fgump
Member
- Joined
- May 17, 2001
- Messages
- 45
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Apex, NC
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '00 XLT
Thanks to those that have been-there, done-that before me, I was able to fix this myself for a total of $270.05.
Background:
2000 XLT SOHC, 5R55E, 88k miles, transmission serviced every 30k, not driven hard, and have only towed one item, my dad's pontoon boat one time last summer for about 30 miles.
Symptoms were: right after Christmas, was driving over to pick up a friend to go for a bike ride. I noticed on the way over to his house that the shift from 2nd to 3rd didn't feel right. He has a '96 XLT, and after I picked him up, and we were riding along, he noticed the shift didn't seem right either. Checked the fluid about 5 miles later, when we got to our ride start. Right on the marks.
Fast-forward 2 weeks: drive about 110 miles away to pick up a new bike. Mostly overdrive speeds, so not much in the way of stop-starts. On the way back, about 1 mile from home, it feels REALLY sluggish shifting from 2nd to 3rd. Check the fluid, good level. I had planned to change the filter soon (last done at 60k miles)
Check this forum, type 2-3 slipping, and find the 5R55E Valve Body Rebuild Diary. What a wonderful resource. Decide, since it's not been doing it too long, that I'll try the easy way out first: check if the gasket's shot, and replace the EPC solenoid.
Last Friday night, I pulled it all down. Had a tough time getting the pan off, as I did NOT want to pull the exhaust off. Decided to loosen the front driveshaft at the transfer case, which gave me enough room to move it all around. Pulled the valve body; sure enough the gasket was blown out at the reverse/low plunger, and on the right side right by the EPC solenoid. The gasket was still intact, but just blown out the side, so I could retrieve all pieces.
Decided to replace:
from Ford dealer
EPC solenoid: XL2Z-7G383-AA $151.28
Ford TSB kit: 3L5Z-7M203-JA $19.27
valve body gasket (which I ended up not needing, as the new style separator plate has one bonded on top and bottom..., so I'll try to return this to Ford)
tax: $11.78
from Fast Parts Network (forum sponsor)
Separator plate assembly (bonded gaskets top and bottom): 1L5Z-7Z490-HA $14.80
Solenoid bracket assembly: XL2Z-7L491-AA $5.68
shipping/handling: $9.49
from Autozone:
8.5 quarts of Castrol Mercon V: $36.11
transmission filter: $16.61
Put it all back together today, tearing the cheap cork pan gasket that came with the Autozone filter, so put the original pan gasket back on and gave it a little more torque. Shifts were spot on right away, and the lingering smoke from the transmission fluid on the exhaust is burning away...
So, the clock is running. We'll see how long this one goes from here...
Thanks again Glacier and others who have paved the way for me here.
Background:
2000 XLT SOHC, 5R55E, 88k miles, transmission serviced every 30k, not driven hard, and have only towed one item, my dad's pontoon boat one time last summer for about 30 miles.
Symptoms were: right after Christmas, was driving over to pick up a friend to go for a bike ride. I noticed on the way over to his house that the shift from 2nd to 3rd didn't feel right. He has a '96 XLT, and after I picked him up, and we were riding along, he noticed the shift didn't seem right either. Checked the fluid about 5 miles later, when we got to our ride start. Right on the marks.
Fast-forward 2 weeks: drive about 110 miles away to pick up a new bike. Mostly overdrive speeds, so not much in the way of stop-starts. On the way back, about 1 mile from home, it feels REALLY sluggish shifting from 2nd to 3rd. Check the fluid, good level. I had planned to change the filter soon (last done at 60k miles)
Check this forum, type 2-3 slipping, and find the 5R55E Valve Body Rebuild Diary. What a wonderful resource. Decide, since it's not been doing it too long, that I'll try the easy way out first: check if the gasket's shot, and replace the EPC solenoid.
Last Friday night, I pulled it all down. Had a tough time getting the pan off, as I did NOT want to pull the exhaust off. Decided to loosen the front driveshaft at the transfer case, which gave me enough room to move it all around. Pulled the valve body; sure enough the gasket was blown out at the reverse/low plunger, and on the right side right by the EPC solenoid. The gasket was still intact, but just blown out the side, so I could retrieve all pieces.
Decided to replace:
from Ford dealer
EPC solenoid: XL2Z-7G383-AA $151.28
Ford TSB kit: 3L5Z-7M203-JA $19.27
valve body gasket (which I ended up not needing, as the new style separator plate has one bonded on top and bottom..., so I'll try to return this to Ford)
tax: $11.78
from Fast Parts Network (forum sponsor)
Separator plate assembly (bonded gaskets top and bottom): 1L5Z-7Z490-HA $14.80
Solenoid bracket assembly: XL2Z-7L491-AA $5.68
shipping/handling: $9.49
from Autozone:
8.5 quarts of Castrol Mercon V: $36.11
transmission filter: $16.61
Put it all back together today, tearing the cheap cork pan gasket that came with the Autozone filter, so put the original pan gasket back on and gave it a little more torque. Shifts were spot on right away, and the lingering smoke from the transmission fluid on the exhaust is burning away...
So, the clock is running. We'll see how long this one goes from here...
Thanks again Glacier and others who have paved the way for me here.