5R55W doesn't engage when going from P to D and P to R | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

5R55W doesn't engage when going from P to D and P to R

Amarotica

Member
Joined
August 28, 2016
Messages
18
Reaction score
2
Year, Model & Trim Level
2004 Explorer
Hi everyone (I know, another 5R55W troubleshooting post)...
I have the 2004 Explorer XLT 4x4 and my transmission has some problems. I'll break this up into symptoms I have, what I am thinking so far, and advice I got from Ford.

Symptoms:
There are a few different things happening at different times. So far they don't happen in any order or reason that I can see, some happen some days, some happen other days.
1. When I turn on the car and shift to reverse or drive, it doesn't engage immediately. Some days it will sit for a few seconds and "thud" or "jolt" into gear on its own, and other days I have to rev to a few thousand RPM's and then let off the gas, and it will go into gear when the rpm goes down.
2. I imagine this is the same thing as what is happening as in #1 but it also happens at stop lights. When in stop lights where I am stopped for more than maybe 5 seconds, it will fall out of 1st gear into what I am guessing is neutral and won't go back into gear until I rev it again and it will then go but it usually takes a second and that isn't so great in lines of traffic :(

My (less than qualified) research:
What has confused me with this whole thing is I have not noticed any symptomatic problems with any higher gears (3-5) so from what I have read online there are a few things...:

I took the explorer to Ford and had them troubleshoot the tranny and their report specifically said: "Verified transmission issue. After performed PPT found transmission line pressure to be low due to solenoid bore being excessive. Rec new transmission." Does this mean the intermediate and overdrive servo bores or are they talking about the valve body or solenoid pack? What does "PPT" stand for? Are they talking solenoid pack or servo bore? Any expert "decoding" of this would be much appreciated!

I have read online these three things mainly that it could be and I am hoping it is one of them because althought I am (semi) confident I could rebuild my transmission on my own, I would like to order the part and have it in hand when I repair it because I NEED my car to get to work... I live 20 miles from work so biking is a little out of the practical question.
Best case options:
1. Intermediate and overdrive servo bore excessive (buy O-Ring equipped aftermarket servo pin)
2. Solenoid Body (Buy OEM solenoid body/pack)
3. Valve Body (Buy OEM valve body

Thank you everyone for any input I can get with my problem!
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





Im no expert on transmissions and cant give you a definitive definition on PPT bit i assume its power pressure test or atleast a pressure test of some sort maybe pressure pump test. Are you throwing codes specifically to solenoid A i believe. I have similar symptoms but im leaking fluid same symptom occurs when im low on fluid. My solenoid pack is new and leak appears to be from overflow so im assuming i have an internal issue which is getting fluid too hot. I could be wrong but i dont think intermediate or od servo would be the problem but i could be completely wrong. Pull codes if you get anything pertaing to solenoids replace ypur going to need them for the rebuild anyway. Im sure some of the trans gurus will chime in with some more accurate info.
 












If I buy a valve body online, does anybody have any idea if it comes with the springs and pieces that go in it or are those something separate? Any more opinions of what it could be? I really appreciate the answers so far and I'd love to get a few more opinions before I go ahead and order the part. Thanks!
 






Yes i would definitily wait for a trans guru to chime in because im far from one. You csn also shoot BoominXplorer a pm hes my go to guy on any and all trans related questions.
 












What exactly did Ford tell you. The solenoid pack is an electrical component and is known to fail but doesnt have a bore that wear like a band does. Since i have same symptoms you got me interested in doing more research. There is a servo that bolts to valve body that is the low/reverse band. If you were to drop your pan you would see a circular mesh screen that is the low/reverse servo. Now that i think about it mine had a small hole in the screen/filter and is most likely the culprit for both of us. Again are you throwing codes? Please be more specific on what ford diagnosed. You clearly have a hydraulic pressure issue and being that overdrive band controls/effects 2 and 5th gear and intermediate band controls 3rd gear im going to rule those out since you didnt mention any trouble with those gear. If ford diagnosed a worn servo then it would have to be the low reverse servo which is inside the trans and i believe you have to dissasemble most if not all the trans to replace the servo.
 






