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How to: 5R55E Valve Body Rebuild Diary

Prefix for threads which are instructional.
A leaking servo or a loose band will slip. Metal, rubber & band material will expand when it gets hot, then have extra gripping force. Everything contracts when it cools down which will cause a wider gap with less gripping force.

Is a servo another name for one of the solenoids, or something else?

Also, in the band adjustment thread, you mentioned a delayed shift when cold could be a problem with the governor. Does my 5R55E have a governor?
 



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Hi, first post. Huge thread, not sure how it will apply to my problem.

'02 Ranger, 4L, 5R55E tranny. It has a delayed shift from 1st to 2nd when cold. When the truck warms up, the problem goes away. New fluid and filter didn't help.

Is this a solenoid issue or would a new VB gasket fix it?

It ran perfect for 10 years (115k miles). Has been doing this for 3 months or so.

The 5R55E is a electronically controlled transmission, meaning that the computer is in charge of shift timing and quality.

It would be helpful to see the data stream from the computer to the transmission, this can be done with a decent scanner. If the computer tells the trans to shift into 2nd and the trans is not responding then the problem should be something with the trans itself. If the computer has not commanded the 2nd gear shift on time then the problem will be with the control of the trans, this could be many different things and the transmission should be fine.
 






No Reverse and No Neutral: All forward shift well

Hello,
I have a 1995 Ford Ranger 3.0L with a 4R44E with 195K miles.
It suddenly lost Reverse and Neutral a month ago, all forward gears shift well:

1) Loss of reverse: When I put in R, it tried to change gear into reverse, go forward 1 feet, go backward 1 feet and then nothing, seems like it went back to neutral. Even when I increase the RPM, it won't move.

2) Loss of Neutral: When I put in Neutral, it still goes a little bit forward. If I rev up the RPM, it will go faster but will not shift the gears up.


I read every single page of this diary and decided to order a remanuf. valve body from Central Valve body.
- I checked all the solenoids before installing the remanf. VB and they are all within expected readings.
- I installed the new VB from Central Valve body and torqued at in sequence as described in this diary using a 1/4" in/lbs Torque wrench from Harbor Freight: Hand tight all the bolts, first pass at 70 in/lbs and final pass at 97 in/lbs.
- Made sure that the manual shift lever is correctly installed.
- Put in new filter and Mercon fluid
- Make sure that the fluid level is in the Crossed zone when warmed at idle

STILL THE SAME ISSUE. No error code.

Tried to adjust the bands according to another threads in this forum: STILL the same symptoms. No error code.

I ordered a auto transmission oil pressure kit and measured the main pressure line :
The warm readings are:
park&neutral: stable around 80 psi @ idle,
Reverse: fluctuates around 125 psi @ idle
Drive: Stable around 80 psi @ idle

Anyone had the same issue or has any advice?


Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks!
 






Sounds like the forward clutch has welded the clutches and steels together, not a uncommon failure. You dont have a reverse problem, its working and being applied but because the forward clutch is stuck together it binds, its trying to go forward and reverse at the same time. Neutral pulls forward because obviously the forward clutch is stuck and it wont shift because the computer thinks you're in neutral. Park will pull forward too but can't because of the park gear is engaged.

No way this was ever a valve body problem, it did its job, the electronics (solenoids, switches, computer, ect.) have nothing to do with the initial engagements its all controlled by the manual valve. You could completely unplug this transmission and it will still go forward and reverse.
 






Thank you JK080 for your answers.
What cause the forward clutch to weld the clutches and steels together?
Are you suggesting a complete master rebuild of my transmission?

I can get couple 4R55E transmissions from the local junk yard here for ~$200: Is it easier to buy one of them and transfer my VB from Central Valve body or buy a master rebuild kit and redo my existing 4R44E?

Thanks
 






The clutch can weld together for different reasons, with that kind of mileage there could be other things going on inside that can contribute to that kind of failure. The biggest reason is most cases is running low on fluid or low fluid pressure for whatever reason.
I would do a complete rebuild on it because of the mileage, there most likely will be other things inside that have problems as well.

Replacing the unit with one from a junkyard is a possibility, the only problem there is you don't know what condition the replacement transmission is in. Your transmission was a good used transmission a month ago...

As far a using your new valve body, you could move it over to the replacement trans, but it may void any warranty you might get or if that trans has problems it could get debris in the valve body. The best thing to do is to rebuild the one that is in the truck and use the valve body. Its not the cheapest route but you should know that the trans is in great shape when you are done.
 












guys, this is great information as I just picked up a 97 ranger 4.0 with this trans and am having this issue after about 20-30 minutes of driving. While I am fairly handy with many things, I firmly believe there are certain things in paying to have done right and for me I think this is one of them. I went to AAMCO to have the truck looked at yesterday and they didn't know any of this stuf. They want to charge me $500 for a banner kit (not even sure what that is) and drop the trans. So $1500 total. Sounds to me like this is the fix I need to try and it doesn't require dropping the trans. is replacing this something a regular mechanic could do or do I still need to look more towards a transmission expert.

The AAMCO guy was nice enough and I understand that most mechanics aren't sitting on the internet all day but I was a little disappointed being that I'm in Tampa Fl and there are plenty of these trucks out there. I would expect this to be a problem they have run into before.
 






guys, this is great information as I just picked up a 97 ranger 4.0 with this trans and am having this issue after about 20-30 minutes of driving. While I am fairly handy with many things, I firmly believe there are certain things in paying to have done right and for me I think this is one of them. I went to AAMCO to have the truck looked at yesterday and they didn't know any of this stuf. They want to charge me $500 for a banner kit (not even sure what that is) and drop the trans. So $1500 total. Sounds to me like this is the fix I need to try and it doesn't require dropping the trans. is replacing this something a regular mechanic could do or do I still need to look more towards a transmission expert.

