98 XLT won't go in reverse

[ProjectAviator]

I just got a call from my son saying that the Explorer will not go into reverse. It seems like he was backing out and then nothing. All forward gears seem normal but no reverse. The shift indicator is correct. He says it just seems like it is in neutral. He checked the fluid and other than being dark it is full.

It is a 98 XLT 4.0 ohc, 4l auto, 4x4. about 138K no recent repair, no leaks. the fluid hasn't been changed since we owned it. Dec 2013.

Any idea what it can be???

Tim

 

[matthurd]

Happened To Me About 6 Weeks Ago. I Could Force It To Move In Reverse, But It Clearly Wasn't Happy About It. 98 5.0 AWD 176k. would studder real bad. I wound up pressing pushing it backwards in neutral so I could get out of the parking lot I was in and drive it home. In drive it was perfectly fine.

as far as I know all my mechanic did was change out the fluid and put in a new filter, it's been fine since. good luck.

 

[RandomNerd2000]

Sounds like your reverse band gave out, common problem on the SOHC.

 

[transman304]

Sounds like your reverse band gave out, common problem on the SOHC.

 

[ProjectAviator]

My son had it looked at by a shop. it is inside the transmission. about $2k to fix. so my son is looking for another vehicle. Being he is making the payments on the truck we are letting him decide. either he can trade it or just give it back and we will take it back over. getting it fixed later or maybe a manual swap.

Tim

 

[transman304]

Thanks for the update. Good luck.

 

[ProjectAviator]

Further update:

Well my youngest son has been driving it lately. just making sure to park where he doesn't have to back up. He has said that sometimes he puts it in reverse and it does back up on its own. That gets me more confused on what the heck is wrong with this truck.

Can I swap in another model trans instead of the 5r55

Tim

 

[delexploder]

Its also common that the transfer case shift fork pops out of the eccentric when in reverse and acts like its in neutral, I've had it happen in several 4405 cases , a lot cheaper and easier to either replace or repair

 

[ProjectAviator]

Any way to check if it is the t-case shift fork?