Thanks for the reply! Ford specifically said "line pressure low due to solenoid bore being excessive." I ordered a refurbished valve body from eBay for $60 so I'm going to try that cause it's the cheapest possibility and go from there. I am really hoping I don't have to disassemble the tranny!
 






If they said anything about the selonoid thats personally where i would sstar. I just tgought maybe you confused selonoid for servo as a selonoid i basically a valve that opens and closes to allow fluid into valve body and is controled by engine sensors. If you do go selonoid route buy a new factory one you can not refurb selonids and you will have problems. Everything works together in a trans and your symptoms could appear with bad solenoid bad low/reverse servo bad valve and numerious other parts that can fail so without a diagnostic code its hard to give accurate ifail its not that hard to open it up and have a look. Lots of metal? Burnt fluid? You can also bench test seloniod pack. Sorry i can not be of more help but i know how it feels.
 






UPDATE:
Hi all, so today I called the ford center who "diagnosed" my tranny problems originally. I asked the guy what they meant by "solenoid bore" and after five minutes of hold, he came back and said he talked to his tech and they said it was "meant to say" and they actually did mean SERVO BORE... Now this got me really annoyed because they didn't apologize for misdiagnosing me or anything but that isn't important I guess!

I understand what Ford is saying is wrong with it but I am wanting y'all's advice because I bet some of you are more experienced with this stuff than the guy that misnamed the servo bore. Since according to "http://www.thetransmissionshop.com/fords-four-versions-of-5r55" The Overdrive and Intermediate Servo bores control 2nd and 5th, and then from my understanding also 3rd and 4th but I have NO noticeable problems with those gears that I know of. From that, I can think of two things that I would guess is the problem:

1. Low/Reverse servo bore worn out but is that something that happens? I've never read about those going out before...
2. Misdiagnosed and actually could be the valve body? The TCC valve is commonly known to wear out I've heard but is it possible that it could be that? It seems like a TCC thing from my limited knowledge because of how I have to rev up and then it slams into gear but then again Ford said it isn't that!

What do you all think? I bought a valve body so is it worth it to put it in to see what it does or should I just resell the valve body and not waist my time? I really would appreciate any opinions and their reasoning because that seems to be the most helpful!

Thanks to all who have responded so far!
 






From "The Transmission Shop" page on the four versions of the 5r55:
The Valve body can also have excessive wear, most often seen on the TCC (torque converter clutch) modulator bore, or main regulator bore.
 






A few facts:
The front pump creates all pressure and flow. The intake can be restricted by the filter. I once saw a C4 that sucked on the filter so hard that the pump ate the intake screen.:eek: The excess pumped fluid (overflow) is allowed to discharge through a pressure regulator valve. The pressure is regulated at different pressures depending on RPM, which gear it's in, etc. The typical mass of fluid flow is the sum of all leaks, bearing feeds, servo charges, and valve changes. When the sum of all flows exceeds the pump capacity, the overflow valve shuts off. If there still isn't enough pressure, you start getting failure to engage problems. Then again, I once traced a path of clutch particles in an A4OD through the valve body, directly into the first pressure regulator valve. That crud made the valve hang open and wrecked the operating pressures.

It's all a huge tangle of interconnected passages, valves, servos, and clutches. Diagnosing a leaky servo bore without taking the tranny apart is probably a guess based on the typical failures in this transmission.
 






A few facts:
The front pump creates all pressure and flow. The intake can be restricted by the filter. I once saw a C4 that sucked on the filter so hard that the pump ate the intake screen.:eek: The excess pumped fluid (overflow) is allowed to discharge through a pressure regulator valve. The pressure is regulated at different pressures depending on RPM, which gear it's in, etc. The typical mass of fluid flow is the sum of all leaks, bearing feeds, servo charges, and valve changes. When the sum of all flows exceeds the pump capacity, the overflow valve shuts off. If there still isn't enough pressure, you start getting failure to engage problems. Then again, I once traced a path of clutch particles in an A4OD through the valve body, directly into the first pressure regulator valve. That crud made the valve hang open and wrecked the operating pressures.

