'95 explorer transmission issues

[metalmessiah]

was driving along today when the tranny started acting screwy. after taking off from a stop it didnt want to shift into 2nd. it would just keep revving. if I let off the gas a little it shifted out. drove about 15 miles & stopped & it didnt want to go into park. I tried to shift into reverse & met resistance there too. I finally got park to hold & let it sit for about 20 minutes. got back in & it wouldnt turn over. I had to pull up real hard on the lever to get the park sensor to tell the computer to let it crank. drove it back home with the 1-2 shift issue & halway back the od off light started flashing. it goes into park fine now. the tranny does not slip at all. only problem that is still there is how I have to ease off the gas to get it to shift into 2nd. I havent had the problem of it feeling stuck between gears since that one time. any ideas what could be wrong? the truck is a '95 explorer xlt 4wd 4.0 v6

 

[BrooklynBay]

Check your linkage, and the alignment of the DTR on the side of the transmission. If your OD light is flashing, you might have a code stored. Check your codes.

 

[metalmessiah]

I am clueless about the linkage & not sure what the DTR is. as far as codes go it is giving me a 646. I have a little handheld code reader & the book doesnt list that in the truck section. in the car section it says 646 is "incorrect 2nd gear ratio".

 

[toy720]

the dtr is the digital range sensor it tells the computer were you are at p,r,n,d,2,1 this could possibly be part of your problem the 1-2 delay sure sounds like an intermediate band needs adjusting and this would go along with the code 646. i dont think there is any way to test the dtr but i could be wrong but it sounds as if it might be failing.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Toy720 is correct about the intermediate band needing an adjustment, and throwing a code 646. There are numerous threads that explain this problem. Just type in code 646, and you will see a list come up.

 

[metalmessiah]

thanks for the help guys

 

[metalmessiah]

one more question... I went out & looked & found one of the band adjustments but didnt see the second one. granted it was dark outside & I didnt have the best light. the one I found is right next to where the shift lever goes in. where would the other one be from there? which one is the intermediate band? I guess thats actually a couple questions thanks again for helping a rookie out!

 

[BrooklynBay]

The one in the middle is for the intermediate band, and the one closer to the bell housing is for the overdrive.

 

[cherrynotes]

I was writing to see if you ever figured out the problem. I am getting ready to send my car to a transmission place becuase I am having the same exact problem and I'm getting a little worried that if I keep on driving it like ths it will make it worse. Please let me know if u find something out. Thanks

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! If you are planning on giving your vehicle into a transmission place anyway, why not just try one of the suggestions that were listed on this thread first? If none of them helped, then you could still give it in to have it repaired.

 

[metalmessiah]

I'm not a mechanic by any means but the band adjustment was simple and very straightforward. the intermediate adjuster is hard to get a torque wrench on but other than that its a simple fix. thanks again for the help!

 

[BrooklynBay]

Do you see any noticeable difference after adjusting the bands?

 

[metalmessiah]

got a chance to drive it this afternoon & no change. I still have to ease up for it to shift out. is the direction to tighten clockwise or counter? maybe I went the wrong way. I assumed it was clockwise as it seemed to have less tension going counter.

 

[BrooklynBay]

The procedure to tighten the bands are as follows. Loosen the outer lock nut, then tighten (clockwise) the inner stud to 10 ft. lbs. Turn it back (counter clockwise) 2 complete turns. Tighten the lock nut, and hold the stud so that it will stay in it's proper position. This is the procedure for the single wrap band. Some older models had a double wrap band that was turned back 3 1/2 turns. Your application is the first one (2 turns). It was mentioned just for reference purposes.

 

[metalmessiah]

yep, thats exactly how it was done. I even held the ratchet on the adjuster as I loosened the locknut to make sure I didnt back the adjuster out of the wedge. I guess the band is broken. I adjusted it in to the point to where there was only about 2 threads still showing and still hadnt got 10 ft/lbs. then I backed it out to see if it got tight that way but I could turn it with my fingers coming out. called some tranny shops to get an estimate on replacing the band & got the same story from them all...we will have to rebuild it, that tranny is shot. :fire:

 

[BrooklynBay]

Did you drop the pan to see if one of the parts fell out when it was being adjusted? Was it turned clockwise, or counter clockwise first? If you turned it counter clockwise first, then it is possible that one of the apply levers fell into the pan.

 

[toy720]

more than likley the band broke that is what happened to mine if you pull the pan you will probably find the strut.

 

[metalmessiah]

I went clockwise first. like I said, I even made sure I didnt go counter by accident while loosening the lock nut. kinda scared to drop the pan. this thing has 160k on it & I dont know if the fluid has ever been changed. last vehicle I did that too with over 100k the tranny went completely within a week. for right now its parked until I scrape up enough cash to hire a professional I guess

 

[BrooklynBay]

Even if the band broke, you don't have anything to lose by dropping the pan, since anybody that will work on it will have to drop it anyway.