First Start of the Day, won't go into gear

[wormfishin]

I've got a '97 XLT automatic explorer, I park on a hill at my house, and recently(since it's gotten cold) when I leave in the morning and put it in reverse it doesn't actually go into reverse, I just roll down the hill. Then when I go to put it in drive it doesn't do anything either, it stays in neutral(at least I think it does) for about 15-20 seconds before it will acutally go into gear. It only does this the first time I start it. The gear shift moves fine, the tranny just doesn't react. I had it in for an oil change/brake job last week and asked them to check it, they told me the tranny fluid was a little burnt. Any ideas what the problem could be? I was planning on taking it back this week for a tranny flush, but I didn't have time last week. Should I do that?

 

[glfredrick]

Sounds an awful lot like your low/reverse actuator isn't moving... They are easy to repair - just a new seal - drop the pan, look for the big 4 bolted cover near the rear edge - drop that cover (not the entire valve body) and replace the seal on the servo. Stick it back in there, change the oil and filter while you are at it - and go back to driving.

Check out Glacier's thread on the A4LD and Brian's thread on the 5R55E (what you have) for pics.