2001 transmission rebuilt???

[HappyGilmore]

my friend took her 2001 Xsport in for a blinking OD light. they called back and said the tranny needed rebuilding amd it would be 800 dollars. the car only has 65,000 miles on it. has anyone else ever needed this done on thier explorer this soon with the same miles? any input appreciated.

 

[TPLYNCH]

I would get a second opinion. At least have the codes read and post them here so we can help diagnose. The problem may be very simple. Her type tranny has issues with loose valve body bolts, and bad gaskets that could cause problems, but are easily fixed for less than $800. Do it yourselfers here have too.....

 

[Silver X]

Mine has 65k on it now and the valve body had to be rebuilt 15k miles ago. It would just hang in second gear all the time even with very light or no throttle. I would be cruising around town at 4k rpm all the time. That problem was fixed, but now I have an intermittent shuddering/lurching condition while cruising at part throttle above 40mph. I'll have to take it in sometime soon for that, but it doesn't do it everyday and I'm afraid it won't do it for the service techs. The other problem is it has a 3 to 5 second delay when shifting from first to second under full throttle. It shifts out of first just past 45mph, but second doesn't engage fully until between 60 and 65mph. The rest of the shifts are fairly quick though. Fortunately I still have an extended warranty for a little while longer.

 

[Brian_B]

Mine has 72K on it now. I do not know the history, but it shifts wonderful. I would get a second opinion before let someone rebuild hers. I bet its something simple.

 

[jrzgrl]

same problem

I have an '01 Sport, 98k miles (we do the NJ-FL trip alot!). My OD light comes on blinking every so often after the transmission kind of slips or hesitates. It's going to the dealer next week - I told them ONLY run a diagnostics on the transmission. I have a guy to do that work. I'm hoping it's minor.

 

[Silver X]

Bringing this back from the dead....


My trans has been gradually getting worse, but no solution yet. Everytime I've taken it in (3x so far), they couldn't duplicate the problem....and diagnosis is $80 each time!

The O/D light on the shifter handle started flashing today so hopefully they find the problem this time. It wouldn't shift up to O/D at all even on the expressway. At light throttle it hangs up to about 5k then slams into gear. The trans also slips badly in all gears and if its floored, won't upshift at all....just swings the tach past the end (6500+rpm) and hangs there till I let up. I wish the damned thing would just die. Something has to throw a code or completely fail, otherwise they refuse to tear it open. Extended warranty runs out next week.

My Xcal2 program fixed the shifting problem for awhile, but now even that doesn't help. I went back to the stock program to see how bad it is and its a PITA to drive now.

If they don't fix it this time under warranty (or just band-aid it to make me go away till it runs out), about how much is a replacement 5r55E? How much would a complete rebuild be? Should I just try to renew my extended warranty if available and keep taking it back in?

 

[Lenair]

Silver X - I had the same problems with my '98 XLT. I was stuck at the decision to have it rebuilt or replace it with a reman'd trans. I chose the reman'd and I'm very happy I did. The shop I got the trans from has a ton of experience with the 5R55E and their reman process fixes a lot of the weakness of that model of trans. I had them install a heavy duty kit as well which included a shift correction package and beefed up internals. My local shop installed it in less than 6 hours. When everything was done I spent less than if I'd had it rebuilt and I've got a seemingly bombproof trans. The place I got the trans was RoadMasters in Schaumburg, IL (www.roadmastertranz.com). Ask for Lona.

Good Luck!

 

[Silver X]

Thanks for the info. I'll keep them in mind if/when my trans dies again.

I just got my truck back from the dealership last night. The trans was completely overhauled under warranty and seems to be working fine. It shifts when its supposed to and doesn't slip at all. I went to a different dealer that I've never tried before and they seem to be pretty good and they were fairly quick too. They only used factory replacement parts for this though, no upgrades.