need help asap please...Delayed reverse & 1-2 flare

Hi all,

I replaced the reverse band in my 99 explorer xlt as it had broke, and I got a seal and gasket kit and replaced the seals and gaskets that I could, all the other internal parts were good, as all my forward gears worked perfectly, just didn't have reverse suddenly which is why I replaced the reverse band. Now my issue is I have a delayed reverse, about a 3 second delay and I apparently have a 1-2 shift flare, manual 2nd gear works fine when shifted on the column, but it doesn't want to shift out of first on it's own...planning on trying another band adjustment, I think I read on here that the o/d band also controls 2nd gear correct? we also changed both of the vb gaskets that came in the kit, Any other ideas for me to check/look into? Thanks guys, I appreciate the help....reading on this site helped me alot with replacing that reverse band...so thank you for that as well

- Brian

Do you have enough trans fluid in there?

63falcondude said:

Do you have enough trans fluid in there?

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Yes, it shows full on the dipstick...we put in 9 litres

Tried another band adjustment today and just before that I noticed (engine cold) it has a delay in forward gears also. From what I can tell when I road tested it today after the band adjustment, it won't switch into 2nd gear on it's own, but if I let my foot off the gas then it changes gears, maybe 3rd gear, misses 2nd gear altogether....anybody have any suggestions? please?

Were you careful during valve body replacement to put all check balls back in the right spots? Did you torque all the valve body bolts to specification? Too much torque can crack the valve body, too little can cause fluid leaks between circuits.

arco777 said:

Were you careful during valve body replacement to put all check balls back in the right spots? Did you torque all the valve body bolts to specification? Too much torque can crack the valve body, too little can cause fluid leaks between circuits.

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The mechanic at my work did the work on my transmission, he said he wasn't sure if there were check balls in the valve body or not so he was very careful from the start keeping the valve body flat at all times so nothing would fall out. He did the proper torque specs as he told me to look them up and write them down for him. Would the most likely cause be something to do with the valve body and not something mechanical inside the transmission itself? I am thinking something to do with the valve body but I could be wrong?

Shift flare is typically a valve body thing. I'd start there with a rebuild of the valve body. Transgo makes an excellent shift correction kit that has great instructions for rebuilding your valve body. It upgrades some parts and corrects many common issues including shift flare. The directions show exactly how it all goes together and if you have a small torque wrench and a dremel or drill you can do it yourself.

update

just an update and question....we drained the transmission pan and pulled the transmission out again to see if the seals around the pump may have gotten broken during install (the guy at the trans shop suggested it) but they aren't broken or cut...we put in 9 litres of transmission fluid, it showed full on the dipstick, even after the initial test drive, but when we drained the pan and the torque converter we only got maybe 6 liters in total that came out. There were no leaks under the truck or anywhere that we could see.....and idea where the trans fluid went? with only getting about 6 liters emptied, we are pretty sure there wasn't enough fluid in the system, causing the delay in the forward and reverse gears and it wouldn't change gears from 1st into 2nd. any ideas from you guys guys on the missing fluid etc? I appreciate the help very much, you all are a great bunch of guys and know your stuff with these explorers from experience...so I come to you wise fellows yet again for help...thank you

B

Check for fluid in the vacuum modulator line. If the vac mod has a ruptured diaphragm, it will let fluid get sucked up into the engine's upper intake. Vac mod also helps 1-2 shift.

No modulator on 1999 trans. The rest of the fluid is in the converter. It wont drain out with a pan drop.

transman304 said:

No modulator on 1999 trans. The rest of the fluid is in the converter. It wont drain out with a pan drop.

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True that, I didn't look to see what the OP had.

transman304 said:

No modulator on 1999 trans. The rest of the fluid is in the converter. It wont drain out with a pan drop.

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We also pulled the converter out and drained it after we pulled the transmission out of the truck for the second time, so with the fluid drained from the converter and the pan drop, we got maybe 6 litres out of it total

Keep in mind that between the filter being soaked, fluid in the valve body passages and the external lines including cooler, there is a lot more fluid to account for than what comes out in the drain pan.

arco777 said:

Keep in mind that between the filter being soaked, fluid in the valve body passages and the external lines including cooler, there is a lot more fluid to account for than what comes out in the drain pan.

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yeah I understand that. the truck was brought into the shop on a friday after work and put up on the hoist, then saturday we dropped the pan and filter then we pulled the transmission out, removed the torque convertor and drained it also into a couple drain pans then emptied the pans we used to collect the new trans fluid into 1 1/4ish 4 liter jugs....the bell housing has been unbolted from the transmission and both the bell housing and transmission are sitting on the bench beside each other

Leave the converter turned up side down on something to catch the fluid for a couple days. Then see how much fluid you collect. Will take several days to drain a converter.

transman304 said:

Leave the converter turned up side down on something to catch the fluid for a couple days. Then see how much fluid you collect. Will take several days to drain a converter.

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The Convertor has been turned upside down in a drain pan for the last 4 days, since last saturday morning, from what I saw yesterday, maybe a 1/4 of a litre was in there after we emptied the drain pan monday morning. when we drained the pan the first time via unbolting, I loosened about 1/3ish of the bolts and then it started dripping out, this last time I loosened about 3/4 of the bolts before it started to drip out, 2ish litres came out of the pan itself, where it should have been more around the 4litreish mark, from what I have read on here on different posts.

b