The AAMCO guy was nice enough and I understand that most mechanics aren't sitting on the internet all day but I was a little disappointed being that I'm in Tampa Fl and there are plenty of these trucks out there. I would expect this to be a problem they have run into before.

That's a trans shop saying they will rebuild your trans with new basic parts, frictions/steels/seals/bands. That has nothing to do with the VB, which is 95% of the time the cause of a 5R trans issue.

Get the VB work done and see how that does. If nothing else it will improve the trans, even if and after "they" work on it. Most trans shops take apart the VB and clean things, looking for damaged items. If they see something amiss, they tend to simply replace the VB with another one, new if they can talk you into it(but the other option is another used one). Every 5R VB needs to have a VB kit installed.
 






vb attempt 2014

OK, with a little confidence from this great post all these years later, my son and I are attempting this. We bought a 98 Explorer Sport SOHC with 280k miles; seller said it wasn't shifting right, and gave a code P1762. I checked it with code scanner - no codes stored, no check engine light, and OD is not flashing. Speedometer didn't work, but cruise does - he replaced the speed sensor but didn't fix. We were able to test-drive it about 3 miles - we went slow, but drove fine, forward and reverse. We didn't go over 30mph. We had it towed home, and at this time it was slow to move forward and reverse, but acted like it was low on fluid. We decided to pull the valve body, install a Transgo shift kit, new ECP and TCC, filter, reverse servo d-rings, and all new gaskets. Separator plate gaskets showed NO blowouts, surprisingly.
Problem one - Transgo kit came with drill bit to drill hole in vb, bit broke off. I'll call Transgo to see what size bit was.
Problem two - servo piston came out, I installed new d-rings, and now it won't go back in. You can see it in below pic partially in.
Problem three - there is a narrow 1/8th inch band with a looped end sticking out of the top of the valve body from the transmission - didn't notice it until after reverse servo was removed:
vb_problem.jpg
 






vb attempt 2014

Oh, the band sticking out moves up and down about an inch. Fluid when drained was ALL gray, but no big metal flakes or slivers in pan, and no gasket pieces seen. I tried putting the d-rings in the freezer; didn't help.
 






Nice PhotoShop job.

It looks to be the end of the transmission dipstick.

And, generically, I sometimes have to "work" the o-ring-like seal rings into place with a small tool. If the ring & bore are lubricated, a No. 0 flat-edge screwdriver can be helpful. Apply gentle upward pressure on the servo piston, and gently push the ring toward the piston, working around. Has worked for me in the past, but I do not recall having to do that on my servo piston [shrug].
 






vb attempt 2014

Almost done. Problem one: I broke the drill bit from the Transgo kit. From what I understand, this just enables the limp mode if something bad happens, and I should be able to skip it? If not, what size bit was this?

Problem Two: after installing the rivet from the Transgo kit, I scratched up the plate while trying to remove the old gasket. I ordered 1L5Z-7Z490-HA, the updated plate with the bonded gaskets. So I need a new rivet to install in this plate. And can I just remove the EPC limit spring, cap, and filter, since there is no hole above it?

I have had no luck in contacting Transgo's support by phone - they work the same hours I do, and I can't make long distance calls at work. They don't have the option for email support.
 






Transgo gave me the drill bit size and we got the hole drilled, they said to use a brass nail cut off to plug the old hole on the updated separator plate, put everything back together, and everything worked for about 50 miles.

Started slipping in drive at stop lights, then wouldn't go forward at all in parking lot. Reverse works fine. Drive, 2, and 1 won't move unless you rev the engine to 3k, then it crawls forward.

Speedometer started working only once or twice during that 50 miles, cruise control works, odometer and trip meter does not.

OBDII gives only one code for a Throttle Position Sensor, and two or three times before it quit, it would rev up to 2k while idling in park. No other codes showed during driving or stored. CEL came on just when the TPS error showed up.

We did not adjust the bands, and the gear indicator seems off - it shows about halfway between drive and 2 when in drive.

Towing it home tomorrow - what should we try next?
 






Tapered Orifice

I am pretty certain I followed the instructions pretty well, but I had a feeling I have one part possibly wrong. Here it is. It says to use a valve body bolt or a punch to push the tapered orifice into the second band feed hole. What is the purpose of this? Could this be causing my problem?

Is this part necessary?
 






part is necessary, call Transgo
 






part

Thanks for replying.
I got an email back from shiftrite transmissions (eBay) and they said no.
Literally, that is the only thing they typed. lol.
I already had the valve body torqued when I found it in a plastic bag.
I am now pulling the transmission out to most likely replace the pump, if I have to remove the valve body I will look in the hole where it is supposed to go and see if there is one in there already, if not I will put one in there. If I don't have to remove the valve body I will leave it out and post back what happens if it is not installed.
 






I'd install the part, TransGo is very good about making sure that everything they do serves a useful purpose.

Their instructions are very good, often complicated and not clear, but thinking it through it will make sense.

I don't recall that restrictor plug and what it is for, but I'm sure that it is important.
 



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I agree with PopRichie, I would call Transgo and ask them. I personally have not installed that kit.

I have called Transgo a few times...
 






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