04 ex has no gears! please help!

[studentmechanic]

Hey everyone, I have a 2004 explorer 4.6 that my brother bought with a suspected bad transmission, he put in a new solenoid pack first but it didnt fix it so he swapped out the trans with a used one and put the new solenoid pack in. Still didnt work and he got fed up with it and sold it to me. After few tests I figured out he got a bad solenoid pack so I replaced it and everything worked awesome! I put about 600 miles on it with no issues than one day i went to pass someone and when the RPM's went high i saw the battery light come on (it had done this before as well) and all of the sudden it was like i was in neutral! I coasted off and towed it home. No trouble codes and has no reverse or forward gears, I dropped the pan and replaced the solenoid pack again since I can warranty out the old one, also i was suspecting the range sensor because i put my Genysis scanner on and P,R,N, and D all show im in gear 1. Manual 1,2,3 all read 1,2,3. so I replaced the range sensor at the same time. Fill it up and stil nothing!!! No chunks in the pan, of course fluids still clean, no trouble codes. Im getting sick of this thing, please someone help! Is it possible that the pump crapped out with no warning or noises? Sorry for the long story, just needed to get all the details. Thanks in advance.

Matt

 

[luisabad]

Possibly you have a locked Pump Relief Valve, is a common problem with this tranny. Sometimes it unlocks itself for some time only to fail again. The selenoids are more resilient after 2002-2003 but people change them without even testing first, just because its easy.
You can install a shift kit that will have a better designed valve, but you have to drop the tranny and if you have it down you better rebuild it.
Believe it or not, the 5r55w/n/s series is one of the easiest trans to rebuilt and there are tons of information on the internet.

 

[studentmechanic]

Should I get my hands on a line pressure gauge? Do these have a port to check pressures?

Thanks, Matt

 

[luisabad]

They have ports, one on each side but at this point, you have no engagement. This trans will work even with bad solenoids on a leaping mode, so this test will be useless. Drop the tranny and at the very least, pull out the pump and check the valve. You will need a Pump Alignment Tool to assemble the pump. Transgo Shift Kit 5r55w/s includes this tool (and a new valve) on their kit, you can get it online for $65-$75. You should get the ATSG Trans manual before doing this. There are plenty of teardown videos on youtube, search for 5r55w. Hope this helps.

 

[studentmechanic]

Is there anyway to test the pressure valve before i pull the whole trans down? just wanna be sure before i tear to far into it.

 

[studentmechanic]

I've also seen that you need a special tool to remove the pump? Is that correct and if so how much does the puller cost? Might be cheaper to just drop it an take it to a tranny shop to swap out the pressure valve. One other thing and not sure how accurate it is but my genysis was showing pressures at the solenoids, it was low like around 10-16 psi. Not sure if this changes anyone's input. I really appreciate the help so far!

 

[luisabad]

I don't use a special tool to remove pump. I found 2 self tapping screws in my garage and screw (a little thicker than the pump screws) them into 2 opposite screw slots, just deep enough but not into the case holes, attached with some big washers and use them to pry the pump apart from the case.
There is a guy in youtube that just hits the pump shaft from the sides with a mallet while he pulls with his hand (this never worked for me).

If you never had pulled this trans you need to know that it comes off with the converter on, you have lo remove bolts (4 for a 4.0L or 6 for a v8) from flywheel after you remove the starter. The catalytic converter is the last piece to remove after you take off the center support beam. At this point let the trans fall down hanging from the engine so you can access the top 3 bolts (there is one empty fake hole at the very top). Then you can put your jack on the trans and remove the rest of bolts. It takes me 2-3 hours to disconnect and remove everything. Very easy after you do it once. On my first time it took me 8 hours. Don't think you can fix this one without taking it down.
All the bolts holding the tranny to engine are 13mm, the center support bolts are 15mm, you will need 36" extension to get the top bolts (or 2 or 3 together to reach that distance)The only special tools you need is a 1/4" torque wrench (inches/Lb) and a dial gauge with magnetic stand (harborfreight tool under $30). Without the trans manual is almost impossible to do it right, even if you worked other auto trans. before. Trust me on this one. Good luck.

 

[luisabad]

Another option is to buy a used pump ($75 from http://www.800700tran.com/level.itml/icOid/336 ) and replace the whole pump only. I bought from these guys and the used parts were very good, probably from newer vehicles. That's a very cost effective solution.

 

[studentmechanic]

Just wondering if the used pump would have a poor design pressure valve? Are the ones in the transgo shift kit a better design? Gonna pull the trans this week, just ordered the atsg manual, just need to know if I should do a used pump or the kit, hoping to order one of the two yet today, also if I go the shift kit route do you know of the best supplier to get it from?

 

[luisabad]

The kit is better in my opinion as it has an upgraded version of the valve, also the pump alignment tool is good to have for any future rebuilt/fix. The valve in the Transgo kit is not the best available in the market but is better than the OEM. There is a valve that uses a big ball bearing instead of a plunger, but it cost over $45 for the valve alone. A better use of $45 will be a remote external filter imo.

Last month I bought from these guys: http://www.ebay.com/itm/261101109705?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
Paid $67 including shipping. There are others on ebay with similar prices, chose that one because he is on the east coast.

 

[studentmechanic]

Ok, gonna order the kit now, found it on OTS parts for $85. Seems reasonable enough

 

[Foo392]

Keep us posted with your findings and results, I'm curious to see the outcome.

 

[studentmechanic]

Well I decided to fortunately take my transmission to a tranny shop, they tore it apart and the pump failed, overdrive and reverse bands were just toasted, missing parts inside :/ quoted 1200-1400 to rebuild, I opted for a reman trans from advance auto parts for 1550 with a 3 year unlimited mileage warranty, should be here first part of this week. One quick question though is something about aligning the flywheel, ring gear, torque converter or something, anyone have input on that?

Thanks, Matt

 

[luisabad]

You missed the opportunity to rebuilt your tranny for $250 in parts and learn a skill that will last a lifetime.
Make sure the warranty is valid if installed by you, I think they require a professional installation by approved shop to honor those 3 years. Also, they usually don't come with the torque converter. Let us know if those $1,550 will turn into $2,500 in the end. Good Luck.

 

[studentmechanic]

Fortunately for myself I own my own repair shop, so the warranty is valid, it does come with a torque converter, and I even have a tax exempt status so none of that! more or less I just wanted something I could have a good reliable warranty with, I personally have had bad interactions with small transmission shops that still have shifting issues after they rebuild, and small shops are much harder to resolve issues with as they typically want to mess with adjustments for two or three different visits to them. I've had great luck with reman engines and transmissions where I bolt them in and have zero issues. Thanks for the help, I will report back after install.