2002 Transmission issue?

[VelociRanger]

My mom owns a 2002 Explorer, 4.0 Eddie Bauer 2wd. She’s not the greatest when it comes to maintenance, but she does take decent care of it. It has 199k miles. Yesterday she told me her truck didn’t want to run right, so I took it for a drive. It doesn’t seem to want to really accelerate from a stop, but it will. Also, it seemed like 5th gear was surging or slipping possibly. Could this be due to low/bad fluid? I don’t think she’s ever had the fluid changed, and she probably doesn’t remember if she did. She asked me what the cheapest option would be to keep her truck going, my suggestion was fluid change maybe, but I’m not sure. Is there a bolt-on part we could look into without having to tear apart the trans? Fluid/filter change? Also, watched a few videos on how to do the fluid change and it worries me about letting the excess “drain out” while running after you fill it….never really worked on a sealed transmission like this one. It maybe be beneficial to also say that she said this was a sudden issue and there was no warning and had never happened before. No check engine lights or anything. Any help is appreciated, thanks.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

let me get this straight sorry

low power
5th slippage

fluid is the easiest thing to change for the slippage. not aure about the low power though, could be many many things. the next thing to try for trans if fluid doesnt woek (make sure it aint burnt) would be shift kit & new gaskets imo. but try fluid first

 

[VelociRanger]

let me get this straight sorry

low power
5th slippage

fluid is the easiest thing to change for the slippage. not aure about the low power though, could be many many things. the next thing to try for trans if fluid doesnt woek (make sure it aint burnt) would be shift kit & new gaskets imo. but try fluid first

Not really low power, the engine seems to run fine it just may need a tune up. It just seems like pulling away from a stop sign isn’t like it used to be. Almost like a little stumble upon acceleration. But put the truck in park and give it some revs it seems okay. How would I check for burnt fluid? Smells? Color? Taste? Lol.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Not really low power, the engine seems to run fine it just may need a tune up. It just seems like pulling away from a stop sign isn’t like it used to be. Almost like a little stumble upon acceleration. But put the truck in park and give it some revs it seems okay. How would I check for burnt fluid? Smells? Color? Taste? Lol.

dont taste it

if it seems fine in park i wonder if its just the trans slipping and reengaging off the line? not too much of a trans guru, just going off of what i now. could also be low fluid, see where it is on the dipstick when hot. i wonder if its just old/low fluid causing all of this. any whining from the trans? hppefully someone else chimes in too to sanity check me.

 

[VelociRanger]

dont taste it View attachment 430613if it seems fine in park i wonder if its just the trans slipping and reengaging off the line? not too much of a trans guru, just going off of what i now. could also be low fluid, see where it is on the dipstick when hot. i wonder if its just old/low fluid causing all of this. any whining from the trans? hppefully someone else chimes in too to sanity check me.

There is no dipstick unfortunately for my 2002. One of them “sealed” transmissions

 

[Fix4Dirt]

There is no dipstick unfortunately for my 2002. One of them “sealed” transmissions

dang!!!! i forgot about that!!! maybe just do a fluid change anyways- at 200k cant hurt anyways... i wonder if you can add a dipstick while ya at it. i remember seeing one for the 5r55s from the mustang crowd, but idk about the W