1995 Explorer Not Shifting

[TheEvilZX2]

Well I signed up here yesterday because I was happy the explorer was running good after all these transmission problems it has been experiencing. Well now I'm 40 miles from home and the truck doesn't seem to want to shift out of first gear.

Here's a quick background on what has transpired over the last month or so to get you up to speed.

Truck lost 2nd gear and O/D Off was flashing. Pulled trans pan and found a piece of broken band. Had transmission rebuild at Ford, installed transmission with new torque converter and a nice big trans cooler. All was well for 5 days then it started flashing OD/Off again, ECU throwing incorrect 1st and 3rd gear ratio codes. Talked to the guy at Ford who rebuilt the trans and he wanted to take a look at the truck. It was left with him for a few days, he adjusted the bands and installed a shift kit. All was well for that weekend when on the way to a local gun show I hit the highway and the truck wouldnt engage 4th gear, started throwing 2nd and 4th gear incorrect ratio. Brought it back to the guy at Ford who said he couldn't find anything wrong but suspects a sticking valve in the valve body so $300 later we put a TransStar valve body in it with all new solenoids. This is where I stand now.

I've put 280 miles on the truck since I got it back with the new valve body, today I take it to work and all is well until I go to leave the office. 4WD lights started flashing at me and the truck doesn't want to shift out of first. I was able to get it to shift into second gear after getting some speed and feathering the throttle. My scanner does not pull any codes at all at this point.

I've read tons on the forums about problems with shifting, the only two items that I haven't touched on this truck that are mentioned on the forums are the TPS and ECU. I just ordered a used F5PF-12A650-BSA on ebay it will be at my door in a week. And if i can limp the truck home I will be able to test the TPS.

I was able to borrow a 8mm socket to disconnect the battery, I'm going to see if anything has changed when I get back out there.

Anyone have any suggestions for me? Anything I might have overlooked? Any tips/tricks? Do the 4WD lights have anything to do with this issue? Would the transfer case be my next point of interest?


This truck is going to be the death of me.....I'm all ready down $1200 into it trying to get it fixed, and I really don't want to give up on it. Everything was running so well yesterday.

 

[TheEvilZX2]

So I reconnected the battery and took a drive, no change. 4wd lights are still flashing.

It doesn't want to shift when in drive, but holds 1st gear and 2nd gear when the gear selector is in 1 or 2.

Any thoughts? Anyone? ……Bueller?

 

[gmanpaint]

I would make the shop pull the trans and open it back up on their dime. I wouldn't stop bugging them until it's right. You paid them good money to do the repair, make them honer the work.

It sounds like it could be another bad band to me. When the band breaks, the clutchs burn up fast. It don't take much time to ruin them. Adjusting the bands can cause more trouble if done to tight, and break prematurely. The clips on the ends will fall off if too tight. If they fall into the pan, they wont get chewed up, but if they don't....... well, you can just imagine a chunk of metal in a blender.

That T-case is a known trouble maker as well. It should be looked at too, and/or the Gem module checked out.

 

[TheEvilZX2]

Thanks for the post.

Let me just say first that the trans was rebuilt at ford, by the transmission man, on the side. It wasn't a Ford job, I pulled the trans and installed. He has been helping me along the way troubleshooting and did all of the labor and diagnosing free of charge since the trans has been back in the truck.

I got home and put a meter on the TPS and its good. Checked for codes again and no engine or trans codes are present. Cleared the computer again via pulling the battery, the only thing that is constant is the 4wd blinking. I'm glad you mentioned it because I'm starting to think think that the transfer case needs to be looked into and I definitely need the 4wd codes pulled. My guy at Ford said his scanner didn't pull 4wd codes, but his boss's personal scanner did. And just my luck that he's on vacation in Florida right now.

 

[gmanpaint]

Well heck, that puts you in a tough spot then.

The 95 is a mix of two systems. The engine is OBDI and the trans is OBDII. Making it OBDI.5

The port inside the cab is a dummy box, and of no use. The Port under the hood can only read the OBDI codes. I have no idea how to properly read the trans codes on this year. :scratch:

 

[TheEvilZX2]

Yeah I know, thanks to this forum . I've read just about every post concerning the 4wd lights that I could find, and previously the trans issues.

I failed to mention before that on the drive home it almost seemed as if the transfer case was stuck in low gear, but obviously not 4wd. The rpms were just too high for the speed I was going and the gear that I think I was in. Does that make any sense?

I'm honestly hoping this ends up being a transfer case only problem. I was a diesel mechanic for a number of years and I'm not afraid to tear into something and rebuild it. The automatic transmission was just not one of those things I was comfortable doing myself.

Anyhow I'm going to ask around and see if I can't find another scanner to pull the 4wd codes, or wait it out to get them pulled at Ford. I'll probably keep updating this post as I work this issue out, mostly for my own sanity.

 

[gmanpaint]

Makes sense.

The switch on the dash has to be turned to activate the front axle disconnect (CAD) system. If the case threw itself into Low range, only the rear wheels would be getting power. Some power would go to the front, but since it is an open differential, and one side unlocked, you wouldn't feel it.

That 4405 T-case is an electro magnetic clutch set up. I replaced mine 3 times before I swapped in a simple manual 1354 case. I had different crazy issues with all 3 that went bad, and one of them was stuck in low range like you say. Easy thing to check is drain the fluids and look for any copper bits. That would be the magnet clutch giving out.