5r55e 4th gear to 5th gear shift issue | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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5r55e 4th gear to 5th gear shift issue

The4leaker

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May 12, 2018
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City, State
Ettrick WI
Year, Model & Trim Level
1998 ford explorer
Hey guys, first post here, my girlfriend has a 98 4.0l explorer and its not a bad truck but the trans does have some issues. I noticed while driving it it did seem to skip, or slip a little usually while driving up a hill but sometimes youd feel in on flatland. It almost felt like an engine miss but im almost sure its trans related. But to the bigger issue the 4 to 5 shift. It usually shifts very well 1 through 4 with an occasional hard shift but not often. I drove it and it shifted flawlessly all the way from first to 5 OD then i drove it the next day and it would go to shift into 5 but almost miss it and rev up to about 3500 rpms then youd have to feather the gas and it would go into 5th. Im not a auto trans guy and was going to flush and change filter for good measure, but before i get the pan off i wanted to see what you trans gurus had for ideas on what i should check out. Thanks a bunch guys! Im going to drive it more when she gets back to give a better description on the shift issue. I did check fluid level and it is good.
 



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I'm no trans guru (need Glacier to come back!) but id suggest to pull the pan and see whats in the bottom. If you have chunks or metal or something then something inside of the transmission broke.

But since its a shifting problem I would investigate the valve body. You can take it to a mechanic and they have a reader that will tell if its any electronic shifting problems in the valve body (it will throw codes which will usually tell you whats wrong).

Or check the solenoids with a simple multi meter, in your case maybe one of them is weak and isn't able to engage fully when needed. You can also disassemble the valve body and test and clean all of the valves to make sure they slide easy (its a tedious process).

I looked on Sonnax and it says possible causes of losing 5th/OD would be the coast clutch valve on the valve body. If you need a link let me know

Be careful when you are trying to get it into OD and it wont engage, you could possibly damage the clutch packs which is a $$$ repair compared to MAYBE $200 for the VB if thats the issue
 






Thanks @puzzaa for the reply! And a little more on the issues. It always shift hard into 2nd (especially when downshifting) more on the 4th to od flare, it'll rev to about 3500 rpms and depending on how you baby it it'll go in but yeah. Im probably going to pull the pan this weekend so any other ideas before i drop it would be great guys. it also never has the o/d light come on so it shouldnt have tranny codes am i right? I scanned the codes a couple weeks ago and it didnt have any for trans but could it possibly be torque converter not locking right? Im kindof dumb when it comes to auto trans as ive only had a few pans off in my life.
 






@Glacier991 id seen you commented on a 5r55e with 2nd gear and o/d issues. Was wondering what you think? Must suck being a tranny guru on a ford forum
 






OD flashing means serious problems. But if the light isn't on it doesn't necessarily mean it is not throwing codes. What did you use to scan for codes? A simple OBD II scanner is more for engine codes and won't usually tell you if there is a trans problem. There's a special scanner mechanics have that hook directly to service ports on the trans that tell if there is anything wrong. Some mechanics do it for free, but won't tell you the code unless you pay them. (i think AAMCO will test drive and diagnose for free? Not sure call your local trans shops and ask around).

Also, look on the sonnax site like I mentioned for the 5r55e valve body they have trouble shooting shift issues you just put in whats wrong and it tells you what valve or solenoid could be locked or weak.

Is it the original valve body or were upgrades done to it?

And just drop the pan and check fluid color and for metal chunks. Also possibly change the filter? Not sure if that will help but its worth a try.

Check the solenoids with a meter from under the car. DO NOT unbolt the valve body unless you are sure you want to check the valves. If you do, make sure you know which bolts go where because they are all different sizes. And you need a INCH-lb torque wrench to tighten it back up (amazon has it but not my local autozone for some reason). There is a guide on here somewhere about the torque specs. If it isn't torqued right it wont shift right either.

If you do unbolt, like I mentioned just take off the gasket inspect the spings and balls and valves make sure everything slides ( i cleaned mine out with brakeclean) You might have to buy a new gasket for it.

Good luck keep us informed.
 






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