Another 5r55s transmission tragedy - please help

[jwing6279]

Hello everyone, new member here- I did post in the new member area before making this post. I searched extensively on here for the dreaded tranny fail on my 2008 explorer 4x4 w / 4.0 motor. I’m looking to do the servo bore piston kit fix but haven’t been able to find a thread with what’s going on with my car exactly. For about a month I noticed it shifting kind of weird so i dropped the pan- new filter, mercon 5 - all went well for about 1000 miles.

Then I noticed for 2 days from a dead stop my tranny sounded like a train whistle up to about 40 mph and would show back up coming to a stop. 3rd day/ after tranny warmed up - push pedal and teach revved with no forward motion. Typical flares between gears and finally had to park it. Once it cools down it will go into gear till it warms up. Will the bore fix kit fix this or is more going on with the train whistle noise. Thank you for any advice.

 

[BrooklynBay]

The hydraulic noise & slippage might be coming from a failing torque converter. How did the edge of the valve body gasket look when you had the pan off? Were any valve body bolts loose?

 

[jwing6279]

Hi , I didn’t think to check that but I’m going to drop the pan again because what have I got to lose? It’s dead in my driveway. I did get a call from Andy at AJ1E Solutions and after talking to him he thinks from what I told him it is probably a pressure valve that is known to stick on these.
Unfortunately that unit has to come out to access it. Not good news . I will check the bolts you suggested though- thank u for the reply

 

[Littleant]

How many miles on the trans. I would give this lubegard a shot. https://www.amazon.com/Lubegard-609...=UTF8&qid=1527712762&sr=1-1&keywords=Lubegard

 

[jwing6279]

The explorer has 181,000 on it. I am seriously considering putting in a reman tranny my self. I am a decent mechanic and think I could it but I know it’s a daunting task. I have a good garage with smooth cement but I would have to do it with it on jack stands. Anyone here do it themselves or is it a nightmare? Any advice would be appreciated on which replacement to start pricing. Looking for one that has servo bores sleeved. Thanks for any help

 

[Littleant]

181,000 that is pretty good. You need to take stock of the whole vehicle. Any timing chain issues?. How is the body any major rust? How long have you had it. I did auto repair for 35 years starting in the late 60's when transmission were a lot simpler. Back then a whistle sound 99% of the time was a front pump. If you vehicle is real clean with no other issues then a reman would make sense.

 

[jwing6279]

Thanks for the reply Littleant, I got the car @155,000 miles so don’t know if any transmission work had been done to it. Also didn’t know of all the issues with the 5r55s. It is a pretty clean vehicle for being in Ohio. I’m literally wrestling with my self day & night trying to decide is it worth me trying this for a car with this high of mileage or just sell it as a parts vehicle and move on. Either way I need a daily driver like yesterday. Sigh... since u are an experienced mechanic.., just asking your opinion.... what would u do? Thanks

 

[08EddieCA]

If you own it and the rest of it is pretty clean, I might invest in a rebuild. That's what I did. About $1,700. Going strong after 18 months. No problems. My $0.02.

 

[Explorer_PL]

This is what I did:

Replacing 5R55S - got a remanufactured unit.

Hope it helps.

 

[Littleant]

Jwing6279 you made the right decision for you. If the vehicle is clean then you made the right choice. It's worth more with a good trans. Keep that engine serviced. I believe you will be OK.

 

[Tech By Trade]

On a side note, how much fluid did you need to put in after you dropped the pan and changed the filter?

 

[jwing6279]

5 quarts of mercon 5 - Napa brand

 

[jwing6279]

Thanks for the advice Explorer_Pl , I ordered my tranny from Street Smart... waiting on shipping info. Sort of intimidated a little by the scope of this job- never done one before. I have a lot of experience on motorcycles and atv’s but this is the biggest job I’ve ever attempted on a car. Wish me luck !

 

[Explorer_PL]

It's not that bad, just bunch of bolts. If you have any ATV or motorcycle lifts, those may be better than my small tranny lift from HF.
Also, the higher you can place the car, the better to pull the tranny from under once it's out.
Taking the intake manifold off would probably help with the top 2 bolts on the bell housing, but I got them with a short ratchet. My hand looked like I pulled it from an ice crusher after that, but saved few hours of extra work.

 

[jwing6279]

Ahh yes .... bloody knuckles... haven’t had any in a while. I’m going to try and document this with pics as I go along. Thanks for all the help and advice everyone

 

[Tech By Trade]

I got the top 2 bolts with a link of about 15 wobble sockets from about half way back on the driveshaft. It saved my knuckles for sure.

 

[Explorer_PL]

Good luck
Keep us posted.

 

[Blackexplorer06]

These transmissions usually need a rebuild before 100,000 miles. Make sure you get a long warranty

 

[Beachcomber86]

These transmissions usually need a rebuild before 100,000 miles. Make sure you get a long warranty

That's a bit harsh. Mine didn't start acting up til approximately 150,000 miles.

 

[Blackexplorer06]

That's a bit harsh. Mine didn't start acting up til approximately 150,000 miles.

Did you buy it new? I did. The trans first came out at 90.000 miles.