Depression brought on by trans problem.

[Glacier991]

Not sure when the TRS changed, and there may be issues with missing or different sensors as well. Could also be a myriad of other things.

You need to get us the codes.... that should pinpoint it.

When you KNOW you have codes in storage (flashing OD light) you are wasting your and everyone's time to ask for suggestions without getting them read. This is not a flame - and I realize you might not realize that, but it's like having an EKG machine creating a heartbeat strip on a patient and not letting the cardiologists read it and then still asking them what might be wrong. With codes we can help SOOOO much better ! Let us help you.

 

[Nocturnall]

He had said that the harness in the transmission could be different from 97 - 98 so I didn't know if anyone on here knew for sure which is why I asked. I should hopefully have codes tomorrow night, he's bringing his code scanner from work and we're gonna check the codes, hopefully finding out what is wrong. All sensors plugged into the harness correctly and securely as well as looked the same. I'll have some codes and more information tomorrow night, was just hoping after all this work that there was some problem that is well known on here that he isn't aware of that's like "The wires on the sensor on the tail of the transmission need to be reversed" or something simple like that, I'm tired of not having my x.

 

[BigTrannyProblem]

firstly I did the front drive shaft wrong so the boot on that got screwed up

Sounds like you did the same exact thing that I did. Anyone out there have any ideas? Is the boot on the driveshaft CV replaceable? I am not sure what went wrong.

Are you supposed to pack the cage/balls into the transfer case first? I just lined them up on the splines on the driveshaft and then pushed the whole deal into the transfer case. Obviously this is the wrong approach.

When I pulled the driveshaft, the balls/cage were fine, but a little dirty as the once red grease turned dark gray (probably from chewing up some of the CV boot.)

Attached picture is of a similar design at the bottom.

Also the 2nd half of the animation below (external site) is just like the driveshaft to transfer case setup.

http://www2.gkndriveline.com/drivelinecms/opencms/en/products/premium-propshafts/propshaft_popup.html

Any help out there for us would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

-Bill in PA

 

[Nocturnall]

That's exactly what I did, that hole that the front driveshaft comes out apparently, I still don't know how to put it all back in, going to look into it tonight after I read the trans codes....hopefully. Supposed to be getting some snow and it would be nice to have 4x4.

 

[Nocturnall]

Alright. Scanned the codes and it came up with P1747(or P1746) EPC circuit short. So we tried testing the EPC and it's fine, took out the harness out of the transmission and swapped it with mine same thing. Tried my old EPC same thing. Kept trying different things and it ended up that there is a short from the 40+ pin harness on the driver side valve cover to either the black or grey plug that plugs in the harness on the back of the engine block. the LP/O is showing a slight ground when you touch a multimeter to the female plug on the plug at the valve cover and positive on the battery. It shows 0.3v but when you wiggle the black harness on the back of the block and the main harness on the driver side valve cover it jumps up to 1.5volts and all over. So what we've concluded is the wire must have been corroded already and when I unplugged that plug I must have pulled the wire apart. So tomorrow I get the grand pleasure of taking apart the intake and then opening the harness and inspecting all the wires in there HURRAY! At least I know where to start. That is all. I would have taken pictures of everything but I don't know where the digi camera is.

 

[BigTrannyProblem]

So, I take it that we are the only 2 doing a rebuilt 5r55e tranny install here at the moment??? And we both had problems. One of them was the same (front driveshaft.) The other problem of mine was that I had was on the exhaust manifold where the cat bolts on (pass side). One bolt broke in half on the way out and the other hole stripped when trying to do the install.

At least when we are finished with all of the bugs ironed out, we can say WE DID IT!!! A lot of people would never try to accomplish this on their own.

Right now, I feel like killing the truck, but when everything is done and I am driving down the road in it---it will be hard not to smile due to pride.

Good luck. Anyone out there have any ideas on the front driveshaft install that we both ran into problems on?

-Bill in PA

 

[Nocturnall]

Well my bro in law and I tried fixing the front driveshaft but he hadn't done one in a while and it was basically kicking his butt. I took the upper manifold off the intake and got into all the wiring and it turns out the large 14gauge red wire on the black plug going to the trans harness was sticking out the black of the damn plug so I took all that apart for nothing....potentially. He's going to bring is code scaner back over tomorrow night and scan everything again just to make sure that that was actually the short in the line. I know what you mean about wanting to kill the truck. I was seriously thinking today and putting it back together, taking my crap out of it and driving it down to a dealership to trade it in. I wish I had been able to put a shift kit in or something or do some mods to my truck during this ordeal so I felt an obvious increase in performace once I got her running again....

