5R55E Shift Flare repair

Good morning all,

I am here in hopes of fixing my '01 Mountaineer 4x4 4.0L SOHC with 138,000 miles transmission issues. The shift flares have started recently though O/D light has never come on. In reading through the valve body diary thread (which is awesome by the way, thanks to all who have contributed to it) I have a good idea of what is needed for the fix, but there seems to be a lot of separate fixes done in conjunction with the shift flare fix, so it gets a little confusing.

To narrow down what exactly is needed (most likely, I still have not opened the trans but based on symptoms others have had and fixes used, I believe I have either a bad gasket or the EPC is going bad) to fix the shift flare only and not overhaul etc, could someone verify if I have the correct idea?

1. TransGo shift kit
2. A new EPC and other 5 solenoids (or are other 5 solenoids not important to replace?)
3. Upper and lower body separator plate gaskets
4. Mercon V ATF fluid (alot)
5. Cleaning fluid/rags etc

Are there any items I am missing that are required solely for the valve body shift kit fix? I feel like there might be another gasket set required but I'm not positive. Obviously I don't have the tools listed (torque wrench, Torx bolt sockets, etc) but I am aware of them and will have those as well.

I appreciate all the information you all have compiled on this site, it's an excellent resource and has already helped me fix the blank radio display and a few other smaller issues.

Cheers and thank you,

I am not a fan of the Trans go shift kit for this transmission or any other one for that matter, I have good results with they way they are.

The EPC could help because they do have issues but they are few and far between with this transmission from what I see.

Depending on what component or gear is causing the flare it could have a servo issue or something failing inside the tranny, just a guess without being able to drive it.

JK080 said:

I am not a fan of the Trans go shift kit for this transmission or any other one for that matter, I have good results with they way they are.

The EPC could help because they do have issues but they are few and far between with this transmission from what I see.

Depending on what component or gear is causing the flare it could have a servo issue or something failing inside the tranny, just a guess without being able to drive it.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the reply. Why are you not a fan of the shift kit? Based on what I've read it sounds like the TransGo shift kit includes all parts that were included in the Ford TSB for the VB issue, which is why I was interested in going in that direction.

Just a personal preference, I have had issues using this kit in the past. They seem to work well after rebuild and stay gone without it.

Others seem to like the kit, I am sure you will be fine if you would like to use it, I just dont use it.

Let us know how you like it and if works out well for you, I haven't looked into the kit in a few years, maybe they changed things for the better.

Will definitely report back on my experiences James, thank you again for your reply.

So here's what I've got lined up. Again, this is a basic VB fix only. I don't want to mess with the transmission because I'm not a full on gear head and am only hoping to squeeze about two years out of her before replacing.

1. TransGo Shift kit
2. EPC
3. Upper and lower separator plate gaskets
4. Low/reverse servo gasket
5. Fluid pan gasket with filter
6. 10qts Mercon V ATF


Anyone with experience installing this (or others) shift kit able to point out anything obvious I am missing for completing the 2-3 shift flare issue?

Just to update, I decided to skip the TransGo kit since I didn't want to drill into my VB and decided to go with the Ford TSB. Here is what I ordered..

VALVE BODY SEPERATOR PLATE - - 1L5Z-7Z490-GA - - $30.88
FILTER - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - XL2Z-7A098-DA - - $21.21
VALVE BODY SERVICE KIT - - - - - 3L5Z-7M203-JA - - $34.56
EPC SOLENOID ASSEMBLY - - - - - 9L2Z-7G383-A - - -$84.49
OIL PAN GASKET - - - - - - - - - - -F5TZ-7A191-A - - -$17.12
SOLENOID BRACKET PLATE - - - - -XL2Z-7L491-AA - - $7.79


These are the parts for a 2001 Mercury Mountaineer 4.0L SOHC 4x4 with a 5R55E. Ordering the plate in particular is a pain as the TSB calls out a 1L5Z-7Z490-CA but per FordParts.com the actual part is the -GA. Of course, when searching by VIN #, neither of these parts are shown to fit, so I had to confirm it verbally.

I will update you on all the progress of the fix once it is complete, hopefully by this weekend.