5R55W Solenoid Pack Adjustment

[Vampire801]

Hi all. I have a 2002 Ford Explorer XLT V8 4WD. I have the 5R55W transmission. I have a P0775 code (and flashing O/D light) and some occasional slightly rough gear engagement. Sometimes when I pull up and stop the transmission doesn't engage into gear as i go to pull away. If I release the gas pedal and pause for a second or two and then try again it pulls off fine. Once driving it seems reasonably ok. I dropped the pan and the fluid is brown and smells a bit burnt - clearly not great but before I abandon all hope I thought I would like to try some at home DIY options that may help!! I was going to flush the fluid and clean the solenoid pack. I removed the solenoid pack and have watched some videos on how to do that. When I tapped the small black plastic covers off the solenoids all the solenoid bushings (brass screws that you adjust using a T20) are basically sat flush at the top pf the solenoid - in other words the depth is pretty much zero (I haven't actually measured it yet). My guess is that it looks like they may have backed off and have been butting up against the plastic caps I removed - just a theory. From all the videos I have watched the depths seem to be in 0.314" depth area although everyone states to measure them before you take out to clean and then replace exactly the same. SO my first question is;

If I unscrew them and clean out the bushings and springs and body what depth should I reset them to?

What happens if you bought a new one for example - what are the factory settings?

Out of interest could the fact that they seem completely backed off be the cause of some of the issues?

Finally - can someone point me to a reliable video to flush out the fluid from the torque convertor etc. I was thinking that if I refilled the pan and disconnected the return line and ran the car for a handful of seconds, then overfilled the pan again and did the same again I would eventually pull clean fluid through the system and push the old stuff out? Guidance would be appreciated.

Sorry for the long post and I have attempted to search but can't find what I'm looking for. Thanks in advance.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! Don't play with any adjustments. You didn't find any band parts or metallic fragments in the pan so that's good news. How many miles are on it? You probably have servo bore wear which is a common issue with these transmissions when they go over 60K miles. You have two options. The first one which is going to be a total rebuild with resleeved servo bores. The second which is easier, and doesn't require an entire rebuild is to install the aftermarket servos with O rings. They could be installed while the transmission is still in the vehicle.

 

[Vampire801]

Welcome to this forum! Don't play with any adjustments. You didn't find any band parts or metallic fragments in the pan so that's good news. How many miles are on it? You probably have servo bore wear which is a common issue with these transmissions when they go over 60K miles. You have two options. The first one which is going to be a total rebuild with resleeved servo bores. The second which is easier, and doesn't require an entire rebuild is to install the aftermarket servos with O rings. They could be installed while the transmission is still in the vehicle.

Many thanks for the quick reply. OK I won't change the adjustments although it seems odd that they would be in that position compared to about 0.3" in. I did have black sludge on the magnet (all cleaned out now but no metallic particles (you could feel) apart from the metallic sludge - I have a feeling the car has probably never had the transmission fluid changed - it has 140K on it!! Bought second hand at around 120K.

Could you point me in the right direction on how to easily flush out ALL the old fluid at home - I have it all on jacks and a new filter etc. As I said above if I fill up the fluid in the pan again. and run the engine for 30 secs or so would this push out the old fluid. I could easily stop every 30 secs and replenish the pan. I am assuming the new fluid from the pan gets sucked up through the filter and pushed through the transmission then to the cooler and the cooler return line sends it back to the pan? So a disconnection on a cooler line should see the old stuff come out first.

 

[BrooklynBay]

You could add a quart while draining a quart by disconnecting the line but I think that if you just replace the filter, then add clean fluid it should help. An external filter might be a good idea too along with a magnet in the transmission pan. I don't think that all of this work will remove the code since the code indicates that there's a servo bore wear issue.

 

[Vampire801]

Thought I would provide an update. So fluid drained and flushed through and the codes have gone - some progress. However, I still get an occassional flashing O/D light and more significantly when I come to a halt and then go to move off the car does not engage the gear straight away - seems to require a few revs or just let it coast forward for a second if the road slope supports that. Thoughts or ideas as to the cause and the possible fix appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[BrooklynBay]

It sounds like a combination of a low fluid condition with servo bore wear. Check the codes again since a flashing overdrive light indicates that a code is stored.