Help! I made a big mistake i think

[jmadams007]

So I have a 2002 Ford explorer v6. The truck has about 200k miles on it and it was still running fine but the tranny was starting to slip and slam into reverse etc so i figured it was about time to replace the transmission.

We had it diagnosed and they said that the transmission would need to be replaced.

I got some quotes and ended up taking it to a mechanic friend who replaced the transmission with a new one for me. Has a 3 year or 100k mile warranty.

We also replaced the Neutral Safety switch as the old one broke during the swap.

After the repair was finished (40 days later mind you) he said it was done but he wasnt happy with how it was shifting.

sure enough we took it out on the road and it is doing the exact same thing!

Now we didn't change out the sensors on top of the trans but its still slipping and slamming into reverse and now its having acceleration issues as well. i had to floor it and it would not take off properly.

I did notice that once we put it into reverse the reverse lights did not light up which i though was a neutral safety switch issue but that is brand new!

So now we are going to take it to our local transmission shop (should have done that to start with for the extra$$$$) and have it diagnosed again to see what the situation is.

any ideas on if it could just be the sensors? or maybe a faulty transmission? Its definately a new one. i saw the warranty paperwork and both transmissions and its a shiny new one but idk.

 

[pet575]

Absolutely sure that the fluid level is correct? These things are extremely picky if not filled properly.

 

[Duranged84]

Were the servo bores sleeved or o-ringed during the rebuild? Solenoid block replaced? Valve body rebuilt? New separator plate?

 

[Joe in NY]

Were the servo bores sleeved or o-ringed during the rebuild? Solenoid block replaced? Valve body rebuilt? New separator plate?

Read. It is a new transmission. Not a rebuild.

 

[pet575]

Not necessarily. He said "new for me."

 

[Number4]

i second the fluid issue. Sounds like it's low and having to build up pressure.

 

[pet575]

jmadams, I'm proposing the fluid level being an issue for 2 reasons:

(1) I did a little work on mine and when I refilled it I followed the instructions to a T and it shifted well enough to drive but not that great when I first drove it afterward. Drove it for a few days and knew it just wasn't right. Went back and added another 2 quarts of fluid and it improved greatly. That was despite the fact that I was 95% sure I had replaced every drop of fluid. Even though it improved that much, it still wasn't perfect so about 3 weeks later I added another quart and it was perfect after that.

(2) This is an incredibly cheap thing to try. I'd add 2-3 quarts and that should be less than $20 (assuming you already have the pump and nipple assembly to fill it using the drain plug).

 

[jmadams007]

Update

To answer the question it is a new transmission not a rebuild.

We added the transmission fluid as suggested and the extra came out so the fluid level is fine.

We may have found the issue though. One of the main connectors (has like 50 wires coming into it) has some corrosion on it. We cleaned it up real quick and reconnected and the od light stopped blinking and a few other lights turned off.

At this point i am guessing that the transmission was not even communicating with the computer causing all the issues.

He is taking the connection and is going to clean it up real good and we are going to try it again tonight.

Hopefully that fixes the issue.