4r55e no forward or reverse

[jon_]

Hello Group!

I have a 95 explorer with a 4r553 transmission that has no forward or reverse. I tried to pull the codes but the battery had died so they were reset. When I bought the EX the transmission had been replaced and it quit working on a drive home, never worked since. I checked the transmission fluid and it was overfilled by almost a gallon. I siphoned it down to the cross hatch and the fluid looks good and smells like it should.

When I shift into any gear, I hear absolutely nothing other than the linkage. I have been reading and this thing has 6 solenoids, is that correct? Would any of these cause the failure or possibly a fuse or relay?

I am trying to eliminate all of the easy cheap fixes before I pull the tranny, which looks like a chore.

Any suggestions or should I begin pulling it?

Thanks in advance,

Jon

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! Check the main pressure, and the EPC pressure with a 0 - 300 PSI test gauge. There are many possibilities such as a blown valve body gasket, loose valve body bolts, failed EPC solenoid, no power to the EPC solenoid or blown seals within the transmission.

 

[JK080]

The big clue here is that it is overfilled.

If you check the fluid level with the engine off and then recheck the level with the engine running, they should be different. With the engine off the fluid level should be high on the stick (overfilled), with the engine running the level should drop to the correct level. If the level does not change with the engine off versus the engine running the pump is not working, without the pump nothing works.

 

[jon_]

Thanks Brooklyn, I had read that answer in the forums already but am not quite sure how to pull it off. I wanted to try that after reading it yesterday and was looking for a tutorial that shows the tools and where to connect. If it has blown the seals would I notice leaking from the transmission? I have no visible leaks anywhere around the transmission.

JK080, With a cup of coffee this morning I thought the exact same thing. Maybe it was not overfilled but the pump was not working so the fluid had not been pumped through the tranny. I had read that if it was overfilled it would be overflowing from the tube and that was not happening. I never did think to check it will it was cold and see if there was a difference, I always checked it while running and hot in park.


Also, this has got to be one of the best places on the net I have ever found with so much information about a particular vehicle and the information in here is a gold mine. I rarely ever register for anything but this was a must, absolutely amazing the knowledge on this forum.

Thanks for the help! I'll try and do a pressure test and barring that coming back bad, I'll try and replace the pump.

Jon

 

[BrooklynBay]

The main test pressure port is on the driver's side of the transmission, and the EPC test pressure port is on the passenger's side of the transmission. Another thing to check is the range sensor which is located on the driver's side of the transmission. A defective or out of adjustment sensor won't tell the computer which gear you're in. Check this diagram for more information:

 

[coolauzie88]

could your linkage have broken?

also, does this have 4wd? mine got stuck between 4wd high and 4wd low and the transfer case essentially gave me neutral. ive read about the shift motor going crazy on these every once in a while and changing positions... shot in the dark but possible.

 

[jon_]

Well I found a transmission and a transfer case, needed for another project, less than 90k on both for $350. I know from readiing here that the 4r55e and 5r55e are interchangeable. How though can you tell which is which, are there markings or a tag located somewhere or possibly a stamp on the transmission?

I think once I pull these I am going to rebuild them for the knowledge and because reading about everyone here doing it, it looks like I have enough instructions. Also, if either of these happen to go south I'll have rebuilds ready to go back in.

Jon

***EDIT***

Figured it out thanks to Brain(Brian)'s Frankentranny write up. There is a stamp on the bell housing.

90GT = A4
95GT = 4r55e
97GT = 5r55e

What a great site!

 

[jon_]

Cool, the linkage is not broken, it seems to be the only thing that does work.

 

[BrooklynBay]

The 4R55E & 5R55E have different parts which are interchangeable if you're going to swap transmissions. These parts are: the range sensor, valve body separator plate, valve body gaskets, EPC solenoid, and possibly the check ball configuration & number of check balls (although I'm not sure on that one).

 

[coolauzie88]

Cool, the linkage is not broken, it seems to be the only thing that does work.

I meant internally. Does it feel like the linkage is actually shifting gears? Probably a silly question but I find that sometimes i over think things and miss the blatantly obvioius things.

 

[Gator417]

Cool,
Not a silly question at all. However, the linkage doesn't really shift gears, it only acts as a switch to activate different solenoids. The solenoids move valves which redirect fluid which actually does the shifting. So back to the problem of pressure; no pressure, no nothing.
Gator

 

[PopRichie77]

The linkage does move the manual valve in the valve body and if this is in the wrong position, like all the way in, I believe that nothing happens.