2002 Explorer tranny problem (Would appreciate some quick help please)

[CAGERATTLER]

Im in need of some quick help or thoughts on what could be the problem with my GF's 02 Explorer before we have it towed to a shop.

1st off some quick specs.........

02 Explorer XLT
4.0 V6
4WD
not sure which model tranny
80,000 miles

Truck was bought used and had about 50,000 miles on it.

Theres been no service done to it that we are aware of including fluid or filter changes which i know should have been done.



Long story short (hopefully).........

The truck has run perfectly up till yesterday. No signs of any tranny problems at all. No slipping, no clunking, no grinding noise, no hard shifting. The only thing we've noticed is a slight 1-2 second delay when putting in reverse.

Yesterday when coming home from a short trip, I stopped at a stop sign at the end of my road and when i started to take off, it slipped momentarily and then grabbed. 1st sign of anything wrong!

Pulled it in the driveway and went to go somewhere later that evening and then nothing! It wont go into any gear at all. The shifter feels normal going up & down through the gears, but no gears grab at all. Just feels like every gear position is neutral.

Jacked it up this morning to see if i could see anything. The shifter arm (on the side of the tranny) is moving when going through the gears. Tried to see if i could find any electrical connectors loose but no luck.

Sounds to me, since there was no real warning signs and no gears at all engage, that it is probably an electrical problem somewhere (hopefully).

Stopped at a couple shops today to try to get some ideas and prices on any repairs. Only prices they would really give me was a top end price of $2000 - $2500 for a total rebuild. Not what i wanted to hear obviously!!

I was hoping to get some prices of what it would cost if it were this or that but i understand that they wont know what they got till they get in there.

The one place told me its not an electrical problem and sounds like something broke inside because it should still go in reverse even if its electrical. In other words, he said not going into reverse could only be a mechanical problem.

Is that correct or is he blowing smoke up my rear??

Before i have it towed to a shop ........Any thoughts, Ideas or tips on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated.

Im a decent back yard mechanic but have never worked on trannys and dont really have the time to learn and experiment right now unless there are any relays, sensors or switches i can check myself without dropping the pan.

Thanks

By the way .... I just registered to post this but looks like alot of good info here (yes i did some searching before making a post) and i also have a 94 Ranger, so this site looks to be one i will be frequenting often.

 

[StangsandMavs]

Have you checked your fluid level? I'm not an expert on the inner workings of transmissions like some that post here (most of my experience with transmissions is swapping them), but it's been my experience that when you start getting delays in shifting, it's often a case of low fluid.

That's not to say that's the only thing wrong... but that would be my first check. Remember to check it on level ground with the engine warmed up...

 

[CAGERATTLER]

Thanks for the reply

The fluid has not been checked and since this wont even go in gear at all, I dont think i could check the fluid properly anyway.

No signs of any leakage whatsoever or any other signs of any tranny problems before this so i doubt its a low fluid problem.

 

[daan-o]

is your check engine light on? i know its not running so you cant just drive it to a shop, but you need to get a hold of a scan tool for a transmission the basic ones are pretty vauge on what they read....get the codes its reading and go from there.

 

[StangsandMavs]

Thanks for the reply

The fluid has not been checked and since this wont even go in gear at all, I dont think i could check the fluid properly anyway.

No signs of any leakage whatsoever or any other signs of any tranny problems before this so i doubt its a low fluid problem.

Well, you check the fluid in Park... so that shouldn't be an issue. The other thing, color is as important as the level...

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! Your 5R55W has a plug to check the fluid level instead of a regular dipstick. You have to climb under the truck to check it. The transmission section has a sticky thread called the 5R55W fluid fill which has all of the information. It sounds like the solenoid block is your problem. They tend to act up around 60K miles. There is another sticky thread on how to replace this. it was written by Borland. You could purchase a solenoid block from WWW.800700Tran.Com. Here's the link: http://www.800700tran.com/prod.itml/icOid/159

 

[Glacier991]

Check fluid first....but BB has a point about the solenoid blocks being problematic. (I forecast this problem a few years ago). If it IS low fluid level (even though this is supposed to be a closed system) I'd follow up by flushing the tranny and checking for a leak point. The 5R55E and W (yours) and S and N need clean fluid to live long lives. The fluid should be changed in its entirely not less than every 50,000 miles for maximum tranny life on these puppies IMHO.

 

[buckeyegirl]

My Explorer did the same thing. I had it towed to a tranny shop and they diagnosed it as the transfer case...said something was broke inside. SInce they will not revuild it and want $1700 plus to put in a rebuilt one- I know, doesn't make sense- I had my uncle, who is a mechanic go pick it up. He has had it for almost 2 months now and still hasn't worked on it so we decided we are going to do it ourselves. I found a used one on eBay which includes a 1 year parts and labor warranty for $450 shipped to my door- way better than the $1700. SInce I know these Explorers are notorious for tranny issues, I decided to get one with 83,000 miles that way if it is going to go out, it should hopefully be during the warranty period.

Good luck but I would definitely consider the transfer case.