My 1997 Ranger has no reverse.

[KitfoxMike]

My amateur (me) rebuilt 5R55E on my 97 Ranger lasted about 800 miles before I lost reverse. I pulled the transmission without reading the codes and found the OD clutches burned up but nothing else seemed wrong except for a small amount of scoring on the inside of the pump cover plate and all the solenoid wires shorted together where the insulation had broken off. I replaced the clutches and the wiring harness, put it all back in the truck and still no reverse. I pulled it again and put in new Reverse Servo D-rings. The Reverse Servo now is extremely stiff in the bore, I can't push it all the way in and am afraid if I do, it will never come back out. The reverse band seems to have good spring action and is not loose or anything. I am afraid to put the transmission back in again without figuring out what is wrong.

Any ideas?

 

[BrooklynBay]

Put the servo in the freezer before you push it back into the bore. This will relieve the pressure on the new seals. Did you check the reverse modulation spool valve, and the valve body gaskets?

 

[KitfoxMike]

I will try the freezer. I pulled the reverse modulation valve and it was pristine as well as the bore, is there something to do to check it?

 

[BrooklynBay]

Did you use a 1/4" drive In/Lb torque wrench on the valve body bolts? Is your truck a 4WD vehicle? All of these posts were moved into its own thread with a new title in the transmission section.

 

[KitfoxMike]

Yes, I did the right torque in the sequence from the ASTG manual. It is a 4x4. I am hoping it is not the transfer case since my wife will make me send the truck to the scrap yard if there are any more costs associated with it.

I am curious about the servo being so tight. When it expands after heating back up from the freezer and it stiffens up in the bore, will that not stop reverse from working? If the servo can't push on the band, it seems to me that reverse can't work.

 

[KitfoxMike]

Is there a way to check the transfer case while it is out of the truck?

 

[BrooklynBay]

Check the shift rail, and the shift fork in the transfer case. Another thing to check is the rear output shaft while the transmission is in the vehicle, but the transfer case is removed. One person should hold the brake pedal, and shift into reverse while another person checks the rear output shaft to see if it reverses direction.

 

[KitfoxMike]

Since everything is already out of the truck, how do you check the shift rail, and the shift fork in the transfer case?

 

[BrooklynBay]

The shift fork usually develops hair line cracks.

 

[greasemanicure]

The shift fork on mine lost one of the nylon tips. It then must have lost contact with the shift mechanism that is turned by the transfer case motor. It is a matter of removing the case bolts and sliding the halves apart. There must be a diary on tearing down a transfer case on the site. On mine it only took a shake test. Shook the transfer case and I could hear the shift fork bouncing up and down.
Joe

 

[KitfoxMike]

Shake a transfer case? That thing is awful heavy for me to be shaking around.

There is a diary for breaking one down, not sure if it is the same as mine though.

 

[KitfoxMike]

BrooklynBay,

I have been out of town a week or so, just getting back to my truck.

Do the hairline cracks cause the forks to come loose or just not allow the T-case to shift? Is there any easy way to tell if the T-case needs work?

If I install the transmission without the T-case, should I apply any kind of resistance to the output shaft when checking if reverse is really out?

 

[drdoom]

One way that is pretty easy is to drain the fluid, then look at the fluid to see if it is contaminated. Plastic chunks usually means shift fork guide bushings shot.

I suppose you could always open that bad boy up and have a look inside.

 

[KitfoxMike]

That is my next project I guess.

I am curious as to how the shift fork on the T-case has anything to do with reverse not working. It seems that if anything happens within the case, it would happen for every direction of the input shaft motion, not just reverse. Am I trying to think too logically?

 

[drdoom]

That is my next project I guess.

I am curious as to how the shift fork on the T-case has anything to do with reverse not working. It seems that if anything happens within the case, it would happen for every direction of the input shaft motion, not just reverse. Am I trying to think too logically?

I agree, it seems unrelated.

 

[KitfoxMike]

I have another question, in all of the previous checks of a bad reverse, it was always asked if you had low gear and engine braking in low. What is the problem if you have low but do not have engine braking in low?

 

[drdoom]

I have another question, in all of the previous checks of a bad reverse, it was always asked if you had low gear and engine braking in low. What is the problem if you have low but do not have engine braking in low?

I was reading a similar thread and someone was posting up about the REAR SPRAG.

Good reading here also, with some possibly unrelated, but none the less very informative, posts by Glacier991, Brooklyn_Bay, & Bent_Bolt:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=175213&highlight=engine+braking+in+low

 

[BrooklynBay]

Those symptoms are related to a broken low/reverse band (no 1st or reverse gear), chipped or leaking low/reverse servo (no 1st or reverse gear), or a damaged rear one way sprag (no engine braking).

 

[KitfoxMike]

Thanks, I will pull the sprag and check it.

 

[KitfoxMike]

The sprag is working and I was going to try the suggestion to hook everything up but the transfer case and run it to see if reverse worked. Bad idea. after four quarts of fluid, I was just dumping it on the ground since it was running out the back of the transmission. Now I have a big mess to clean up before I can crawl back under the truck.