Desperately need help!

[Gary Crist]

Buy a ATSG manual for your trans too. It will step you through
everything.

 

[sandsprayer]

Ditto, I'm slower every day, and want to do it less every day.

I did my 1999 5R55E in 2006, and I did everything I could find to do, except for the later Sonnax suggested set screws installed in the worm tracks of the case(above where the gasket blows out). The case of the 5R is very deep up above the VB, those passages are so deep, that they are able to move side to side more than you'd like. The changing pressures are what move those thin passages, and sometimes the movement happens at the VB gasket, the VB mot tight enough possibly. The idea of the set screws is to place them between the thin walls of the case passages, in a few places, to keep them from moving as much.

I can plan it, but doing it is not the same as it used to be. I would install all of the available Sonnax VB parts, they are really good and very helpful. Those take some time and patience, but not as bad as almost any shift kit. If the trans has many miles over say 50k, I'd replace all of the solenoids(EPC absolutely), the accumulators, and adjust the bands. Those parts would cost under $250 I think these days, and as pointed out, can be done without dropping the trans. All of these suggestions are very helpful for any used trans, before or after a rebuild. Shops don't ever install any upgrade parts unless someone adamantly pushes for them, and some won't in any case.

Truth be told I spent $ 4700 on my tranny 5 years ago@ 90k miles, even though she got a filter and fluid change @ 25 50 and 75k
The rebuilder used the parts @CDW6212R Recommended.
@110k it is firm and positive.
As I eluded to @donalds things cost more here.
Economics.....
If I could have turned back the clock it would have been @Brett , And @410Fortune.
In the mean time, it is what it is and continue to use this Forum for the wealth of information.

 

[MakinJeepsWeep!]

I am currently doing a complete rebuild on my 4R70W and man 4k is steep brother, im only at 1100 and it should be a pretty bullet proof tranny after wards. Doing Reybestos high energy clutches basically the oem waffle cut design with pro series kevlar overdrive band, sonnax zip kit, bamann shift kit and Thor coverters odin originals with what should be 100 more stall depending how the engine likes it. Now aside from that ramble i do know that 410Fortune knows his stuff from talking to him on some air to fuel stuff i was dealing with after going to 24lbs injectors so i would try what he said because he pretty much said it all. Also a trans rebuild can be done yourself with a little know how about a ton of newspaper and 2 tons of patients

 

[410Fortune]

FYI I use an "under the bed storage tote" to drain transmission pans when they have to come off. This tote is set on top of a large piece of cardboard, large enough to make sure no ATF hits the shop floor. Ahhhh nothing like dumping 3-8 quarts of ATF all over the shop....been there done that. Requires every rag and newspaper in a 6 mile radius to get the floor not to feel like a slip and slide again.

The 4-5" tall clear tote "under bed storage" is large enough to fit under the trans and catch all of the fluid and the pan

Take all of the bolts out except 4, 1 at each corner.....
Then put pressure on the pan with one arm while the other removes the last 4 bolts.

At this point one corner will likely start to leak, so go with it, lower that corner down and guide the fluid into your drain tote.... work slowly here, let some drain, then lower. With the 5r55e in a sport trac you have to maneuver that SOB pan to get it out of there between the exhaust, front d shaft and trans crossmember. If you are careful you will not make a huge mess and not have to clean Mercon V from your armpits and ear lobes

Also a GREAT idea to add a drain plug to your pan while it is out..... several ways to go about this. Dorman replacement pans are not too expensive and they come with a drain built in

Once the pan is out of the way.....go away...do something else for a bit, like put tools away, clean shop, eat lunch, drink beers, whatever floats your boat....let the valve body drip for a while, it will help keep things clean and dry when you do drop it out of there.

These transmissions get MERCON V only....any other fluid can kill your trans
Also we like to add a bottle of Lube Guard transmission conditioner/protectant/friction modifier when it all goes back together, this is the ONLY thing I will put in my trans along with the Merc V

Amazon product ASIN B0002KKTTU
Some of us "old timers" (Im 48 hahaha) still are here posting up how to's with pics and stuff. Im working on some video how to's as well....

 

[CDW6212R]

That's the way to drop a trans pan, I've done that many times and hardly lost any fluid onto the floor. I loosen the front corner bolts just a tick, and run the rear corner bolts out half way. Then by holding the pan I crack the seal and let the rear drain most of the fluid. After that you hold the pan with one hand, and remove those corner bolts etc. I like the part store 3'x4' steel pans under my drain tote. I have two of those now, they have a 1/2" lip around them which catches all fluid from draining off.

