5R55e - rebuild or replace

[fraxinusalba]

Having problems with the transmission in my 97 Explorer. Its got 212,00 miles on it and the trans was rebuilt at 162,000. With this mileage on it, would it be best to replace it with a used one with 80,000 or rebuild again? Replacement with the used one is about $300 cheaper than the rebuild.

Also, is 50,000 miles typical on a rebuild?

 

[MBeaston]

Having problems with the transmission in my 97 Explorer. Its got 212,00 miles on it and the trans was rebuilt at 162,000. With this mileage on it, would it be best to replace it with a used one with 80,000 or rebuild again? Replacement with the used one is about $300 cheaper than the rebuild.

Also, is 50,000 miles typical on a rebuild?

Most People That Rebuild Transmissions Such As My Self Give A 100k Mile Warranty On All Their Work Seems Like Something Wasn't Done Correctly If You Ask Me... (Wondering If Your Valve Body Was Cleaned And Fitted With New Gasket During Rebuild)

 

[fraxinusalba]

All the recommended updates to the valve body were suppose to have been made with the rebuild as I specifically asked about this due to the info I got about the trans on this site. I assume it was done. The rebuild included a master kit, 3 bands, pressure switch, neutral switch, overdrive drum, overdrive sprag, lockup switch, filter, and torque converter according to parts list on the invoice.

I'm in a rural area and there's not many auto trans repair shops. Best warranty I could get was 12,000 miles.

 

[MBeaston]

sounds to me like the work that u were charged for wasnt really done i think its possible that they just replaced the clutch plates and left everything else the same primarily the torque converter they should never be reused because they can cause metal flakes from previous transmission failure to stop up the valve body on the rebuilt transmission which would cause the transmission to prematurely fail IE: only lasting about 50k miles

 

[fraxinusalba]

You never know about any repair shop. That's why I do almost all repairs myself. I don't know much about auto trans so didn't think a rebuild was within my abilities. I was shown an invoice for the parts from the Ford dealer dated during the time the vehicle was in the shop though.

 

[2000StreetRod]

rebuild experience

I had poor luck with my Tahoe transmission rebuilt by a national chain shop. I paid extra to get all of the upgrades and heavy duty parts possible. It only lasted for two years before I lost the ability to upshift from 2nd to 3rd. I found a local shop with an excellent reputation that guaranteed the rebuild for two years or 24,000 miles. That was 14 months ago and no problems yet. People comes from hundreds of miles away to have this shop rebuild their transmissions. Many customers are restoring a classic or building a performance vehicle.

If you intend to keep your vehicle and can find a good shop I suggest that you have the transmission rebuilt. If you just want it to last a while longer I think that your chances with a salvage transmission are about as good as a rebuild from your last shop. I plan to have my Sport transmission with 152,000 miles rebuilt when it starts to fail.

 

[fraxinusalba]

I was leaning toward the used trans since I could install it myself and save on labor. Always wanted to try a trans rebuild and figured I could attempt that on the one I take out and have it for my 99 when the trans goes on it (182,000 so could be any time) or the used one doesn't last long. But the junkyard wants the old one for a core and with the core charge, cost of used one not worth it.

I want it to last a couple more years (15-20,000 miles) until kid gets out of college.

 

[MBeaston]

Honestly My Advise to you is to go to local autozone by the rebuild kit and the ford transmission book for c3 c4 and c5 transmissions all in one book then follow instructions in book to rebuild it... automatic transmissions are a hell of a lot easier to rebuild then manual ones in my opinion

 

[ranger7ltr]

What exactly is the problem you are having with the tranny?

Forgive me if i missed it but I don't see where you state the problem with the tranny...50K would not be a typical time period for a proper rebuild though...

But some of the issues with these trannies can be fixed with a replacement valve body/seperator plate from the likes of Central Valve Bodies...

If the shifting isn't right, if it's flaring on upshift or you need to back off the throttle to make it upshift can be corrected by valve body work...Plus when was the fluid last changed and what fluid was used in it?

 

[fraxinusalba]

Reverse is almost gone - takes some added RPMs to get it moving. Won't drop to 1st in drive - have to manually downshift then upshift. Seems to work through gears fine when manually shifted and no slippage. No early symptoms, happened suddenly.

I change the auto trans fluid and filter in all my vehicles every 20-25K miles. Been less than 10K miles since last change on this one. Always Mercon V in the Explorers.

 

[ranger7ltr]

This sounds like a valve body/seperator plate gasket issue...

The slippage in reverse and the not downshifting into 1st could easily be a seperator plate or stuck valve problem... Actually it could be a linkage adjustment issue too...

The reverse could be a worn out oring on the reverse servo; easy to replace with the pan removed...The downshift/upshift problem might be a leaking valvebody or valve not moving thanks to a piece of gasket in the vb...

Of course there could be more serious issues going on too since it was rebuilt not that long ago...And getting a used tranny could fix the problems but the vb replacement corrects problems that Ford failed to address and usage caused wear...And the used tranny could develop its own set of issues..

A quality replacement vb from Central corrects the shifting and leakage problems inherent with the Ford vb and addresses pressure and seperator plate updates that Ford recommends but charges the customer to do... And Central is a helluva lot cheaper and comes with a warranty...

 

[fraxinusalba]

Thanks for the valve body info. I think its probably worth a try since its something I can do myself. So what's the difference between a Central Valve vs Wholesale Trans rebuilt at almost 3 times the price and only a 12 month vs lifetime warranty plus Wholesale lets you keep the core. Central has little info on what they actually do for the rebuild.