How to: 5R55E Valve Body Rebuild Diary

[Glacier991]

Great pics! Can't wait to hear the end results...

 

[whoathere]

Well, it's all put back together... The good: slow reverse problem solved. The bad: still experiencing the 2-3 flare. Seeing as how there was a small chance of having to take it back apart... All we did was he upgraded sep. plate and the Ford mod. Next on the agenda is the EPC solenoid, if that doesnt fix it, then we'll do the superior shift kit. Now, if all of this doesn't fix it, we'll be taking the easy way out and just pushing it off a cliff. I'll report back next weekend with some more updates.

 

[newmab]

Alignment tools.

Thought I'd revive this thread with one last question. Are the alignment tools called out in the manual for VB and separator plate reassembly needed?

Thanks

 

[Glacier991]

If you put the gasket onto the sep plate using vaseline,,, and put a bolt thru and engage it carefully, and then a 2nd one... no. you can do it without the alignment pins... they just make it easier and more foolproof.

 

[newmab]

Bonded Gasket

I hope to get the plate with the bonded gasket. Would that be similar?
A little vaseline on the gasket between the VB and the plate instead.
Thanks Again!

 

[newmab]

Bonded gasket

I asked that last question before I took a moment to think.
The bonded gasket resolves any alignment issue, correct?

 

[BrooklynBay]

The gasket can't move if it's bonded to the separator plate.

 

[newmab]

The gasket can't move if it's bonded to the separator plate.

Right, I initially had it in my head that the alignment between the plate and the VB was the most important. ie. the separator plate had holes substantially larger than the bolts themselves an you needed the alignment tools too "center" the plate on the VB. But after I thought about "Glacier991" reply I came to realize it must be to help keep the gasket properly located.


Thanks

 

[nolimitssjca]

Glacier... you should offer a weekend hands on sometime... I'd show up for sure. My 95 shifts hard from 1st to 2nd when I let up. But there's no way I'm gonna take it out and tinker for "feel".

Thanks for all of your great posts!

 

[Glacier991]

Thanks for the kind words!

 

[jubb]

Hi yall... new here because i just found this site. got a 95 ford explorer with a bgad transmission. didnt want to pay the 1500-1700 a trans shop wanted for the rebuild so i decided to go with it myself.
Foound this site and was convinced i could do it myself. got the thing all apart and all put together with many referrels to this site, which weas mucho help in what i did, repolaced the bgands insid and the clutch packs but decided not to do any of the olonids or the tcc or the other one either a sthey are easy to get to once the trans is bacfk in the truck.

i filled the trans with mercon V and started it up and lo and behold tghe wheels turned.....got it off the jack stands and drove it around the block...

the problem is, it will go into reverse but not drive, if i start out in 2, then put in drive its ok with lots of flare between shifts. i am sure its something in the VB so i am thinking of getting a rebuilt valvebody with all the new stuff in it, as it will cost the same or even less than buying the tpc , tcc, and the other 4.

what are your thoughts on my thinking??


you guys are great and i have found much useful information her and i will be commiing back many times in the future............

thanks again

 

[Glacier991]

Your thinking is sound.

 

[CDW6212R]

Agreed Chris, I prefer to keep a valvebody if possible, but a burned up trans a whole different story. For the right price a rebuilt VB is a good choice.

 

[BrooklynBay]

If you are interested in getting your valve body tested or rebuilt, then check this link: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=186456

 

[jubb]

hi yall..... just to let you know....I got the rebuilt VB and put it in today. it works great.. shifts all the way thru all gears with no slippage that I can tell, got it from Transstar and the guy there told me it had all the upgrades so for me it was much easier and cheaper too to go this way.309.00 it would have cost a little more than that just to get the 6 elect valves just by themselves. I also got a new internal wiring harness for the solenoids as I just didn't want to test it and it was right there and easy to change. why maybe have to go back in for that when it is right there.,.
To avoid the fluid bath at the beginning, jacked up and put on jack stands just the front of the truck, put some tinfoil all along the lower edge of the oil pan and then did the leave all but 2 bolts in on the high end of the Trans. it worked great, only a few drips to the garage floor and none on me.

