5r55w trans service ?

[jnsnwt]

I just bought an '02 XLS 4WD with the 5 spd automatic trans that does not have a dipstick. The owners manual pretty much says to drive it till it breaks then take it to the Ford house for repair :-(

Is there any kind of preventative maintenance that can be done or should I just save my pennies for that fatefull trip to the dealer ?

Was '02 the 1st year for this tranny or has it been around a while ?
What is the expected life of this trans ? W/O any regular fluid changes I would expect it to be pretty low.

If or when it does bite the bullet I bet it won't be cheap to fix. Is there a better replacement trans that will fit w/o tons of midifications ?

 

[awdrocks]

I can try and answer some of your questions. Its suppose to be a mantainance free tranny. But at about 20k I felt my explorer sluggish and weird on shift points. I went ahead and changed the oil the she felt like new again. I think they were using the 5r55 in another car before it went on the 02' Explorer.

I dont know how long you plan on keeping her. But the day my tranny dies I have found a excellent replacement. But it will require some fabing... but not to much.

In about 3 weeks ill have over 400hp at the crank... my tranny is doomed. As soon as it bites the dust im switching over to a 4r70 with a stand alone computer... ill also be switching my tranfer case out with an Atlas II. I will definetly have to get a new front drive shaft, and the rear is still in the air.

But in the end... even if I have to replace the rear drive shaft... I will spend about the same amount of money I hear people are paying to replace a 5r55 alone.... and the 5r55 will break down over and over. On the other hand, with the entire drive train replacement... your bullet proof.

Another positive side of doing this switch is that I will be able to correct what seems to be a bad angle on the drive shaft thats causing failure on almost all the 02' - 05' explorers, result: rear diff bearing failures, pinion and ring grinding.

Ive only got 25k on my suv and my tranny is already acting up. Doest get into OD sometimes or has some very ruff shift points... my rear end has not given me any trouble yet... I have eibachs and im praying the agle difference on my drive shaft I have now by lowering her maybe fixed or prolonged the diff problem (knock on wood). But only time will tell....

 

[Cdaddy78]

Yeah, it's a closed system, no dipstick since you dont mess with it. The only way to really change the fluid if you desire, is to remove a cooler line and cycle it out. Do a search on here, you should find a procedure. I have heard some people on here talk of problems with their 3rd gen trannys, I have as of yet to experiece any. (thankfully) I'm at 60 K by the way.

 

[jnsnwt]

I might have to toss this job to a trans shop. I think I'd rather pay them to do it instead of having to clean up the mess I would make trying to catch the fluid coming out under pressure.

Thanks for the input.

 

[007]

When the rear diff was rebuilt at 30k, i had the tranny flushed and serviced at the recommendation of my Ford-employed buddy. Their particular shop was doing rebulids and repairs on the 5R55W's alomst daily. The book recommends 30k fluid service intervals, and he strongly recommended that I follow that if I wanted to not pay Ford for a rebuild or new tranny.

So far so good at 40k of firm driving.

 

[My03Explorer]

03 Explorer 4.0 AWD that I have owned since almost new ( 10k miles on it when I bought it ) It now has 150,000 and shifts nicely. Havent had any problems with my Xploder, except for Hubs all around at about 60k.

 

[clarks2001]

I bought mine at 68k miles and have over 101000 miles.... so I definitely need a tranny flush, and diffs flushed, transfer case couldnt hurt either.... its gonna get expensive lol

 

[bookbinder]

My '02 Limited bought used from original owner had trans replaced at 85k and since then regular service at 30k and now have 185k. Knock wood. I don't recommend power flush if you don't know the history. I would change the fluid and "filter" (such as it is) only but search the forum there are folks on here that are extremely knowledgeable with regard to these trans. Also don't let the dealer tell you they can't check the fluid level because there is no dipstick. There is a specific procedure outlined to do just that. They just have to earn their $$$ to do it right. Rick

 

[cb900fguy]

Here's a great link on the site. I just changed out my fluid and tranny filter on my 02 with about 150K on it. Not that I had serious issues with my tranny but it shifts so much more smoothly now. It has to be good for it to change it out. The amount of "sludge" sitting right below the filter in the pan was amazing so it HAS to be a good thing to change this out. The filter was about $25 bucks I think.