5R55* Servo sticking new semi-permanent fix | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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5R55* Servo sticking new semi-permanent fix

Just ran across a new fix and wanted to let people know about it. Many thanks to FordTechMakuloco for publishing it.

If your tranny is having the servo issues so common to this trans, go to:

Ford Lincoln Mercury Explorer Mountaineer Navigator Servo Bore Fix

Check out their solution. I have not had to do this to mine but if the problem re-surfaces (mine started this and I changed the fluid and the problem stopped) it is a better alternative than a full rebuild with the sleeve install. Can be done by almost anyone. If it does re-surface, all you have to do is replace the O-rings on new servo shaft. A much more economical solution.
 



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Forgot my commentary -- The transmission rebuilders are going to hate this...
 






I recently used their intermediate servo to replace a failed servo in my 2002 5R55S. Good quality part.

It really is straight forward. The two hardest parts of it is the snap ring, and getting the cover & servo pushed in all the way with the tranny still installed. Very limited space between the Cat and tranny case.
 






Welcome to this forum! The O-ring servo idea was once started by a member of this site. He modified an existing servo to use O-ring seals to compensate for servo bore wear. I don't know why he didn't sell the idea to Ford to have them make this an OEM part. This eliminates metal to metal contact which wears down the bore.

According to many threads on this site, it seems like servo bore wear, valve body issues, and blown valve body gaskets near the EPC solenoid occur around 60K miles. Check the torque of the valve body bolts with an in/lb 1/4" drive torque wrench before 60K miles to avoid some of these issues.
 






Most likely afraid they would just make the part(s) and sell them cutting him out of the picture.
 






What are the torque specs for the valve body bolts?

I was researching Saturday and found someone say that the bands should re-torqued every so often. They said every 15k but someone else countered that was way to often that 25 or 30k was sufficient. That was the first I had heard of that - and I'm no youngster. Used to be an automatic transmission was a reliable device or at least semi-reliable.

I have 2 Ford Vehicles (recently purchased used.) I am now a Very firm believer in transmission fluid changes. Our 2010 Fusion was starting to have a clunk when put into gear. Changed the fluid 2x and it has stopped. Our 2004 Explorer had 2 different problems when we got it. The servo bore issue gave me really hard shifts 2x going up/down the mountain here in Flagstaff. The fluid change has at least postponed the servo bore replacement. It also has an intermittent slow to engage drive issue. Still not sure if it is the valves or solenoid. Going to try some seafoam Tranny tune up pretty soon to see if it helps the valves. Ford has ruined their reputation (in my humble opinion) because their owners manuals say you never have to change fluid. The heat here in AZ is very hard on tranny's. Add in the mountains and it is a tranny killing environment.
 






Ford took away the fill tube, and told people that it was a sealed unit because they want you to go to a dealership's service department to service it. This link has a lot of useful information: http://www.ratiotek.com/5r55w-complete.pdf. The PDF is attached to this post.
 

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Yes it does have a wealth of information. Thanks
 






Most likely afraid they would just make the part(s) and sell them cutting him out of the picture.

This happened to me a few years ago. I designed a new tool, and contacted a company which advertises that they will pay for new ideas. They gave me a major run around so I went to another company which did the same thing. It turns out that both companies work with each other which I didn't know until later on. They got together, then started to manufacture it. I contacted both companies, and both of them gave me a run around saying that they were working on it for years. I was going back & forth with them for almost a year. They kept saying that they will present it at the next company meeting, then said that they never discussed it. They never told me that they were working on it when I first contacted them. They copied everything that I told them down to the way they advertised it with photos of how it worked, add on accessories, etc.

There was a third division of this company which I didn't know about. That division made a slight variation of it to be used with their product line once they saw that sales increased with the first version from the first company. That company started to make their own version several months later. All three of these companies never applied for a patent but they have manufacturing facilities with distributors so they could easily make whatever they want to sell without dealing with the "middle man".

I had a discussion with a couple of patent attorneys. They said that there was no contract or a patent so I can't do anything other than take a bunch of emails to court. There was no recorded record of telephone conversations so there's no proof that they spoke to me over the phone. It would cost a fortune in legal fees to fight them (and probably lose).
 






Sad but true. It would be very hard for a little guy to compete. Unless you have a patent or something else backing you. Even then, it's iffy.

I had a idea I worked on for a while. A cheap way to make solar water heater. The deeper I dug the more I realized it would be very hard for me to make anything off of it.
 






Since a patent attorney charges a few hundred an hour plus there are patent search & filing fees, an average patent could cost thousands of dollars. Once a patent is issued, anybody could access it, make a few changes, then file for another patent overseas. By the time the first person opens a lawsuit, the second person will be making money having it manufactured. Do a search for Bionic Grip Wrench vs Sears.
 






Yep... The only thing that might help is to publish the info about these thieves.

In the long run they will not prosper - Sears is a good example. Basically out of business -- they just don't realize it yet.
 






Does the Servo Bore wear issue plague the A4LDs as well?
 












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