For the transmission Gods....

[John_M]

New (well old) Explorer owner with a question to those transmission gods out there. First off, great site to those who run this place. Simply the finest on the net...

The question:

I have an 97 XLT with the OHV 4.0 and it is the 5 speed Auto trans. What is happening with the transmission is this. Shifting from 3 to fourth acts strange sometimes. When the truck shifts, the revs will rise and it will take a second or two for the gear to "catch" as the revs start to fall. All other shifts seem to be fine and this only happens every now and then. Usually when it has been driven a while or after a long run on the freeway. Any ideas out there?

Can this be something minor, or should I start saving for a new tranny?

BTW, in reading the rules I noticed that these threads are for those in dire straights, if you mods out there must move this thread please do so and accept my appologies...

-John

 

[yluahale]

Hi, Sorry but it sounds like what happen to my explore last year, we had to rebuild the tranny, actually it was the 3rd gear, we ended up paying about 1700.00 and the mechanic said he had seen it before. Try calling a tranny expert. if they do redo your trans, have them replace the rubber plugs with steel ones, they should mention this if you have a trust worthy mechanic.

 

[Brain]

Not to be a know-it-all, but the plug issue is on the manual tranny, not the autos.

In '97 they used the 5R55E, and I think what is happening is that the overdrive band is taking a while to apply, causing it to slip. The best thing would be to replace just the band, but removal and replacement is the biggest part of the job...hence the reason everybody wants to sell you a new one instead of rebuilding the old (I think there are some warranty issues also).

I don't know if you want to try to fix this yourself, but if you did, it would be cheaper than the other options. Once this braking band starts slipping it will wear out faster, and if you don't fix it before it completely breaks, it will be more expensive to fix if you are going to DIY and have to pay for replacement parts. This slipping will happen more after it is warm or hot, so it seems to make sense to me.

The band is only about $20. (The relined ones are only $2.50 cheaper - go for new). The good thing about the OD band is that it is in the front of the case, so you don't HAVE to pull out all of the guts and rebuild everything if you don't want to (although it might be a good idea since at that point you'd have it apart anyways).

 

[John_M]

Brian sir, you truly are a class act, and thanks a ton for the info. I've been under and over many, many Fords in my life, but touching a tranny is something I have never done. They scare the hell out of me!

You said something of the OD band. This is not directly related to the shift to overdrive correct? The reason I ask is that the truck shifts perfectly into overdrive.

Best,

-John

 

[Brain]

Sorry about that John...I got so used to thinking about the 4 speed versions that I forgot that the 3-4 shift on a 5 speed isn't going from 3rd to overdrive (which 4th gear is called on a four speed such as the 4R and A4LD). I don't have the technical manuals for the 5R55E, but somebody here might be able to better direct you to which clutches and/or bands are engaged/disengaged when shifting from 3rd to 4th. Here's a link to a breakdown of the parts....I was referring to part 40 in line B in this illustration:
http://www.transtarindustries.com/FileStore/pdf/4R44E_04A W.pdf

 

[Opera House]

Don't let a transmission scare you. Be assured that whoever works on it is probably dumber than you are. It is purely an assembly line operation. By this time, you probably need a fluid change. Just drop the pan (no flush), change the filter, and when you are in there, tighten the bolts on the valve body. These just take a light twist (9 ft-lb) and there are always 3 or 4 loose. These bolts have been a real killer in this 5R55E transmission and cause the valve body gasket to blow out as well as other strange problems. Gasket could be still be intact but leaking. That is what I would try first.

 

[Brain]

Good, Opera House is here...but do be careful not to over-tighten the bolts as the bolts are steel and the tranny body and valve body are aluminum. We wouldn't want you to have to deal with stripped threads. I believe the specifications list 71-97 inch*pounds (not Ft*lb, it would be about 6-8 ft*lb).

"Be assured that whoever works on it is probably dumber than you are." I love that ; )

 

[Opera House]

Torque wrenches! We don't need no stinking torque wrenches. Honestly, I worked on an A4LD that had been rebuilt years earlier and I needed to use a breaker bar to back the VB bolts out. Just keep it under what a standard torque wrench can read.

 

[John_M]

Opera House and Brain,

Again, thank you a ton for the info!

A little background on the Explorer:

The wife and I bought it about a month ago. It's really, really, clean and has 117,000 showing on the clock. Up here in the Northwest it's tough to find an Ex with under 165,00 on it thats not beat to hell, so we just could not pass it up. Everything on the truck works fantastic and before I pulled it off the lot we ran the codes and everything checked out fine. The tranny thing is just now starting to show it's head, but I knew about the tranny fun with Explorers going in to the deal, so I'm not to down about it.

All the fluids in the truck are perfect. Of course this could have been the dealer doing a once over on the truck with new oil, tranny fluid, etc. So perhaps it would be good to get under there and pull the pan. If I tackle it, don't be to suprised to see a post or two from me with a "what the hell is this leftover bolt from" type of question. Is there anything else under there that I should take a look at?

Again, thanks folks. These kinds of sites on the web (and this one in particular) are just top notch.

-John

 

[Glacier991]

OK, I've never rebuilt a 5R55, (WANT TO) but know only enough to be dangerous. It is ALL electronic shift. Is there a 3/4 shift solenoid? If so did the 97 suffer the famed 3/4 clogged solenoid screen problem? Might explain these problems if the pieces all fit.

 

[Opera House]

Well, you won't be asking me any questions for two weeks. I'm out of here. Off to the camp with no electric (except when the sun shines), no phone, and no internet.

 

[Brain]

I think Glacier's idea is right - the holes in the solenoid valves are pretty small and could get clogged pretty easy (the old style uses a screen but the new ones don't). When you have the pan down, you could pull the valve body down, clean anything off the top of the seperator plate, check/clean the solenoids then reassemble. I think that would be well worth the effort. Here's a link to show what the solenoid valves look like and how to do a quick test (figure 7):
http://www.alldatadiy.com/alldata/A.../34853741/34850750/42063452/42468153/42468157

They are only about $30 to replace (well over $100 from a Ford dealership).

Here's another link showing the difference between the first design and the second design...I think they went back to the stubby design without a screen, but I'm not positive (second picture down):
http://www.alldatadiy.com/alldata/A.../56351048/34853741/34850750/42063452/42467439