5r55w won't shift unless in limp mode | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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5r55w won't shift unless in limp mode

raorao

New Member
Joined
December 7, 2015
Messages
3
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City, State
Ohio
Year, Model & Trim Level
2002 Explorer XLT
Hello...

A year ago I bought an 02 Explorer XLT (166,000 miles). It starting having transmission problems a few weeks later. I dropped the pan and found a broken band. I let the car sit because I didn't have the time or money to fix it.

Three weeks ago, I had a local mechanic replace the original with a junk yard transmission. When I picked up the car the o/d light was flashing and the transmission was in limp mode, and would only shift into reverse and 3rd (the mechanic didn't have any idea why it wasn't working). My inexpensive scan tool was showing codes for all 3 solenoids, so I assumed that was the problem. Yesterday I dropped the pan and replaced the solenoid pack with the pack from the original transmission.

I was parked on ramps, and put the car into reverse and drove off the ramps before I added the remaining 2 qts of fluid. After that point the car wouldn't move. It acts like it's in neutral.

By disconnecting the main wiring harness (from the solenoid pack) I'm able to put it back in limp mode, and it will again shift into reverse and 3rd.

Today I dropped the pan again, and reinstalled the solenoid pack that was on the replacement transmission. Again, I backed off the ramps (reverse worked), and as I cycled through the gears the car would move forward and back in reverse and drive (although the shifting was delayed because of low fluid). I put the car in park, replaced the last 2-3qts of fluid, and when I was finished it wouldn't move. Just like yesterday, it acted like it was stuck in neutral.

I'm able to move the car around the driveway by forcing it into limp mode, but I can't get it to move once I hook up the wiring.

What do you think? I've been searching, but I can't find anyone else discussing this issue. Since I cleared the original solenoid codes the check engine light hasn't come back on, and it's not showing any other codes.

Does this sound like a solenoid issue? I find it odd that both solenoid packs are doing the same thing. The original solenoid pack was working fine when the transmission broke the band.

The junk yard gave me a 30 day warranty on the transmission which expires on 12/10. If I can fix this without pulling the transmission again I'd prefer that.

Any thoughts?
 



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Hello...

A year ago I bought an 02 Explorer XLT (166,000 miles). It starting having transmission problems a few weeks later. I dropped the pan and found a broken band. I let the car sit because I didn't have the time or money to fix it.

Three weeks ago, I had a local mechanic replace the original with a junk yard transmission. When I picked up the car the o/d light was flashing and the transmission was in limp mode, and would only shift into reverse and 3rd (the mechanic didn't have any idea why it wasn't working). My inexpensive scan tool was showing codes for all 3 solenoids, so I assumed that was the problem. Yesterday I dropped the pan and replaced the solenoid pack with the pack from the original transmission.

I was parked on ramps, and put the car into reverse and drove off the ramps before I added the remaining 2 qts of fluid. After that point the car wouldn't move. It acts like it's in neutral.

By disconnecting the main wiring harness (from the solenoid pack) I'm able to put it back in limp mode, and it will again shift into reverse and 3rd.

Today I dropped the pan again, and reinstalled the solenoid pack that was on the replacement transmission. Again, I backed off the ramps (reverse worked), and as I cycled through the gears the car would move forward and back in reverse and drive (although the shifting was delayed because of low fluid). I put the car in park, replaced the last 2-3qts of fluid, and when I was finished it wouldn't move. Just like yesterday, it acted like it was stuck in neutral.

I'm able to move the car around the driveway by forcing it into limp mode, but I can't get it to move once I hook up the wiring.

What do you think? I've been searching, but I can't find anyone else discussing this issue. Since I cleared the original solenoid codes the check engine light hasn't come back on, and it's not showing any other codes.

Does this sound like a solenoid issue? I find it odd that both solenoid packs are doing the same thing. The original solenoid pack was working fine when the transmission broke the band.

The junk yard gave me a 30 day warranty on the transmission which expires on 12/10. If I can fix this without pulling the transmission again I'd prefer that.

Any thoughts?

By "not showing any other codes", do you mean you have used a code reader to check for them? Check Engine light is not always "thrown" for transmission problems. As a guess for right now, the computer may be detecting low hydraulic pressure, and going into limp mode because of it. Low pressure could be due to a faulty pressure sensor (at the pump), or a large leak in the control valve gasketing.

I would install a pressure gauge and check line pressure. imp
 






Thanks for the reply!

Just to clarify, it only goes into limp mode if I disconnect the main cable. Otherwise, no matter what position the shift lever is in, the engine just revs like it's in neutral. Everything else looks and acts normal.
 






Plug the main harness back up and unplug the MLPS switch and see if it still has engagements.

If your scanner can watch the MLPS switch make sure it's reading correctly, and or take the one off your original transmission if it's there, it can cause this issue.
 






Thanks James!

I removed the MLPS, and found that the splines had been worn off, and it wasn't moving out of neutral. I replaced it with another, which solved the problem.

Unfortunately, now that the MLPS is working, the transmission is shifting hard between all gears, won't shift into overdrive, and the speedometer works intermittently. It is throwing a P1717 (solenoid D) error code.

Can anyone suggest my next step?
 






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