4R55E and M5OD (R1/HD) questions

[Brandon96]

Alrighty fellas, it was inevitable but apparently it's about that time for my tranny to take a poop on me.

1996 Explorer 4 door 4x4
4.0L (built) OHV V6
4R55E and BW4405

Today, the week after the GWNF trip (which I spent most of in 4x4 Low, and the reason which I'm assuming this has happened), driving to work I was accelerating from a stop light and suddenly the truck popped out of 2nd gear, revved up and banged back down into 1st when I let off. Then, wouldn't shift out of 1st or 2nd unless I let off the gas and gingerly got back on the throttle. 3rd and 4th run smoothly as does O/D (4th) with no issues. My O/D light does not flash however my truck threw a P0756 - B (2nd) shift solenoid.

I glanced through the forums and found a few solutions; From what I've read, my issue most likely lyes with a bad TPS, a bad 2nd gear shift solenoid, bad valve body gasket or a bad/broke band somewhere. I checked my TPS with a multimeter, and being only a month old, everything checked out okay as far as voltage thresholds according to this forum and Ford.

I plan to drop the pan tomorrow and go ahead and remove the valve body to see what's going on, but before I did I figured I would consult 'The Experts' on exactly what I need to look for. I know I at least need to change the fluid, the filter is only about a year old.. the valve body has never been removed and gasket never replaced. I would LIKE to go ahead and rebuild the valve body using a kit such as the TransGo, but don't really know what's out there and what exactly I need concerning the issues I'm having. I know I'll more than likely need a new SSB (B solenoid) and at since I'm at it, a new EPC solenoid?

Any input on your previous experiences or things you think I should do/check would be GREATLY appreciated.


On the other hand.. what version of the M5OD did the 2nd Gen 4doors have? I'm pretty sure all of the 5-speed 4doors were the OHV paired with the electric shift bw4405, but I could be wrong. If all else fails I might look into a 5-speed swap considering my engine is probably just going to tear my 4r55e up again anyways :

-Brandon

 

[mr cribb]

The 4 door 5 speeds are extremely rare. I have seen 4 so far all 1st gens. Mine, 1 on here that just joined from NJ, and 2 for sale on c-list. I think I have seen 2 2nd gen 4dr 5 speeds both on ebay, and that was a long while back.

You would prob wind up getting a 5 speed from a sport model. As far as I know it was just the M5OD... don't think there was a difference, until the HD version found in later rangers.

you could put in the manual version for a t-case, seen a few done.

 

[Ranger379]

explorers/ranger with the 4.0 ohv have the M5od. rangers/explorers with the 4.0 sohc have the M5od HD. from what i have read on here a while ago, the HD will bolt up to the OHV motor but will have one unused bolt hole. any manual trans from a 4.0 ranger will work too. i got a 5speed from a junkyard from a 99 ranger, and a 1354M from a 95 ranger both for just 400bucks... just waiting on time to put them in now lol. try to get a 5-speed from an older ranger and the tailhousing should have the bolt bosses for a manual t-case if/when you would want one of those

 

[Brandon96]

Let me ask you guys this; My buddy (FishFood) has a '99 5-speed with the electric shift 4405, I think he has the SOHC... is there anyway I could still use my E-shift 4405? Or would that involve wire harness / ECU splicing?

Also, still haven't had the time to open up mine to see what's going on... work is KILLING me.. and I feel really bad having to rev up through 1st gear so it will go into 2nd. Probably annoying everyone at the intersections with my flowmasters :

 

[Ranger379]

if you have the 4405 elec shift in yours now then i dont see y not. the only thing you would be changing would be the 5speed. might want to take a look at the electrical connectors tho and make sure they are the same style plugs. you will need the computer from the same year as yours but in a 5speed. other wise your ecm will think something is wrong with your auto tranny (that has been replaced by the 5speed lol)

 

[Brandon96]

Okay, I've got the next few days off and am going to open up the tranny in a few hours.