 

[Nocturnall]

to assemble the front driveshaft you need to take the ring, put the balls into it, line it up on the very very edge of the driveshaft, push'em down and as tight as possible, then put the cage over. It's a pain but it's doable I did it today. The whole assembly will move very easily when your done.



transmission is in, running, no leaks, shifts great, all gears work, engine braking works, so far so good.

Is there anything special I should do with a rebuilt trans care wise?

 

[Glacier991]

Congrats! I wish I could have been more help on your driveshaft issues guys, but on that one I am a newbie, just like you.

Break in is nothing special, just drive it normally, and give things a chance to burnish and wear in friction wise. No HD towing, racing etc for maybe the first 500 miles or so. Even then folks will tell you that's unnecessary overkill.

Remember that trans needs Merc V and you might consider flushing it every 30,000 miles. An aux cooler is a godsend for ANY tranny, especially these.

And, you've nicely demonstrated for others to see the value of having the codes to pinpoint the problem area! Thanks for the update.

 

[Nocturnall]

I put mobil 1 synth in on this change, figured new was the time to start synth fluids. I plan on getting the aux cooler and filter funds are just short now with the rebuild, fluids, and other crap. Though I do plan to this week if not today get some lubegaurd and put in a quart of that.

Also while doing this I drained the xfer case and replaced the fluid in there with mobil 1 merc v synth which I read mixed results on. Some people had problems with synth fluids in the xfer case, I'm having no problems at all. In fact as soon as I backed out of where I was working my vehicle I got stuck in 2ft of snow. Put the truck in 4wheel low and there wasn't the usual CRUNCH I hear as it shifts into low range, no crunch coming out of it either like I normally had.

 

[Glacier991]

I'd consider adding the lubegard green that gives you Merc V properties. I am not sure if Mobil 1 makes a claim of being Merc V compatible... adding the lubegard additive will guarantee you that.

 

[BigTrannyProblem]

So we are both done and have ours on the road. I just bought a driveshaft from a junkyard and installed that one. I too did the Merc V in the T-case and it doesn't sound as loud as it did before when switching to 4wd low.

Hey Glacier, would you be interested in a NEW Ford Valve Body? If you give me $20 plus shipping for it, it is yours. Ahhh, heck with it. You do so much for the guys on here that I am willing to ship it to you for UPS/FedEx/DHL cost only. You can do some good testing on it I am sure. Take pics and drill holes...all of the good stuff like that.

LMK your interest and I will find some way to get it to you. No-it is not stolen. Bought it off ebay. Still in the factory box and goo (assembly lube???).

Congrats again Nocturnall!!! Long live our trannies!!!

-Bill in PA

 

[Glacier991]

Hey Glacier, would you be interested in a NEW Ford Valve Body? If you give me $20 plus shipping for it, it is yours. Ahhh, heck with it. You do so much for the guys on here that I am willing to ship it to you for UPS/FedEx/DHL cost only. You can do some good testing on it I am sure. Take pics and drill holes...all of the good stuff like that.

LMK your interest and I will find some way to get it to you. No-it is not stolen. Bought it off ebay. Still in the factory box and goo (assembly lube???).

-Bill in PA

Bill, you are too kind... (wiping tear). Thanks for appreciating my effort, and if you are serious I will certainly take you up on your offer. Let me know the shipping and I can either mail ya a check or PayPal ya the $$. It should be under $20 and I will happily just send ya the $20 either way... lemee know.

 

[Nocturnall]

It says on the front of the bottle Mercon V Full Synth. They started making it to those standards not too long ago I read on here, had to read each bottle and be careful each one said Mercon V. BigTrannyproblem I used synth in my xfer case which is where the problem seems to stem from. I beleive it calls for dino Mercon V, some people have put in synth and have had problems.

Do shift kits for the 5r55E eactually give you that so called "break neck" shifting like with gm's 700r4 when you put the transgo in that? All the shifts in my ex are soft even with the new trans which has upgraded seperator plate and a new epc. Also does the B&M shift selector switch do any damage or hurt the longevity of the trans at all? I know again with the 700r4 the B&M shift kits were not recommended by many owners because it made the trans not last as long. As of right now the plan for the vehicle is to drive it till the engine dies, then look at either a sohc swap or a V8 depending on where I am in life at that point...

thanks to all that have offered advice/help throughout this process....../nightmare.

 

[Glacier991]

Shift kits got a bad name in the early days. Today we have very smart aftermarket tranny guru's that isolate problem areas in the trans and make fixes WAY before the manufacturer finds them. They also offer ways to incrementally improve shifts.

Remember the ideal shift mechanically balances drive train shock against slippage. The actual shift is designed to make grandma happy. The shift kits allow you to gradually improve shifts more towards perfect without JARRING your teeth out.

In fact I have found that the the kits usually give you 3 or 4 options, and #1 is too little.... start with the 2nd one.

The 5R55E VB rebuild diary is all about shift kits. I'm a fan.