4R44E VB Rebuild - Transgo kit?

[Seivad17]

Whats the purpose of the low/ reverse band servo piston and rod? is it possible to install it incorrectly (ie. not pushed in far enough) with the cover on right?

 

[Glacier991]

The low/reverse band servo, piston and rod, act as the mechanical components to have the low/reverse band grip the reverse drum. While other bands have adjustments based on how tight you torque a bolt, the only adjustments on this band are in selecting one of three specifically lengthed (is that a word?) piston and rod assemblies (actually the only change is in the rod itself). You can tell them apart by the number of rings cut into the rods - yep, 1 2 or 3. Otherwise when you 'pop them babies in', and put the cover on and wrench it down, it's done, set, finished, calibrated. Not really possible to install incorrectly in my mind.... lessee, upside down? nope. Sideways? nope. Ok, there is a spring issue. the A4LD and maybe some early 4R's had a return spring.... the 5R's did not. Pay attention to how it comes out and replace the same components and you will be fine.

Oh... how do you know if you need a longer rod? FORD has a gauge that you can use a dial indicator on. AND for the A4LD there is a aftermarket rod extender.

But wait, you say... how can I.....

STOP. Forget the aftermarket rod extenders, forget the gauges. in 98% of all cases the stock one is fine. Do I gauge my rebuilds? yes. How often is a change necessary? Never so far. Relax. As for the extenders, absent a gauge setup and a grinder, dangerous in the hands of a novice. You CAN fine tune using them.... and a gauge setup and a grinder...but for a normal rebuild - forget it.

Did this answer your Q ?

 

[Seivad17]

Good News & Bad News
Good News:
You were right Glacier it was the shift engagement lever. I can now shift.
Bad News:
Still "barely there reverse" and no "Drive" with O/D engaged. I haven't gotten it out to see about the 2-3 flare. Any Ideas?

Thanks Glacier,
That answered my question about the low/ reverse band servo, thank you. However, did you see my Good News - Bad News post? Any Ideas?

 

[Seivad17]

I think the VB Fixed the 2-3 flare but still no gears with O/D turned on (unless manual 1st or 2nd) and no/very light Reverse. I can't drive long enough to be 100% sure of the 2-3 flare. It usually wouldn’t flare when cold but I can’t drive it long enough to be sure that its warm because my head gasket is blown spewing exhaust in to the coolant and pushing coolant out the reservoir and overheating the engine. I need to have the Transmission fixed before I spend the time and money to replace the head gasket again (same thing last year). Do you guys have any more Ideas / Suggestions about the transmission?

 

[NHale623]

If your transmission does not have a separate fluid cooler, it's probably using the radiator to cool your transmission fluid. If the truck is constantly overheating, that isn't doing your transmission any good. Additionally, the PCM uses engine coolant temperature, as one of it's parameters, to determine when and how to shift. Again, if you're constantly overheating you can't be doing your transmission any favors.

I gotta think you're going about this backwards. I think you should fix your blown head gasket before you worry about your transmission. I would think that if you completely rebuilt the transmission, you'd probably have problems in another six months anyway if you continue to drive the truck in the condition it's in.

Have you scanned for codes? Do you know why you are blowing head gaskets so often?

 

[Glacier991]

When you did the VB did you replace the EPC? To my mind this looks a lot like a line pressure issue, and EPC figures prominently in that. Are there other possibles (some not good so happy) ? YES, but the EPC probably needs to be replaceed anyway and won't be $$ wasted.

 

[Seivad17]

The rebuilt VB did come with all the solenoid. So all the have been replaced. What other possibilities do you think could be the problem? I do have the blown head gasket but I have been having these problems months before the blown gasket. I can fix the head gasket, I've done that before, I just want to be able to fix the tranny before I put money into the gasket and it run a few week/months before the tranny goes out completely.

 

[Seivad17]

Glacier- The EPC was replaced with the rebuilt VB. Is it a possibility that I didn’t align the VB correctly and that’s why I'm having the same problems, or is it most likely something else?

Nhale623, thanks for your post. I don't know what caused my head gasket to blow again. I think it may be my thermostat sticking, a slow coolant leak or I just didn't tighten down the bolts correctly last time. although I don’t think replacing the head gasket is going to help (I was having the problems with the trany long before the head gasket issue came up), I am already in the process of replacing the head gasket. I'll drive it till it dies if the problem can't be figured out.

 

[Glacier991]

Do you know for a fact the EPC was a new one? I'd probably check pressures before I did a whole lot else. The 5R55E has several pressure ports.