98 Explorer - No reverse or High / Overdrive.

[kl98exp]

1st of all thanks to everyone for many great posts on this site regarding Explorer transmissions.

I have 98 Exp XLT AWD with about 168K miles, NON SOHC. The problem I am having is it will NOT engage reverse or 4th/OD. In reverse the backup lights come on, but the engine just revs. No engagement, noise no movement, nothing. (acts like it is in neutral) It will move and pull fine in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, but not 4th & OD. If it shifts in into high gear with the OD button on or off it will not pull...just revs the engine. Both reverse and high gears act like they are in neutral. If I drop the shifter down into 2 it will engage and start pulling. Same for 1st. It slow down enough while in "D" it will shift back to a lower gear and engage again.

I have read thru several posts and suspected the Valve Body gasket, Reverse Servo or one of the TCC/EPC Solenoids. So I purchased rebuilt Ford VB with all the solenoids and separator plate and gasket as an assembly. Poked a long Phillips screw driver up in the rev servo to check the low/rev band and it seemed ok....it would go stiff after I pushed in another 1/4 to 3/8 in...so assumed the band is ok. (Also noted my reverse servo did not have a spring behind it...seemed odd)

Installed the new VB and torqued the VB & servo bolts to 87 in/lbs. Also got new reverse servo O rings and replaced them. Installed new filter and pan gasket. Pan did have what I call a medium about about of gray friction material in it.

Put about 7 qts Mercon V in it aand warmed it up for few min. Got in to test it....and nothing has changed.

It has been slow to go into reverse for the last 20K miles and downshifting a little rough (just not smooth) for about 50K miles. I have changed fluid & filter around 60K and 110K mi. I have used it to pull fairly heavy boats, cars, etc for years.

After reading some the posts I am suspecting the reverse and high clutch is shot. It the only common link I can find between rev and high gear. As it is "applied" in 3rd, 4th/OD & reverse according the Clutch Application Chart i found posted. The 5R55E seems to be a 3 spd tranny with two of the gears using overdrive to get make it a 5 spd. (1st+OD=2nd & 3rd+OD=5th) If I had a pressure issue... I would suspect the VB replacement to correct it or at least change the symptom.

Any suggestions on what you suspect or how to confirm my thoughts?

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I've moved your thread into the transmissions & transfer cases section. Did you check the servos to see if they are dried out? Do you have a 4WD?

 

[kl98exp]

No I have not checked to other servos, I have only checked the reverse servo. Yes it is a 4WD/AWD 4.0L NON SHOC.

How is the best way to check the other servo's? Can you point me to a link?

Thx

 

[BrooklynBay]

You have to remove them to see if they are dried out. They are behind a metal heat shield on the passenger's side of the transmission.

 

[Tavery1]

Not trying to up a dead thread or thread jack but I have kinda the same problem, the other day I was driving, the minuete I shifted into reverse it did like you said, acted like it was in neutral.

I drove it down the hill with the intent to get it back in the driveway a loud whining/winding noise was made right underneath my seat, the minute I hit a pot hole the noise stops and everything works fine.

I have a 98 4wd SOHC it started after my friend shifted out of 4L in park(could this cause it)

Did fixing the servos or clutch fix your problem?

 

[BrooklynBay]

I think that your problem might be related to the transfer case.

 

[Tavery1]

I think that your problem might be related to the transfer case.

Thats what I'm figuring, I've been reading all day and the more I read the more lost I get as far as what is to blame. It seems noone else has experienced the whining/winding sound.

 

[BrooklynBay]

It might be the shift rail or the shift fork.

 

[super bowl]

i just signed up today and want to ask a question but do not know where to write it i drove my explorer to work 1995xlt and after work i could not back up no reverse i checked my fluid and it needede a bit i have drive ut no back up please help me i need my car so bad thank you

 

[K80]

Welcome to this forum! How much is "a bit" (of fluid that it needed), and did you add any?
Did you go in reverse to leave for work that morning?
How far do you drive to get to work?
Does/did anyone else drive your car?
Have you done any very heavy accelerations or extended/heavy towing lately?
Has this or any other tranny problem occurred in the past, and if so, are they still occurring?
Has your vehicle driven over anything rather tall, such as brush, rocks, downed limbs or road cones lately?
How long have you had the vehicle, and when was the last time the tranny had work done, if any that you know of?
What kind of toolset do you have(starter, intermediate or advanced)?
Assuming this is your daily driver, how many driving hours do you rack up in a week?

The more of these questions you can answer, the easier it will be for us to troubleshoot your problem.

 

[neallea1]

Ive got a 97 explorer 5r55e ... rebuilt maybe 20,000 miles ago... few weeks ago it started having a couple second delay going into reverse and the very same time it doesn't wanna shift into its final gear till about 50 mph.. what gear that is I don't know but if I hit the od button it downshifts . rpms are higher than normal at hiway speeds , about 3g at 60mph... I didn't have 1st gear engine braking so I bought a rebuilt vb and put it on with new gaskets .. nothing changed , also adjusted the bands and no change ?? Anybody have any ideas? Thanks