I put Mercon I in my 99 5R55E originally, it worked fine then with the Lubegard additive made to simulate Mercon V specs. My local trans parts store sold me on that. I didn't do that again, the cost difference was a lot back then, but not much now.

I have to rebuild that 5R soon in my 99, it's time to fix that truck and use it again. I expect to leave the VB alone basically, I did everything to it the first time when I bought the truck. The solenoids all have to go of course, those are electrical wear parts. I got a deep pan for this long ago(for work use), I might not use it if someone wanted it more than me.

 

[sandsprayer]

Also a trans rebuild can be done yourself with a little know how about a ton of newspaper and 2 tons of patients

Roger that!
Unfortunately my situation here is balls to the walls 75/ week.
A tranny rebuild would turn to a 6 month ordeal of me walking by it, and driving the Legacy full time.
Nothing beats the feeling of accomplishment, but have slowly learned sometimes it's better just to have a Pro hit it.
( a wink and nod to @410Fortune)

 

[Gary Crist]

My first tranny was a C-4 out of a 72 Winnebago Brave.

Motor home was new then!

Hiding my experience (age) he he he..

 

[Trac5er]

FYI I use an "under the bed storage tote" to drain transmission pans when they have to come off. This tote is set on top of a large piece of cardboard, large enough to make sure no ATF hits the shop floor. Ahhhh nothing like dumping 3-8 quarts of ATF all over the shop....been there done that. Requires every rag and newspaper in a 6 mile radius to get the floor not to feel like a slip and slide again.

The 4-5" tall clear tote "under bed storage" is large enough to fit under the trans and catch all of the fluid and the pan

Take all of the bolts out except 4, 1 at each corner.....
Then put pressure on the pan with one arm while the other removes the last 4 bolts.

At this point one corner will likely start to leak, so go with it, lower that corner down and guide the fluid into your drain tote.... work slowly here, let some drain, then lower. With the 5r55e in a sport trac you have to maneuver that SOB pan to get it out of there between the exhaust, front d shaft and trans crossmember. If you are careful you will not make a huge mess and not have to clean Mercon V from your armpits and ear lobes

Also a GREAT idea to add a drain plug to your pan while it is out..... several ways to go about this. Dorman replacement pans are not too expensive and they come with a drain built in

Once the pan is out of the way.....go away...do something else for a bit, like put tools away, clean shop, eat lunch, drink beers, whatever floats your boat....let the valve body drip for a while, it will help keep things clean and dry when you do drop it out of there.

These transmissions get MERCON V only....any other fluid can kill your trans
Also we like to add a bottle of Lube Guard transmission conditioner/protectant/friction modifier when it all goes back together, this is the ONLY thing I will put in my trans along with the Merc V

Amazon product ASIN B0002KKTTU
Some of us "old timers" (Im 48 hahaha) still are here posting up how to's with pics and stuff. Im working on some video how to's as well....

As always, great advice. I ordered the gasket set and I'm hoping thatll be it! If so, I'll be forever in your debt!

 

[Pete Deering]

I pickup a plastic concrete mixing pan from Lowes to uses as a drain pan 24x36 in size. Very in expense, 4" high sides. Slip it into a contractor plastic bag, so I don't have to clean the pan.

 

[collinstm57]

I replaced the VB and solenoid pack in my 5R55S easy enough. Made significant improvement in the shifting and operation. I noticed a dark fluid spot in the middle of the VB so I'm thinking I waited to long. Only to be bitten by the inadequate fluid to the OD components. Waiting on a re-man right now.

So many flaws built into the S version.

 

[410Fortune]

So many flaws built into the small auto trans! I mean its a good transmission, its a Ford auto so it already has most of the competition beat.

At the end of the day it is still a C3 auto underneath all the tech. Once they added the overdrive and called it the A4LD jokes circulated that the LD stood for LIGHT DUTY..... if you want to cry like a sad movie look up what people went through trying to get a A4LD to hold together (myself included!).

In 95 they added computer controls and it gained a electric second gear the 4r44 and 5r55e were born, more nightmares...then they kept upping the power it could take and kept running it behind the SOHC v6 (98-11) ..........as time went on the small auto got better and tougher.........but still if you look at my stable of personal vehicles not one of them has a C3, C4/5, A4LD, 4r or 5r55e, 5r55s, 5w whatever.....

The small auto began life in a car and that is where it should have stayed!!!!!!!!!!

Keep the fluid clean, keep the trans cool, and keep an eye on them fix anything that pops up right away and you can get LOTS of miles from them.
The rebuild is typically where the real issues begin, shops cutting corners, patching them together, let us just say that this family of auto transmission has turned many people away from our beloved RBV's (Ranger based vehicles).
From the factory they are not a BAD unit, however given a choice I like to fix these and send them home....never to own one again!!

