The infamous blinking od light 03 exp

[crackajack]

Ok ive read up in the forums on this problem but i haven't really found a likeness to my symptoms besides its blinking. So here goes. Ive got a stock 03 explorer xlt v6 4x4. The past week coming home from work ive had to run it with the overdrive off till it got up to operating temp for it 2 fully shift into overdrive.(cold run = slipping in od, hot run=just fine no slips) Me and the wife were driving back home yesterday running about 75 and the od light starts blinking and immediately starts slipping. so we pull over and i get out and look for anything obvious like we've lost all out transmission fluid or something. everything looked fine. got back on the road, no blinking light, bout the time we got up to 70 it happend again. so we end up taking the backroads and drive about 50 with the od off(it still shifts in and out just not a firm hold) to tach about 2k. got home searched threw all the bad news and some ok news. I tried the drive with the od off and see if it does it, about 50 it goes to blinking at about operating temp. It doesnt shutter, pop, jerk, just wont fully engage od. It will blaze threw 1-4 just like always no problem. Ive got it on bed rest currently and the wife drives it .5 miles to take the kids to school and back a day. What should i be looking for that I can see or do myself? Dont want to give ford 100 just to take all day to diagnose and tell me hahaha we are going to rape u.

symptoms
1.o/d light blinks after about 50mph and continues to blink
2.o/d button still works, shift out and into overdrive
3.slips and wont fully engage in o/d.
4. No check engine light, No codes that i can get to if there are
5. 1-4 gears run just fine

Any input to get me started would be appreciated or if youve ran across this problem with the same symptoms id love to hear how it turned out. Ford rebuilt the rear end in it about 1.5years ago at 74k so, i kinda got the feeling from there on i would have some more issues with this explorer.


thanks,

Paul

 

[cravenmoorehead]

I have the same problem! Ive got a 97 v6 and the od off light has been flashing on and off for about a year now. i pulled a code that said mine was running lean on #1 and 2 bank? I replaced injectors and 2 of the 02 sensors and the ***** still comes up. transmission shop said that needs new torque converter and pump. I am going 2 take it 2 another mechanic and I will let you know what I come up with.

 

[Thelt]

I have about decided that all 3rd gen transmissions are going to fail at some point. Once it starts doing that crap it is just a matter of time until you are going to need a complete rebuild. Mine is in the shop right now being rebuilt. I made it to 132k miles, if I get another 132k out of it after the rebuild I will be happy......

 

[jutgin]

Have you checked the fluid level?

 

[crackajack]

I haven't had much time to do anything yet. its just a plug on the side of the trans right? If oil drips out its got enough if not i need to add more? correct me if im wrong, i have never dealt with a sealed transmission before.

 

[crackajack]

The local ford dealer advised me that for some stupid reason ford put the wrong fluid in the transmission between the years of 03-05 and that it was a recall. We never received a recall on this but then again i haven't found the recall on it yet. Just what the dealer told me this morning.

 

[Thelt]

The local ford dealer advised me that for some stupid reason ford put the wrong fluid in the transmission between the years of 03-05 and that it was a recall. We never received a recall on this but then again i haven't found the recall on it yet. Just what the dealer told me this morning.

Dealer going to fix it for free then?

 

[crackajack]

Actually no, surprise surprise. The technical stuff that they said was that the recall was that during those years they put the wrong fluid in the transmission on all explorers. The recall is out of date and ford is no longer honoring it. So now im at the crossroads of, do i let it go back and go get me a different vehicle or do i suck it up and finish paying the loan for it and rebuild the transmission. This was all explained to me by a sales rep. He would be more then happy to sell me another vehicle, but would rather wait until the program vehicles start rolling back in. They are trying to put me in a Taurus which defeats the purpose of keeping something that I can tow with and haul around all the kids stuff in. My credit is crap so financing another vehicle is next to impossible while covering up the difference between what i owe n what ill get. I wish ford would honor its recalls fully or at least pay half of the cost after there so called recall expiration date.

 

[Thelt]

Actually no, surprise surprise. The technical stuff that they said was that the recall was that during those years they put the wrong fluid in the transmission on all explorers. The recall is out of date and ford is no longer honoring it. So now im at the crossroads of, do i let it go back and go get me a different vehicle or do i suck it up and finish paying the loan for it and rebuild the transmission. This was all explained to me by a sales rep. He would be more then happy to sell me another vehicle, but would rather wait until the program vehicles start rolling back in. They are trying to put me in a Taurus which defeats the purpose of keeping something that I can tow with and haul around all the kids stuff in. My credit is crap so financing another vehicle is next to impossible while covering up the difference between what i owe n what ill get. I wish ford would honor its recalls fully or at least pay half of the cost after there so called recall expiration date.

You are probably better off just getting your Explorer fixed. Shop around and you can probably get a tranny rebuild for less than $2k. I went through this decision recently and decided to get the rebuild after looking at trading it in.

 

[Ford02Exp]

if you want the light to turn off, go out to the truck, turn the key on and off 3 times but not to the start position, and it should cut off. the same thing happened to mine and that was the cure for mine

 

[Thelt]

You can just unhook the battery for 30 minutes and it will go off too. It does not change the underlying problem though.

 

[not8taxi]

Did u ever change the fluids on the tranny?? I got an 02 ex with 88k on it and knock on wood thing is running nice...and I def don't drive like miss daisy...only problem I have with it is that when u drive is reverse and hit the gas to back up hard it starts stuttering...I've changed the fluids 3 times already
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[red82gt]

I ended up buying a used tranny from a wrecker from an 05 with 25,000 miles on it. I had the same symptoms as you and I'll bet that the fluid will be burnt when you check it. I changed the tranny myself but ended up chewing up the front pump due to not properly seating the torque converter. After pulling it apart and re-installing it with a new front pump it has been great ever since.
When I get some time I'll rebuild my spare tranny and make all the improvements that ford should have made in the first place. Kinda funny how big of a failure this "maintenance free" "sealed" "never needs the fluid changed" transmission has become.

 

[crackajack]

First off sorry for the huge lapse in response time but heres an update. 3 months ago i took it to ford and for 300 dollars they pulled the pan and the valve body to check everything out. At that point they saw nothing wrong with it except the computer keeps saying torque converter fault. Since then it has had prolly a little over the normal set of miles one would put on put on it. Still no o/d except when driving 80+ and i assume thats cause the rpm/gear ratio is at 1:1, the cruise doesnt work when needed so its unhooked, the sensor on top of the rear end has gone out 3 times, and all of my freon leaked out. Fun times guys.

 

[STNGADC]

Mine let go at 139k and again at 145k

If it wasnt already paid off it would have definitley traded it for a lifted tahoe.