Bought an 02 that wont move?!?

[44magnum]

Just bought an 02 explorer 4.0 V6 auto 4x4 from a friend for cheap because it wont move. He says he got in it one day and it wouldnt move so he had it towed to a local mom & pop auto shop and was quoted $3500 to "fix" the transmission. So I got it, havnt done any diagnostics yet and I was wondering if someone could point me in the right direction. It starts and runs great but it wont move in any gear or reverse, also it seems to be stuck in 4x4 low I hit the other two buttons {4x4hi and auto) it blinks a few time but dosnt change. Also when I pu it in drive or any other gear for that matter and it dosnt pull down the engine at all, which makes me wonder if the transmission is engaging at all? Thanks in advance!!

 

[swetrid]

Unplug 4x4 module under the pass side dash and then reconnect. Sometimes 4x4 module goes bad and it wont engage transfer case at all.

 

[44magnum]

No luck, turns out after reading the manual I didnt actually know how to take it out of 4x4 low. Now I do and it came out of 4x4 low as it should. But just to be sure I unplugged and plugged it back in and tried to get it to move again with no luck.

 

[Limited02]

I would see how much fluid is in the transmission. If it's out, it ain't moving

 

[DudeBeast]

Update Please....

 

[44magnum]

TTT anyone?

 

[StryctNy9e]

I would check everything on the tranny sensors , linkage, vacume lines. If all else fails do a tranny swap. If the truck runs good it would be worht it.

 

[andre 244]

do it move in park is you push the truck ?? you may have blow tranfer case
is there any noise when you shift like gear noisy from "p" to "r"
if yes stop the engine b4 puting it back in park or trans will go too
ad that happend on my 1993 exp

 

[01sporty]

please dont think im stupid for suggesting this. have you checked to see that it still has a drive shaft. a buddy of mine had a problem similar to this he was pulling in to a spot where he works heard a clunk but didnt have time to check it out till after work. he got in started it put it in gear and it wouldnt move. checked fluid was a little low so he put fluid in it and still no go. he called a flat bed truck to haul it home. when he got it home he crawled all over it trying to figure out what was wrong and finally decides to get another trans. he called me to help him pull the old one. i get under it and start to disconnect drive shaft and guess what. there wasnt one.

 

[Wills05xlt4x4]

please dont think im stupid for suggesting this. have you checked to see that it still has a drive shaft. a buddy of mine had a problem similar to this he was pulling in to a spot where he works heard a clunk but didnt have time to check it out till after work. he got in started it put it in gear and it wouldnt move. checked fluid was a little low so he put fluid in it and still no go. he called a flat bed truck to haul it home. when he got it home he crawled all over it trying to figure out what was wrong and finally decides to get another trans. he called me to help him pull the old one. i get under it and start to disconnect drive shaft and guess what. there wasnt one.

hahaha that would have been so funny in a very bad way

 

[01sporty]

hahaha that would have been so funny in a very bad way

it was hilarious from my point of view. from his not so much.

 

[andre 244]

may be some one wanted one on e-bay lol

 

[01sporty]

may be some one wanted one on e-bay lol

no i think it fell out out when he pulled into the parking spot. and it either got left there when the flatbed picked up the vehicle. or it fell off the flatbed as he was going down the road. im betting on falling off the flatbed. as a drive shaft laying under the vehicle would be kinda hard to miss

 

[JoshMcMadMac]

Check the transmission fluid, and pull codes.

 

[44magnum]

Ok so I finally got around to playing with it a little and I started it up and pulled the inner plug of the drain plug and fluid came POURING out, not dribbling, not dripping, pouring. Pretty dark brown but doesn't smell burnt and wasn't foamy/milky at all. Didn't have the trans warm but would it really make that much difference? It holds in park and pushes freely in neutral. Driveline is all there. Doesn't make any funny sounds when shifting. Checked all lines sensors ect everything seemed fine. It just wont do anything else. No check engine light, is it possible to have a code without a light?

 

[matt0248]

Yes you can have codes with no CEL. especially if someone pulled the bulb or put tape over it. its either a transfer case or transmission. usually transfer cases make horrible noises when they go.

 

[Wills05xlt4x4]

i have a 04 Taurus with the infamous AX4N i know its a different trans but still ford
i snapped the main shaft through the trans just accelerating normally and it went to shift to third and then BAM NEUTRAL!!!
point being it held fine in park and everything else was neutral to the motor...if this is the case with yours im betting its effed
i know you don't want an internal problem but it may be
EDIT- that fill plug in trans should not pour out you fill with a fluid transfer pump and how you tell if its full is pull the pump off and if fluid comes out its full wait for all extra to come out then cap it.... SOUNDS like the trans was way overfilled thus potentially causing these issues...

 

[ChopShopMouth]

I know this thread is old, and I am brand new to this, but I am having these issues. 2002 Explorer XLT 4x4. everything was fine and i was driving down the road and it quit pulling. the rpms went up and my speed went down. had it towed to the ford dealership and they checked the fluid, flushed it, then told me i need a new transmission. I then had it towed back to the house and then discovered it wouldn't roll backwards off the rollback even in neutral. i get the codes P0715, P0720. I understand what these codes mean, but would they keep it from rolling around in neutral? It will roll forward, just not backwards. it wont move in any gear. I was quoted $2000 for a new trans installed with a 3 year warranty, but wanna see if i really need to go that route first.

 

[Burnout]

I know this thread is old, and I am brand new to this, but I am having these issues. 2002 Explorer XLT 4x4. everything was fine and i was driving down the road and it quit pulling. the rpms went up and my speed went down. had it towed to the ford dealership and they checked the fluid, flushed it, then told me i need a new transmission. I then had it towed back to the house and then discovered it wouldn't roll backwards off the rollback even in neutral. i get the codes P0715, P0720. I understand what these codes mean, but would they keep it from rolling around in neutral? It will roll forward, just not backwards. it wont move in any gear. I was quoted $2000 for a new trans installed with a 3 year warranty, but wanna see if i really need to go that route first.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but that is likely (but maybe not guaranteed). The transmissions in this gen are notoriously bad. Mine went on the night I drove it home from the dealer! Same thing, driving down the road and it slowly seemed to lose pulling power and rev higher until I made it to the top of the big hill I live on where it just stopped getting into gear.

It is odd that it won't roll backwards, but given what kinds of weird things can happen with the transmission not unheard of. In my case, it was the torque converter that got screwed.

I was lucky that it was right when I bought it, got a rebuilt transmission for free because of the warranty and it lived beautifully for another 80k miles until its sudden and untimely end (which I've be been meaning to make a post on). $2k seems high for an trans rebuild, I've seen it for $1k around here but it could just be the market where you are. I'd at least get another shop's quote. Have you checked the things everyone else has mentioned in this thread?

 

[ChopShopMouth]

$2k is for a new transmission and the R&R at the ford dealership. I have been told by many that a reman or junk yard trans is only asking for the same problems. Thanks for your response, looks like I'll be shopping around to find a good price, but the dealerships warranty may be worth it!