 

[sandsprayer]

Great info, Jamie

 

[CDW6212R]

Ditto, all true. I saw the A4LD as the medium sized Ford first four speed auto, a Thunderbird trans with a low power engine. I didn't connect it with the C4, but my first car and first trans rebuild was that C4.

Ford made one of countless mistakes by creating a new bell housing pattern, that new 80's V6 and the A4LD. It was light duty, and it should have remained that forever. But Ford likes to make the common mistake of having the engineers upgrade existing platforms, to do more than they were first designed for. Bam, here we are with engines that make 50% more than the trans was made for.

The only thing the five speeds were good for was the engineers learning how to do more gears in a trans, and the thermostatic control. The five speeds should be skipped of you can, move to the four speeds, or the six speed models etc. The 10 speed is probably another learning platform, I bet in ten years there will be something stronger and with less quirks than the 10 speed. The ideal number of gears is probably about six, more than that and the number of parts and thus potential problems, grows too much.

Bottom line, install more coolers, and bigger units, keep the fluid under 150* if you can, and don't be cheap with fluids and maintenance.

 

[410Fortune]

What about the Subaru CVT "wet belt" transmissions sure would be nice to have a CVT with NO SHIFTING!!
can or worms I know I know I love my CVT clutches in the ATV, UTV and sleds.....glad to see its making its way into cars

Plain and simple the A4LD, 2.8L, 2.9L cologne family of engines were Ford's answer to the gas crunch........... sometimes you have to run existing platforms and improve on them........ re tooling to create / R&D a whole new auto trans/drivetrain can sink the whole ship!!
Nothing has changed there even today they get as many years out of their current auto's as they can

 

[CDW6212R]

Ford has some CVT's now I believe. Those were the future we were told in 1980 or so, but 40 years later they are still almost rare. It's a great design but making it work in real life has taken a lot of work.

I really like the new six speed platform Fords, you know that. I look forward to getting my hands on one or two and seeing if they are reasonable to work with.

 

[MakinJeepsWeep!]

I have to agree with @CDW6212R on that once you start moving past 6 speeds its all a bit much. With 6 speeds there is already so much room for gearing that you dont ever really need more to do whatever you want. I cant imagine breaking into a 10 speed trans.

 

[94Eddie]

Ford has some CVT's now I believe. Those were the future we were told in 1980 or so, but 40 years later they are still almost rare. It's a great design but making it work in real life has taken a lot of work.

I really like the new six speed platform Fords, you know that. I look forward to getting my hands on one or two and seeing if they are reasonable to work with.

After living with two 5R55 3rd gens I was looking forward to not having one when looking for a 4th gen. Now that I have gone through two quick pan drops on my 2010 it is operating butter smooth. It so far has been a massive improvement in about any way I can think of over the 5R55.

 

[Marly in Vegas]

FYI I use an "under the bed storage tote" to drain transmission pans when they have to come off. This tote is set on top of a large piece of cardboard, large enough to make sure no ATF hits the shop floor. Ahhhh nothing like dumping 3-8 quarts of ATF all over the shop....been there done that. Requires every rag and newspaper in a 6 mile radius to get the floor not to feel like a slip and slide again.

The 4-5" tall clear tote "under bed storage" is large enough to fit under the trans and catch all of the fluid and the pan

Take all of the bolts out except 4, 1 at each corner.....
Then put pressure on the pan with one arm while the other removes the last 4 bolts.

At this point one corner will likely start to leak, so go with it, lower that corner down and guide the fluid into your drain tote.... work slowly here, let some drain, then lower. With the 5r55e in a sport trac you have to maneuver that SOB pan to get it out of there between the exhaust, front d shaft and trans crossmember. If you are careful you will not make a huge mess and not have to clean Mercon V from your armpits and ear lobes

Also a GREAT idea to add a drain plug to your pan while it is out..... several ways to go about this. Dorman replacement pans are not too expensive and they come with a drain built in

Once the pan is out of the way.....go away...do something else for a bit, like put tools away, clean shop, eat lunch, drink beers, whatever floats your boat....let the valve body drip for a while, it will help keep things clean and dry when you do drop it out of there.

These transmissions get MERCON V only....any other fluid can kill your trans
Also we like to add a bottle of Lube Guard transmission conditioner/protectant/friction modifier when it all goes back together, this is the ONLY thing I will put in my trans along with the Merc V

Amazon product ASIN B0002KKTTU
Some of us "old timers" (Im 48 hahaha) still are here posting up how to's with pics and stuff. Im working on some video how to's as well....

I just picked some of those underbed containers at the dollar store for $3.99. They're just a bit awkward to transport when they have liquid in them.