2004 Ranger, 5R55E, installed central valve body, no reverse

[philosopheriam]

Folks,

As the title states, I installed a reman valve body from Central Valve bodies in my 2004 Ranger with a 5R55E.

HERE'S WHAT I DID:
Installed the new valve body
Adjusted the intermediate and O/D bands
Installed a new servo cover gasket and viton D-rings on the low/reverse servo

PROBLEM: after the valve body install, I have NO reverse - doesn't even feel like its engaging.

The truck DOES go into drive when placed in "D"
The manual valve is positioned correctly

I dropped the valve body and low/reverse servo too see if anything obvious was awry. Nothing. I check the low/reverse servo to make sure I didn't bugger one of the D-rings. Neither of the rings rolled, either. They look fine. I also checked to make sure that the end of the piston rod engages the "notch" on the reverse band. It appears that the band is in the proper place.

Truck had all gears before valve body install - new valve body was installed as part of a 130K preventative maintenance service.

I was EXTREMELY careful about torquing the valve body progressively and in the proper order to 95in/lb. I used a 4-stage torque sequence: 25-45-70-95



I need help fast. I appreciate any input you can provide!

 

[transman304]

It really sounds like the servo pin is missing the band. But I have never had a band move on me with just a valve body R/R. Have you taken something (other than servo) and tried to apply the band to feel if it is engaging? I will do some research and see what I can find. You mentioned D rings and I have never used those on this transmission. Does it seem to fit bore snug?

 

[philosopheriam]

It really sounds like the servo pin is missing the band. But I have never had a band move on me with just a valve body R/R. Have you taken something (other than servo) and tried to apply the band to feel if it is engaging? I will do some research and see what I can find. You mentioned D rings and I have never used those on this transmission. Does it seem to fit bore snug?

transman,

It does indeed feel like the servo pin is completely missing the band - however, I have no picture or real indication as to what part of the band the pin should be applying/touching - there appears to be a "notch" in the band where I can see the witness marks of where the pin has contacted the band, but I am not sure this is 100% where the the pin needs to hit the band.

The d-rings fit snugly into the bore - even if there were damaged, they would have to bypass tremendously in order for there to be zero pressure to the reverse band.

Overall, if I don;t get this solved by Sunday, I'm ffffed. Donny from Central Valve Bodies doesn't seem to be available on weekends.

 

[JK080]

You should be able to see the low the band with the valve body off, you could watch it move when you installed the servo. I think "maybe" the output shaft wont turn one way if the servo is depressed, this could be a way to tell if the servo can work the band.


You could always put your old valve body back on, if it gets reverse back you can at least know what the problem is and be able drive it until the new valve body can be warrantied. Just something to think about if you run out of time.

 

[philosopheriam]

Gentlemen,

Today I'm going to drop the valve body again and look at the low/rev servo where it contacts the band.

Thus far, here's what I don't know

1. Is there a problem with the new valve body - maybe, but unlikely considering Central's reputation
2. Is there a problem with the low/reverse servo - either bad orings or bad alignment to the band.

Overall, one of the hardest things to swallow is when I, a professional mechanic, take a running vehicle and make it worse than it was before. :-(

 

[philosopheriam]

Gentlemen,

Anyone who can provide a quick response gets a gold star and my eternal appreciation.

I took some photos of what I believe to be the "apply" tab on the low reverse band. Call me crazy, but it appears that the band is in the proper position to contact the servo tip. When I move the band back and forth with a screwdriver, I can see where the tab begins and ends - it looks like the tab is approximately 1/2" wide.

 

[transman304]

If you take something and push up on the piece in the pic can you move it to the front and to the rear of trans. It just look wrong in the last 2 pics. You are a brave man to get under that bore for a pic. How long did it drip fluid. LOL!

 

[transman304]

Just read where you can move it. Sorry, how far will it push up? Take the rings off and push up the servo till it stops and see if it is bottomed out or still has movement after touching the band.

 

[philosopheriam]

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE......................!

About 30min ago, I reinstalled the old valve body, made sure the low/reverse band was aligned properly, reinstalled the low/reverse servo, and filled her up with 7qts of Castrol Transmax.

