2-3 Flare is back!! | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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2-3 Flare is back!!

sean99

Explorer Addict
Joined
December 13, 2005
Messages
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City, State
Sunnyvale, California
Year, Model & Trim Level
01 Limited 5.0
Just one day after adding the superior kit,ford tsb,epc,sonnax,and plate my flare is back.I adjusted the bands today at 120 inch pounds and back off two turns.Afer backing the bolt off two turns it felt very loose and could easaly be turned with my fingers,is this normal?What might be the problem with this trans?It shifts well after it warms up,and only slipped on the first few shifts from a stop.
99 with 70k on the trans.
 



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I added the Lubegard and so far it hasnt helped.Now the 2-3 flare is always there to some degree.
Any ideas?
Any other parts to throw at it?
 






The fact it went away with VB attention brings me to believe you are once again experiencing VB problems of some sort. Why now? I don't know.

Remember that the 2-3 shift is a dance of two bands controlled by the computer.... it is tough to choreograph and not have flare.... in other words it's dicey no matter what.

I never like to suggest "throwing parts" at a problem. And I have to admit you have done the very things I might have suggested.

I have no idea if there was ever a TSB on reflashing the PCM for this issue or not. You might research that. You might revisit your torques on the VB bolts. The condition of the servos could play a role. And in the end you might try a less "used" vb. In other words - lots to think about.

You might out of curiosity price a NEW VB from Fastpartsnetwork....but another Q for you...how is your fluid? new ? flushed? etc ? I ask because I may have an idea for you to try, but it would require your fluid condition to be pristine - preferably new.
 






I flushed the trans. with Mobil 1 about six months and 4k miles ago and it has 5 fresh qts. of mobil 1 since the rebuilt valve body.I did add lubegard two days ago and it hasnt helped yet. I tourqed the valve body correctly in three passes and in proper order.I also double checked each bolt to make sure they were tourqed to the right specs.It does shift better in other gears including reverse and od.Before the rebuild it was a flare and now it seems more like it is hanging in 2nd for 1-3 seconds before going into 3rd.Today after going through the gears a few times and going on the freeway it did not hang in
2nd gear.
 






Certainly sounds VB related to me.
 






The fact it went away with VB attention brings me to believe you are once again experiencing VB problems of some sort. Why now? I don't know.

Remember that the 2-3 shift is a dance of two bands controlled by the computer.... it is tough to choreograph and not have flare.... in other words it's dicey no matter what.

I never like to suggest "throwing parts" at a problem. And I have to admit you have done the very things I might have suggested.

I have no idea if there was ever a TSB on reflashing the PCM for this issue or not. You might research that. You might revisit your torques on the VB bolts. The condition of the servos could play a role. And in the end you might try a less "used" vb. In other words - lots to think about.

You might out of curiosity price a NEW VB from Fastpartsnetwork....but another Q for you...how is your fluid? new ? flushed? etc ? I ask because I may have an idea for you to try, but it would require your fluid condition to be pristine - preferably new.

Is the reflashing of the PCM a dealer only service and has it ever fixed a flare or slow shift?
What idea do you have concerning new fluid?
Thanks
 






Well... re-reading this thread yet again, I might possibly suggest you consider the superior shift kit before giving up on this VB.... but if you want to try something... I have a known good loaner I can loan you (with security deposit) to see if you can isolate the problem to your VB.

The reflash is a dealer only process.... and I am not even sure there was a reflash for this 2-3 flare issue. Search the TSB's.
 






I installed the Superior shift kit.
Is there anything external I could check?
 






My bad, sorry. No, nothing external. PM me if you are interested in borrowing the good VB.
 






Thanks for the offer.If the valve body is fine then what might be the problem?
I did not install the pressure riser,do you think this might cure the problem?Is it possible to locate the correct wires outside the transmission to hook it up?


I just bought a 2000 Mountaineer with 207k miles for $400 that is still running on the original trans.Some are just lucky,I guess
 






If the VB were fine, then the PCM and or servos are next on the usual suspects list. I don;t think the presence of absence of the pressure riser will spell a fix versus non fix.... but you will need to splice into the harness inside the pan.
 






Are old servos known to cause a delayed 2-3 shift until the trans. is warmed up?
Where should I buy them from and do you have a part number?
Where could I buy the servo tool?
Is there a thread showing the installation of the servos?
Thanks
 






I called the dealership and they thought it sounded like hard seals on the pistons?He didnt think flashing the pcm or changing the servos would work.
 






Well, flashing the PCM and swapping in new servos (not easy with the trans in teh vehicle but doable) are both things you can do with the tranny in the car. Replacing seals is a teardown event. I like to try the easy things first.
 






Are old servos known to cause a delayed 2-3 shift until the trans. is warmed up?
Where should I buy them from and do you have a part number?
Where could I buy the servo tool?
Is there a thread showing the installation of the servos?
Thanks

Thanks
 






I would like to get my valve body looked at by a pro.Any ideas on who to send it to,and about how much it would cost?
 






I live in Portland OR and I could only find one place that would rebuild it and they wanted $185, and the guy did not look nor sound trustworthy. That is the problem not knowing weather someone will actually tell you what is wrong or if they rebuild trannys also its just as easy for them to say the VB is know good. I did everything except Superior kit and sonnax boost valve and still had the flare. I finally ordered a reman VB from Central Valve Body, put it in and the truck runs perfect now. I really dont think the flare has anything to do with the EPC or ford fix. I think it is some other bore in the VB, but knowone really knows or can pinpoint it. If you want to try a reman VB PM me.
 






Check WWW.ATRA.Com for a transmission shop in your area. Some shops don't bother rebuilding valve bodies, but actually give them out to a specialty shop which does this kind of work. You might find a local shop which does this kind of service. I saw a lot of rebuilders in the back of Gears magazine which offer valve body rebuilding. You could check the same website for the lastest issue of Gears online. It has the same advertisements in PDF format.
 



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I live in Portland OR and I could only find one place that would rebuild it and they wanted $185, and the guy did not look nor sound trustworthy. That is the problem not knowing weather someone will actually tell you what is wrong or if they rebuild trannys also its just as easy for them to say the VB is know good. I did everything except Superior kit and sonnax boost valve and still had the flare. I finally ordered a reman VB from Central Valve Body, put it in and the truck runs perfect now. I really dont think the flare has anything to do with the EPC or ford fix. I think it is some other bore in the VB, but knowone really knows or can pinpoint it. If you want to try a reman VB PM me.

I called Donny at Central Valve Body and decided to ship him my v.b.
He said it tested out within spec. but not as good as a new one.I had him install a master inplug kit from Sonnax and a elevated pressure spring to bring up the v.b. pressure.
I ended up paying $133 with shipping which seemed like a fair price.
I got him to lower his prices for us.Just mention Explorerforum and get about $50 off a remanufactured v.b. $229 with a 1 year unlimited miles warranty.
He has discounted all of his other v.b. services also.
Thanks for the tip!!!
 






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