4R55E Valve Body swap...getting ready to dive in!

[BBQdrew]

Hello all,

I've got a '96 Explorer XLT/4.0/4R55E/ControlTrac, and it's having shifting troubles. From extensive reading of some pretty thorough posts, I'm 99% certain I'm going to be wrestling with a 4R55E valve body. "Trucky" (as my daughter calls it) needs other things taken care of, but if the tranny can't be fixed, it's not worth chasing the other ones down. Just another piece of info here, we had the tranny rebuilt about 6 years ago, and the shop wants to do another rebuild without even test driving it (for a mere $1500). Not again, thanks.

Here are the symptoms: the worst is shifting into reverse, especially in winter (can take as long as two minutes!). The other issue is the flare from 2nd to 3rd. Everything seems to tally with a misbehaving valve body.

I've bought the service manual for this transmission. Can't remember who provided the link, but to that person, I say THANK YOU!

Just to be sure here, though, this is a job that can be done without taking the tranny out of the truck, right? (The only stupid question is the one you don't ask).

My plan is to flush the transmission first, then drop the pan, filter, then swap in a new valve body and filter. Does that sound about right?

I've done a lot of car work over the years, up to and including an engine rebuild in an old Jeep Cherokee, but this will be the first time I've cracked open an automatic transmission. I am open to any and all advice, thoughts, opinions, or even smart aleck remarks! I would also welcome a suggestion for a reputable supplier of the valve body.

I really like this truck, and want to keep it. I also NEED it to tow my boats back and forth to the launch ramp, and ultimately want to do some beach running with it (after a few other mods).

I look forward to hearing from y'all!

Thanks!
Andy Suplee
Cheers from Maryland's Eastern Shore!

 

[Runnin'OnEmpty]

Sure, you can do all the work you stated with the
trans in the vehicle, just by dropping the pan.

A rebuilt valve body should remedy the flare.

As for the lazy reverse engagement, Remove the
4 bolts and drop the low/reverse servo. It'll have
gunk buildup at the bottom, so clean it out and
then install a revised servo O-ring (or D-ring).

Take a cardboard box top and punch holes in it to
indicate positions of the valve body bolts, so
you can easily keep them in order. There are about
3 different bolt sizes, and they should go back in
the same holes they came out of .

Not a hard job at all. Good luck.

 

[BBQdrew]

Sure, you can do all the work you stated with the
trans in the vehicle, just by dropping the pan.

A rebuilt valve body should remedy the flare.

As for the lazy reverse engagement, Remove the
4 bolts and drop the low/reverse servo. It'll have
gunk buildup at the bottom, so clean it out and
then install a revised servo O-ring (or D-ring).

Take a cardboard box top and punch holes in it to
indicate positions of the valve body bolts, so
you can easily keep them in order. There are about
3 different bolt sizes, and they should go back in
the same holes they came out of .

Not a hard job at all. Good luck.

Thanks! That's just what I'm looking for.