Ford Explorer Issues

[koda2000]

change the fluid,suck it out if you have no wrench turning skills,fill with the lucas trans fluid.i have done this with trannys that had more metal in the pans than i have ever seen! see what happens imo the trans was never serviced.if you do get it to move in a few weeks do it again.the lucas is a lot more costly than atf but you might be just as surprised as i was! this was a buddys truck that he wanted to drive it to the junkyard and used for another year. when you get back home have the filter changed and the converter drained also and use the lucas again.i do not know what is in that stuff but i have seen transmissions rise from the dead after completely using that stuff than the atf. good luck, cheap fix compared to a rebuilt!!

Lucas Trans Fix is nothing more that high viscosity trans fluid. It may help if your problem is something that can be helped by increased pressure, but it will have no effect if you have broken parts. It's meant to be added to your ATF, not replace it. BTW - Unlike the V8's I don't believe there's any way to drain the torque converter on either of the V6 transmissions.

 

[jaxcycles]

you drill a hole and tap it and install a plug the converter hold more fluid in it than the pan and the lucas has more cleaners in it it will work on the worn parts but not broken ones . its called a cheap fix and have used it to help many of my customers get a little more before spending a lot more money

 

[koda2000]

change the fluid,suck it out if you have no wrench turning skills,fill with the lucas trans fluid.i have done this with trannys that had more metal in the pans than i have ever seen! see what happens imo the trans was never serviced.if you do get it to move in a few weeks do it again.the lucas is a lot more costly than atf but you might be just as surprised as i was! this was a buddys truck that he wanted to drive it to the junkyard and used for another year. when you get back home have the filter changed and the converter drained also and use the lucas again.i do not know what is in that stuff but i have seen transmissions rise from the dead after completely using that stuff than the atf. good luck, cheap fix compared to a rebuilt!!

Lucas Trans Fix is nothing more that high viscosity trans fluid. It may help if your problem is something that can be helped by increased pressure, but it will have no effect if you have broken parts. It's meant to be added to your ATF, not replace it. BTW - Unlike the V8's I don't believe there's any way to drain the torque converter on either of the V6 transmissions.

you drill a hole and tap it and install a plug the converter hold more fluid in it than the pan and the lucas has more cleaners in it it will work on the worn parts but not broken ones . its called a cheap fix and have used it to help many of my customers get a little more before spending a lot more money

According to a chemical analysis done on Lucas Trans Fix by YouTube's "Project Farm" I think he found that the Lucas had less detergents than just regular ATF, but I could be wrong. I just don't think much of "fixes in a bottle" in general. I still think the OP's "no movement" problem is likely a blown valve body gasket.

If you're going to drill a hole in your torque converter to drain it, you'll also need to drill a hole on your bell housing as the 4R55 and 5R55 transmission bell housings don't have a place for a rubber plug for draining like the V8 4R70W transmissions.

 

[J5hort]

Jax, +1 on the drill and add drain plug. I do this on just about every diff cover and tranny pan I own.. and some I don't. My 95 has manual transmission so it has upper and lower fill/drain plugs. 08 V8 Explorer has extra large hex on side of the transmission angled up right next to the exhaust. Check when hot in idle! Yeeeouch!

 

[donalds]

Isn't a torque converter balanced

Drill a hole and add a plug??
the vibrations will tare it apart
Imo

 

[C420sailor]

Not only that, but now you’ve got metal shavings getting stirred up in your converter and sent throughout the trans.

No thanks.

I’d drop the pan and the VB. Give everything on the bottom end a once over. If everything checks out and you then want to drill holes and run straight additives in the thing? By all means.

 

[koda2000]

Not only that, but now you’ve got metal shavings getting stirred up in your converter and sent throughout the trans.

I was thinking that as well. It wouldn't take much for a tiny metal shard to cause damage inside a trans.

 

[J$hort]

The pan comes off as is necessary to access the filter. Installation of the drain plug and threaded sleeve can be done on the bench and completely cleaned before reinstall. There is also a magnet in bottom of pan that regularly keeps metal particles at bay. Just make it easier to drain and refill. No pumping of fluid from top of transmission. I'd recommend a fluid and filter change as a first step. Can also get a look at the valve body when pan is off. I am referring to drain plug in transmission pan, not converter.

 

[koda2000]

The pan comes off as is necessary to access the filter. Installation of the drain plug and threaded sleeve can be done on the bench and completely cleaned before reinstall. There is also a magnet in bottom of pan that regularly keeps metal particles at bay. Just make it easier to drain and refill. No pumping of fluid from top of transmission. I'd recommend a fluid and filter change as a first step. Can also get a look at the valve body when pan is off. I am referring to drain plug in transmission pan, not converter.

I agree with installing a drain plug in the trans pan. I do this on all my vehicles with the first trans service. While you can suck most of the old ATF from the trans pan (approx 50% of the trans total capacity) using a transfer pump before removing the trans pan to replace the filter (or for whatever the reason for removing the pan) it makes removing the pan a much cleaner job. There is no more messy job than dropping a trans pan. No matter how careful you try to be ATF always spills & drips everywhere. I use B&M universal drain plugs and a step-drill to make a nice clean, round hole in the pan. Following the directions/torque spec for the universal drain plug I've never had a leak. You just need to find a spot to install the drain were it wont interfere with anything.