It's all a huge tangle of interconnected passages, valves, servos, and clutches. Diagnosing a leaky servo bore without taking the tranny apart is probably a guess based on the typical failures in this transmission.

Thanks for your thoughts! I haven't thought about it that way (that they may have said the most common problem without knowing the problem)... Today in shop class I lifted my car up and looked closer at the tranny and IF they had opened the drain plug, they didn't put a crush washer back in or anything because there is a very small drip holding onto the plug. I checked the fluid level and added a tiny bit till it was "full" again but obviously that didn't help at all...
 






I fought that hanging drop for several days. It comes down to RTFP. (Read The Friendly Procedure). Teflon tape will not work in that position. There is no crush washer. It requires (Teflon bearing) pipe thread sealant. Allow no substitutions.;)

And yes, most people can barely think past the magic of an automatic transmission. I had to take the class 3 times before I started to recognize which part was in my hand! After about a dozen, you start to get good at it. I still can't pour the parts in a bag, shake it up, and reassemble a transmission, but I can get through one if I have all day...a couple of days...and everybody stays away from me.
 






Hey everyone,
So my newish valve body got here and I installed it over the last two days in shop class. It was the cheapest possiblility so I thought I would start with that. But as anybody would guess, I've run into more problems. I ran the car for a few minutes while I filled it back up with Mercon V and obviously didn't drive or anything while filling it but when I went to test drive it after everything was filled and back to spec, the O/D light started flashing.

I thought maybe it was just from the new part or something but when I tried driving it, I had/have NO POWER!!! I mean, the engine is running great, no problems there, but when you press the gas, you barely move! If you press it hard, anywhere from 0-75% throttle, the engine goes to about 2000rpm and you slowly creep forwards. There is zero pickup and it obviously isn't supposed to be like that! If you floor it, it can just go to maybe 3000rpm and will pickup speed ok but not anything near normal. From my research, it sounds like some sort of "limp mode" was activated? I hooked my generic OBDII scanner up and I will add the other codes tomorrow but off the top of my head, I remember P0743-Torque Converter Clutch Solenoid Electrical Problem. I did initially forget to reconnect the solenoid pack wires up (I know, stupid mistake) but after I filled the fluid, I connected it and hand tightened the bolt on top. All six codes were solenoid related. I tried deleting the error codes as I had in the past on some random fault codes but now these will not delete. I also tried disconnecting the battery and grounding the positive lead for about ten minutes but when I reconnected, it was no better and the O/D Light flash was still happening. Now, with all that scattered information, do any of you have any guesses of what to do now?

A couple thoughts I had:
1. I broke something on the solenoid pack so now none of it works
2. Do I need to torque the solenoid pack wiring harness for it to make proper contact? (I am planning on tightening it more when I can use a lift again...)
3. Error codes need advanced OBDII scanner to delete?
4. Limp mode doesn't turn off with codes gone nor with battery disconnected?
5. Fuse blown? If a possibility, what fuse? Does anyone have a fuse diagram available?
6. Anything else? Did I just f**k up the transmission, never to be ran again?

Although I ask a lot of questions and haven't been able to return the favor for others quite yet, I really appreciate everything that you fellow members take the time to share your knowledge with newbies like me! Hopefully the more I learn about my Explorer, the more I can help others learn about theirs :)
 






If your having new issues after messing with the valve body then you need to go back in and maybe swap back in the old one. The servo bore is on the passenger side of the transmission. There are 2 round plates about 4" diameter, your issue was in there. They make updated coated servos that will help with "blow by" You can do the job with the trans in the truck, you just have to remove the exhaust. The updated servo parts can be had for probably $50.
 






