How to: 5R55E Rebuild DIY Diary

[Z.Hrowal]

For the torque converter, would this one be alright to purchase? Ford A4LD 4R44E 4R55E 5R55E Explorer Ranger 4.0L engine - 2 year warranty | eBay I don't need anything fancy but don't want to get anything too cheap thats gonna crap out on me in a few thousand miles. I've read good reviews about the company (torco) from several years ago, but nothing recent.

 

[Z.Hrowal]

Alright, i've got the transmission out of the truck and i've got another question for you.
After removing the torque converter the neck definitely shows some wear, no big gouges but there is a small lip where the dark "scored" part meets the shiny part, although that entire dark part is smooth. Would i be correct in assuming that probably means the pump bushing is toast? The seal looks brand new and wasn't leaking at all (i'm guessing a previous owner had this done, i've only had the truck for a few months), and shining a flashlight in there the bushing doesn't appear to show any signs of wear, although its very difficult to see in past the seal/pump stator. I called a local shop that does top notch work and they want almost $250 to replace that bushing and seal and re-align the pump. Ouch. If i have to pay it i will but i'd rather not unless its absolutely necessary

 

[donalds]

250

250 ant bad at all imo

 

[Z.Hrowal]

No I guess not, that is a highly important and close tolerance parts. The pump/bellhousing/torque converter are at the shop right now so they can inspect everything and repair what’s necessary. Other than that the transmission is mostly back together. The old sprag wasn’t damaged at all but definitely looked to be quite a few years old judging by the color of the plastic. The races were still perfect and the new one popped right in by hand. The clutches and bands all appeared to be in great shape, I’m pretty sure someone had rebuilt this at some point before I bought the truck. One odd thing though, all of the clutch frictions were in upside down. The grooves all ran the opposite direction of what the manual stated and the word “top” on the plates was face down in the drums. Not sure how that managed to get messed up. Also, there was something weird going on with the top friction in the direct drum. It looks to have come apart in two pieces? I’m really not sure what happened, but the grooves run opposite directions which leads me to believe it was one plate at some point, thoughts?

 

[JK080]

Based on the converter hub I would want to replace that bushing, if someone walked into my shop with a pump and asked if I would change the bushing and get the pump ready for install I wouldn't charge that much, maybe 50 to 100 depending on what all has to be done.

I have seen the frictons installed upside down before and personally dont see any issues with that but its best to get them in there correctly.

The direct clutch fricton is like that because the last person who built the transmission decieded he needed to take up some clearance in the drum, so a old builders trick is to take two clutches and remove the material on one side of both clutches and put them together thus making one thick friction to take up clearance, since the clutches are together they wont wear out on that side. The best way to take up clearance is to use thick or thin clutches and steels, but if you are in a hurry and dont have them laying around you do what you have to do.

 

[Z.Hrowal]

Based on the converter hub I would want to replace that bushing, if someone walked into my shop with a pump and asked if I would change the bushing and get the pump ready for install I wouldn't charge that much, maybe 50 to 100 depending on what all has to be done.

I have seen the frictons installed upside down before and personally dont see any issues with that but its best to get them in there correctly.

The direct clutch fricton is like that because the last person who built the transmission decieded he needed to take up some clearance in the drum, so a old builders trick is to take two clutches and remove the material on one side of both clutches and put them together thus making one thick friction to take up clearance, since the clutches are together they wont wear out on that side. The best way to take up clearance is to use thick or thin clutches and steels, but if you are in a hurry and dont have them laying around you do what you have to do.

That’s more along the lines of what I was hoping for but the estimate was given to me over the phone and the owner/lead tech wasn’t in when I dropped it off, so depending on what they end up deciding it may be a little less. Otherwise the estimate I was given was 225.
Ah ok that makes sense. I ended up just replacing all the frictions and steels because they came in my kit. Soaked all the frictions and bands in fluid overnight then installed them top side facing up. I had to change a couple of the select fit retaining rings to get the proper clutch pack clearance but everything is in spec now with just normal plates and frictions in there. Thanks again for all the input

 

[Z.Hrowal]

Alright, pump assembly is all done and the total ended up being $180 since they used the seals and bushings I brought them. Doing some more research now though, it looks like that bushing is supposed to be specifically matched to the bellhousing, and Ford says if the bushing is worn the entire bellhousing should be replaced? Is this true? My overhaul kit came with the pump bushing and seal so I figured it would be ok to have those installed but maybe not

 

[JK080]

Alright, pump assembly is all done and the total ended up being $180 since they used the seals and bushings I brought them. Doing some more research now though, it looks like that bushing is supposed to be specifically matched to the bellhousing, and Ford says if the bushing is worn the entire bellhousing should be replaced? Is this true? My overhaul kit came with the pump bushing and seal so I figured it would be ok to have those installed but maybe not

I have read that before in the Ford manuals and other literature however out of the hundreds of those I personaly have built and all the ones that people I know in this industry have built no one has replaced the bellhousing due to that bushing, we all have pressed in a new bushings without any issues. as long as the converter fits into the pump and turns without any resistance you will be fine.

 

[Z.Hrowal]

Thanks for all the help everyone and for this awesome thread! I got the truck all put back together yesterday and it all works perfectly. No leaks, no funny noises, and the transmission shifts and drives flawlessly. Putting an ohm meter on the old sensor shows it was definitely faulty - the resistance readings bounce all over the place, and even jump to and from an open circuit. The new sensor showed a nice steady 75 ohm resistance

 

[transman304]

Good job! Was this your first transmission removal and repair?

 

[Z.Hrowal]

Good job! Was this your first transmission removal and repair?

Removal, no. I’ve done 3 or 4 before, although I got a transmission jack for the first time on this one which made the job infinitely easier.
Disassembly and repair, yes. The extent of taking transmissions apart for me would be a basic constant mesh gearbox out of motorcycles/dirtbikes. Was extremely nervous with how things would turn out just from some of the horror stories I read, but did a ton of research before starting and so far am very happy with how things turned out. Now we’ll have to see if it lasts