Disappearing tranny

[yooperdetective]

I've got a 2000 Explorer 4door 2wd with the SOHC 4 liter. Lots of miles on the body, but it's a southern car and looks good, and the engine was rebuilt and has less than 100K on it.

I was moseying along the other day in cruise control at 65 when the engine revved up out of control. Tapped the brake and turned off the cruise, gave it some gas and

nothing.

The transmission was just gone. I tried D and 2nd while it coasted to a landing at a (luckily) park and ride place. When it was stopped I tried R and 1st and all the other gears, turned on and off the OD, etc., etc., and the transmission was just gone.

Only hint of trouble was a slight whine on acceleration for a couple days before its disappearance. I thought that was just my subconcious complaining about gas prices.

I checked the linkages and all the harnesses, which were properly connected. The shop claims they scanned it and it came back that there was a cluster pack problem, whatever that is. They are in the process of seeking a decent used tranny.

All other operations of the vehicle are normal. She starts, idles, revs, etc. My bro towed me to the shop and if I put it in drive while idling and being towed, the tack jumped up to about two grand, but never engaged.

Currently, looking at about $500 to have the shop replace the tranny with a used unit that could cost between $450 and $800.

Any input or ideas? I've driven Dodges for years, so I'm used to trannies getting herky jerky or losing a gear before failure, but never one that just went on vacation and didn't come back, especially not while cruising at highway speeds.

Jim L
Up in the UP

 

[cleudard01]

Tranny Research

I say bite the bullet & get a rebuilt. I've read alot on the 5r55e & found not much good news. Trannys from Ford & Jasper were 22 to 2800 with a 3 yr guarantee. I guess you pay alot for the guarantee. Because the trannys are weak. It will cost me about 1500 to have one of mine rebuilt & I put it in.
I have heard of many many different problems in this trans from the front to the rear of the trans & everything in between. Some rebuilders say the tranny is built for 100,000 miles & anything over is lucky. Sorry for my bad findings. If you do go used, get very low miles.

 

[jlppimb]

Samething happened to me Tues(7/22) except mine went after I stopped to pay toll getting off the turnpike. Poor attendant had to push my Explorer by himself about 30 feet. He told me I had to stay inside while he pushed me away from the booth when I offered. Looking into whether I'm gonna fix it or not. 1800-2400 was the first price I got from my first shop. Towing it to another thur or fri for a second opinion. Tranny has just under 178K on it. Good luck in the UP!

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! Transmission shops always try to push for an entire rebuild or in this case a used transmission instead of analyzing the problem. You could have a clogged filter, bad valve body gaskets, loose valve body bolts, bad EPC solenoid, or just be low on fluid.

 

[yooperdetective]

Forgot

Yeah, the fluid was perfect level, perfect color, looked very good. My experience with valves and such is that SOME of the functions may be hindered or delayed or gone, but not the whole darned thing.

But appreciate the input.

The used tranny has 52K on it and comes with a three day warranty (yay). Course that doesn't cover labor.

We'll see how things shake.

Jim