Hey everyone!
Thanks to all for the replies, this morning I got under the car and reconnected the solenoid pack wiring harness and cleared codes, then all problems went away! I have driven about 30 miles since the repair at all different speeds and the car is shifting like new without any problems that I can feel whatsoever!!!

TO ANYONE HAVING THE SAME SYMPTOMS AS ME: Check your valve body first! I bought a used one from eBay for $61.97 including shipping and I saw many more offers like that. If you replace the valve body, even if its just to verify that was the problem then invest in a high quality rebuilt unit, go with a cheap used one from eBay! It may have other unnamed problems but then you will know its your valve body instead of a worn out servo or something that costs a lot more... I'll try and update y'all with the status of the repair in a few months to tell you how its working but I hope I won't be bringing bad news :)

Thanks again for all the opinions and insights as to how to go about the problem, I couldn't have done it without that!
 






Why wait a few months when boomin just told you what's wrong with your tranny. Like I said in the beginning of this thread he is my go to on trans info. I knew you would eventually chime in boomin and have the correct diagnosis. I would never suggest cheap rebuilds off eBay for transmission parts. Definitely don't get a rebuilt solenoid pack as to my knowledge you can't rebuild them and almost everyone that has ever bought them have problems with them sooner than later. Why cheap out on a trans that is already poorly designed. Just my $0.02 you obviously seem stuck on your methods of "troubleshooting"


BTW with engagement issues resetting pcm will temporarily improve shifts. If and when you start getting delayed shifts again I would take recommendations given rather than keep throwing money at it. This is coming from someone that usually uses the throw money at it approach and has same issues however not as severe and hardly ever happens. Mercon V gets expensive trust me.
 






To be honest I haven't worked on a truck that had a valve body issue from the start. If it had a vb issue someone had always "been in there" or put a shift kit in it to try and fix their problem. I have installed and seen plenty of solonoid packs and on about every 5r55s/w in an explorer over 150k you can bet the servo bores are worn. You can get coated servos to help with the line pressure blow by but if they are too far gone they need to be drilled for brass sleeves.

On a 2nd note there is a few people on this site that only deal with transmissions and will be even more familiar these issues than me
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





Why wait a few months when boomin just told you what's wrong with your tranny. Like I said in the beginning of this thread he is my go to on trans info. I knew you would eventually chime in boomin and have the correct diagnosis. I would never suggest cheap rebuilds off eBay for transmission parts. Definitely don't get a rebuilt solenoid pack as to my knowledge you can't rebuild them and almost everyone that has ever bought them have problems with them sooner than later. Why cheap out on a trans that is already poorly designed. Just my $0.02 you obviously seem stuck on your methods of "troubleshooting"


BTW with engagement issues resetting pcm will temporarily improve shifts. If and when you start getting delayed shifts again I would take recommendations given rather than keep throwing money at it. This is coming from someone that usually uses the throw money at it approach and has same issues however not as severe and hardly ever happens. Mercon V gets expensive trust me.

I guess I wasn't clear? The valve body did fix all the issues... I never said anything about replacing a solenoid pack with an ebay one... I was researching every recommendation y'all sent my way but for the arguments that it was the servos, I knew from my own research servos simply wouldn't relate to engagement problems of 0 to 1 gear so I didn't go that path.

I am sure you have a different budget than me when troubleshooting your car but for me, I didn't have $250 to put into a part that may or may not be the issue... That is why the $60 valve body was fine for me because it let me test to see if that was the issue without investing all my savings into a possible fix, not a guarenteed fix. I reset the PCM using my shop teachers SnapOn diagnostics tool originally and it did not help the shifts at all.

And "why wait a few months when boomin just told you what's wrong with your tranny." Because I know what was wrong with the tranny (at least this time) after I changed the valve body... I was saying I was going to post how my tranny is working in a few months for people that may ever have the same problems as me so they would know the outcome of my replacement. I guess I won't worry about that anymore though because my "fix won't help" according to you so it must not help anyone else that has the same problems as me either even though it fixed mine :p
 






Back
Top