Would it be okay for me to disconnect the return line from the trans cooler and start the truck to drain the fluid out of the trans? Or would that hurt the valve body/internals even worse?

 

[Ranger379]

Okay, I've got the next few days off and am going to open up the tranny in a few hours.

Would it be okay for me to disconnect the return line from the trans cooler and start the truck to drain the fluid out of the trans? Or would that hurt the valve body/internals even worse?

thats not something i would do lol...

dropping the pan aint bad, when i dropped mine i took all the bolts out except one in the front and one in the back, i just broke them loose, then stick a jack stand in the either the front or back, remove that bolt then just hold the other end with one hand and take the last bolt out with the other hand. thats how i dropped mine, and i didnt make much of a mess.

 

[Brandon96]

I'm obviously not as skilled as you... the last two times I've spilt fluid EVERYWHAARS.

Oh well, third time's the charm right? Gonna drop the pan, we'll see how this goes today...

 

[Ranger379]

I'm obviously not as skilled as you... the last two times I've spilt fluid EVERYWHAARS.

Oh well, third time's the charm right? Gonna drop the pan, we'll see how this goes today...

when you find yourself lacking proper tools/extra hands you tend to come up with rather creative solutions lol

good luck and take some pics too of what you find inside

 

[Brandon96]

Alright, it's been a little while but I FINALLY got time and dropped the pan today, aaaand just quit right there while I was ahead : As the fluid was pouring over the pan I started to see bits and pieces of gasket, which I can only assume were parts of the VB gasket.. pour out with the fluid. No metal or shavings in the pan (it's been about 10k since I last dropped it) so I decided to seal it up and just go ahead with a valve body rebuild for now.

I've got a cart ready to go with Transmission Parts USA, but have a couple questions; I've got the Transgo kit (SK 44-55E) in the cart, and wanted to add a shift solenoid to replace my "b" solenoid which is obviously bad since no matter how many times I clear the P0756 code, it comes right back when I put it in drive. However, I'm a little confused on what solenoid to get, they sell two;

Here is the link for reference

1) a Transmission shift solenoid (part# 23393B) and 2) a Transmission shift/coast solenoid (part# 56841U)

I'm curious as to which one I need to replace the "B" shift solenoid??

Also, I've seen that with all 5r55e Valve Body rebuilds everyone has replaced the EPC solenoid along with the rebuild.. I see that (on the same link) there is an EPC solenoid for a 1997-up valve body.. I'm wondering if my 4r55e valve body has an EPC solenoid, and if so why that one wouldn't work?



I'm also picking up a new filter, pan gasket and VB gasket... anything else I need? Any help is greatly appreciated guys!

 

[Brandon96]

Bump, wasn't able to get in contact with TransmissionPartsUSA.. still don't know what Solenoid I need

 

[Brandon96]

Okay, it's been a bit but here's an update. I finally got some time to work on this problem, to no avail.

Remember I had no 1-2 shift unless I let off the gas above 20mph, and the O/D light would flash if I went over 45mph (or into O/D I would assume), and the truck was throwing a DTC P0756 - Shift Solenoid "B" stuck open/closed. Also, it's been noticeably slow getting from park to drive or to reverse.

SOOO... since finances denied me from going to the M5OD I decided to drop the pan. I installed the full TransGO kit and replaced the SSB (or what I thought was the SSB per Glacier's 5r55e write up [Shown HERE]) with a new shift/coast solenoid (part number 56841U from TransmissionpartsUSA). Also I installed a new bonded gasket separator plate and gasket. Aaaaaaannnnnndddd... nothing worked.

The truck still doesn't want to shift from 1st-2nd, unless I let off the gas. It still throws the DTC P0756, and still is slow going to and from both drive and reverse. HOWEVER, all my shifts are AWESOME now, no delay between them and it's extremely comfortable, not firm, but comfy.

What did I do wrong? I cleared the previous DTC codes with a Scanguage, do I need to reset the whole computer instead? I'm at a total loss right now. Here's a pic of the work, you can see the new solenoid (second from the left up top)

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.