specific.

But even for OBD1 you can buy adapters and/or compatible scanners for relatively cheap to read out those codes. But finding one that can then also read out manufacturer specific codes may be a bit more of an issue.

You could use a paper clip or a small jumper wire to read the codes on EEC-IV systems by counting the check engine light flashes on the dashboard when you insert it into the test harness.