when I went to install the new VB, the gasket wasn't bonded but I found no problem in installing it and there were no worries about slippage of the gasket, torque all the bolts, put on the pan, refilled with fluid...and IT WORKS..oh my......amazing things happen when you decide to do it yourself.



now all I have to do is change the ball joints......complete brake job with changing the rotors and I may have something I can drive.......

this site has been a great help and I just want to say thanks again for all your posts that I read........

 

[xlrgsb]

Hi all... I've been following this thread for some time, lots of good knowledge saved here. I finally went into my 2001 Ranger 3.0L 5R44E (57K) trannie last weekend. Had a 1-2 flare, but it also felt sluggish and inconsistent. I did the Ford TSB and some of the Superior kit. Replaced the EPC, SS3, bracket and went with the bonded separator plate.
It's much improved, all shift points are more consistent, however there is still a bit of 1-2 flare. I was confused about the superior parts combining with the Ford TSB in bore 207 so I decided to do only the Ford mod and not the superior mod. I also did not do the resistor add-on. The superior instructions were at bit sketchy in the bore 207 area. The superior spring seemed much weaker than the original and the spool moved in the bore much more easily than the original parts (because the original spring was much stronger). In hindsight I wonder if the superior mod in bore 207 would have improved the 1-2 flare. I also checked the front band adjustment and it was ok.
FYI - I hung a big trash bag under the pan to catch the ATF as I removed the bolts, it worked great.
Oh, I almost forgot to say that the low/reverse servo plate gasket should be added to the parts order list. Mine was stuck to the original separator plate so I had to go without. At least it won't blow out as seen on other posts. I don't have a low/reverse engage problem.
I'm now considering going back in and adding the remaining superior kit and resistor. Any suggestions???

 

[dlo250]

ok, question about the servos. specifically the "Overdrive" and "Intermediate" servos. not the electrical ones, but the ones you need the special tool for. what exactly do those things do? the look fairly cheap, would you recommend replacing them with a valve body rebuild? is it possible to replace them with the transmission still in the truck? 2001 ranger 3.0 v6, 5r44e -thanks

 

[BrooklynBay]

The servos apply the bands. They get dried out from the heat of the catalytic converter, and start to leak after a while. They are difficult to replace while the transmission is still in the vehicle. You have to remove the catalytic converter to get access to them.

 

[dlo250]

do they leak past the o-rings that are on the cover where i would be able to spot that externally? or is it an internal leak where i would have no clue, other than the line pressure test outlined in the ATSG manual?

 

[dlo250]

Does anybody know the input voltages that are applied to actuate the electric solenoids in the valve body? It's not in the ATSG manual. I was figuring the ohms check was nice, but to actually check the operation of the solenoid, to make sure the internal spring is good and not frozen, would be nice. From the ohms specs Glacier posted on Page 3, at 12V input, the EPC would draw 4amps of current at 3 ohms resistance, or a little over 2 amps at 5 ohms resistance (basically the ohms spec limit for the part). But that is assuming 12 Volts input. If I got it right, the EPC and TCC would be supplied varying voltages from the Computer to actuate the solenoid at the desired lengths. My question is what are the voltage ranges that would potentially be supplied to to TCC and EPC. Also, if I understand right, the shift solenoids are basically On/Off switches and would not receive varying voltages to vary the length of their actuation. It would either be an " 'ON' Voltage" or an " 'OFF' Voltage (which would probably be zero volts)" So my other question is what is the ON voltage for the Shift solenoids. I know just enough about Ohms Law and live close enough to a Radio Shack to build a solenoid checker, not just a simple resistance reading. If I can get that info, I'd be more than happy to post instructions on how to build the solenoid tester, I just need to know what parts to buy.