Red 02
Member
- Joined
- December 3, 2018
- Messages
- 13
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- City, State
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- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2002 Explorer 4x4 4.0
2002 Explorer has some intermittent transmission issues. This vehicle has 121k, and has been garaged/well cared for since new. All suggested maintenance has been kept up over the years. The problems that I am having have pretty much been occurring since 30k or so miles. Transmission shifts normally when running around town or on long drives with little elevation gain. In the past 2 years when driving in town or city sometimes when you make a quick left turn there seems to be a loss of power to the wheels as if the fluid level is low (only on left turns).
I had the transmission service done at 105kish, the Ford Tech said the fluid was pretty clean, level was fine and all looked well.
Now over the years when going up long hills at speeds ranging from 50-70mph the vehicle would occasionally shutter or slip when changing gears either up or down especially when the outside temps were high or when manually shifting from Drive to 3rd, up or down.
Similar things happen when towing also. I have not towed much with the vehicle over the years however recently I have started to haul a trailer and antique car.
I had the transmission checked again by another shop that I use and they said the level of the fluid was ok and clean/clear. The said to me that the above problems mean that a tab or ear on one or more of the bands had broken off and requires a transmission rebuild to fix, they would also update the pin/part while doing the rebuild. Also a broken tab would cause there to be problems consistently not intermittently so it may be the servos. I checked into this and found that it is entirely possible that wear on the sevo rods may be the issue. Solution, by the new parts from Sonax and install them myself (I am a mechanic for big trucks) so I have some skill to do this.
Important note here, no codes or warning lamps have shown up on the dash, (I don't have a scanner so I don't know if there have been codes that I cannot see).
Based on what I have said here do you think replacing the servos with the updated versions will help?
Can I replace them without having to machine anything or will they fit as is?
Do I have the 5r55s/w transmission?
I have seen videos that show that the replacement can be done without cutting the exhaust or taking the tranny support out, is this true?
Thank you in advance for any advice or thoughts on this.
I had the transmission service done at 105kish, the Ford Tech said the fluid was pretty clean, level was fine and all looked well.
Now over the years when going up long hills at speeds ranging from 50-70mph the vehicle would occasionally shutter or slip when changing gears either up or down especially when the outside temps were high or when manually shifting from Drive to 3rd, up or down.
Similar things happen when towing also. I have not towed much with the vehicle over the years however recently I have started to haul a trailer and antique car.
I had the transmission checked again by another shop that I use and they said the level of the fluid was ok and clean/clear. The said to me that the above problems mean that a tab or ear on one or more of the bands had broken off and requires a transmission rebuild to fix, they would also update the pin/part while doing the rebuild. Also a broken tab would cause there to be problems consistently not intermittently so it may be the servos. I checked into this and found that it is entirely possible that wear on the sevo rods may be the issue. Solution, by the new parts from Sonax and install them myself (I am a mechanic for big trucks) so I have some skill to do this.
Important note here, no codes or warning lamps have shown up on the dash, (I don't have a scanner so I don't know if there have been codes that I cannot see).
Based on what I have said here do you think replacing the servos with the updated versions will help?
Can I replace them without having to machine anything or will they fit as is?
Do I have the 5r55s/w transmission?
I have seen videos that show that the replacement can be done without cutting the exhaust or taking the tranny support out, is this true?
Thank you in advance for any advice or thoughts on this.