Truck shifts into reverse just fine
All my gears are present
Trans appears to be shifting smoothly and normally
No trouble codes or flashing O/D lights

And it appears that the reman valve body from Central was the culprit - after installing it for the first time and no reverse, I removed it again to make sure I didn't screw anything up. I made sure the low/reverse band was aligned properly, as well. Still no reverse with this valve body. I have no idea what's wrong with it, but I'll be sending it back to Donny ASAP for a refund.

I pissed away my entire weekend and almost $80 of synthetic fluid FFING around with a bad part. :-/

 

[JK080]

Glad to hear its back on the road.

I feel your pain with the wasted time and fluid for something out of your control.

 

[Varsity]

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE......................!
And it appears that the reman valve body from Central was the culprit - after installing it for the first time and no reverse, I removed it again to make sure I didn't screw anything up. I made sure the low/reverse band was aligned properly, as well. Still no reverse with this valve body. I have no idea what's wrong with it, but I'll be sending it back to Donny ASAP for a refund.

I pissed away my entire weekend and almost $80 of synthetic fluid FFING around with a bad part. :-/

Please let me know what he says and what happens next. Coincidentally a CVB was next on my to-do list and I was in the process of starting the order. I know its not comforting, but maybe you just happened to get a bad one? I know a lot of people here recommend him so I'm stuck at a crossroads.

I'm glad to hear your issue is good now, but I totally understand the frustration with wasted fluid. That's happened to me MANY times before..

 

[philosopheriam]

Please let me know what he says and what happens next. Coincidentally a CVB was next on my to-do list and I was in the process of starting the order. I know its not comforting, but maybe you just happened to get a bad one? I know a lot of people here recommend him so I'm stuck at a crossroads.

I'm glad to hear your issue is good now, but I totally understand the frustration with wasted fluid. That's happened to me MANY times before..

I'm sure Donny will make good on it - he seems like a decent guy. Unfortunately, at this point, I just want a refund as I have ZERO desire to be working on this valve body anytime soon...

 

[philosopheriam]

UPDATE

I spoke to Josh at CVB and he said to send the valve body to them for a warranty return - thankfully, I can use the FedEx shipping label originally intended for the core return. Once they inspect the VB, I asked Josh if he could let me know what's wrong with it as I am very curious....

As for my truck, I drove it 35mi one way today and everything appears to be working normally. Reverse and all gears seem strong. Since I adjusted the bands, upshifts seem much more smooth and positive.

 

[philosopheriam]

UPDATE:

Spoke to Josh at CVB - apparently, my valve body had a non-functioning valve in it (I didn't ask specifics) - this valve body was an experiment intended to be shipped to a different customer. According to Josh, they had installed some valves of a different dimension inside this VB - it tested OK on a machine but didn't work in the real world.

In any case, they will be issuing me a full refund on Monday.

 

[philosopheriam]

UPDATE:

I decided to give Donny another shot - he apologized and sent me another valve body.

I installed the new valve body today and the shifting seems fine - I only drove it up and down the block and about a mile down the street.

Unfortunately, there is one things that is annoying me - when the truck is in reverse or drive, there is an audible "hissing" noise coming from the transmission area. It disappears when the vehicle is put in neutral or park.

Also, I have noticed a very slight delay in reverse engagement. Nothing major, just not as fast as my OEM valve body.

Overall, I will see how it shifts on a longer drive this upcoming Monday. Also, I will give Donny a call to see if he knows anything about the noise I'm hearing.

Honestly, for lack of a better description, my mood is *meh* right now - this will be the 4th time I have dropped the valve body in this trans and I'm just not 100% happy.

I guess I had higher hopes going into this....

 

[ozydeco]

Greatly appreciate your posts... Thinking about where to source parts for mine as well. Sounds like your old valve body performed better than your new one -faster engagement and no hissing. Please do post any post any new info. or resolve. Thanks...

 

[philosopheriam]

UPDATE:

I removed the Central VB and reinstalled my old one with an new separator plate w/bonded gaskets. Truck shifts fine, forward hiss is gone. Reverse engagement seems normal.

In a few thousand miles, I will drop the pan, retorque the VB, and change the fluid/filter. Then, I'm done messing with this trans for a long time...

This have been an expensive and frustrating experiment.