New Owner Needing Some Transmission Help

[01explodersport]

hi, i just got a 2001 explorer sport 4x4 2 days ago. and i like everything about the truck, except the transmission has me worried.. it does have the 2-3 slip. and i do want to fix that, i dont have a lot of money to throw into it right now but i can do all the work myself if somebody here can help, it also has a problem sometimes with downshifting. when you get stopped at a red light and start to take off again, its stuck in a higher gear. but if you manualy shift the transmission into 1st. it goes right into gear and takes off like normal.. when the trans was doing the not wanting to downshift thing, the O/D OFF light was flashing a constant on and off.

 

[jlsparky7]

Sounds like you need a rebuild. Hows the fluid level?

 

[01explodersport]

if i need a rebuild the ford goes to the junk yard lol.. but.. im hoping i can put valve body gaskets in it,, and maybe a transgo shift kit.. . the fluid level is fine, the transmission works fine most of the time

 

[35Remmy]

It sounds like it COULD be the gear selector switch...it tells the computer what gear the transmission is in. If that's the case, it's not a big deal.

Did you test drive it before you bought it?

Don't bring it to the junk yard!!! We want to make sure they're still full of chevy's!!!

 

[BrooklynBay]

The flashing overdrive light indicates that there is a code stored. You have to find out what the code is in order to troubleshoot the problem.

 

[01explodersport]

haha if theres a chevy there im drivin it home!. yeah, and when i test drove it all it did was the 2-3 slip and it wasnt that big of a deal, it did the not downshifting thing way later that day.. its currently not doing that though. i went to a ford dealership today and got the valve body gaskets and i got a new filter/pan gasket and fluid. so we will see how it goes. this is my first ford and its being a pain. when you crank it up cold, it wont idle, itll die a few times if you dont keep ur foot on the gas,, and yet it stores no codes. i replaced the iac valve, no change. and it sounds like a 4 cyl diesel when u crank it up cold.. or when its hot and you let it sit for a couple mins then crank it back up.

 

[01explodersport]

well i've done it now.. i put new valve body gaskets in. following the 5r55e valve body rebuild diary.. that went fine, no problems. put the valve body back in, torqued it down like the tutorial said. put the new filter in, and bolted the pan back up,, filled it up with fluid. then when i went to put it in gear.. it acts like its in neutral,, it doesnt even try to pull at all in any gear. help please!

 

[BrooklynBay]

Not all scanners are capable of reading manufacturer specific codes. You said that no codes came up. What kind of scanner was used?

 

[01explodersport]

just a hand held obd II scanner. i dont remember the model number.. no check engine light is on, and the o/d light just flashes sometimes, when it wants to. but now i cant even move the truck :|

 

[BrooklynBay]

Is the fluid level correct?

 

[01explodersport]

yes, it has plenty of fluid in it. what i know i should have checked but i didnt, was the height of the pickup tube on the old and new filters. but i didnt. i made sure the gaskets in the valve body were lined up correctly, and i lost no pieces in it.. what else could i have done?

 

[BrooklynBay]

You can't use a 2WD filter with a deep 4WD pan. You need to draw the fluid up into the transmission.

 

[01explodersport]

i did tell the person at the parts store that it was 4 wheel drive, twice.. now whether they got the right one or not.. i dont know, i still have the box of the filter i got and ill double check the part numbers

 

[BrooklynBay]

Did it have a long sump tube on the bottom?

 

[01explodersport]

it looked like it to me

 

[01explodersport]

how common is transmission pump failure? just wondering if that is the rattling i hear sometimes, seems to change when u put it in gear. and when i crunk it up after working on it today the rattle was really bad at first. and now i have no transmission operation

 

[BrooklynBay]

It could be the front pump or the torque converter. Some transfer case problems sound similar to these symptoms.

 

[01explodersport]

do you have any suggestions where i should start checking?.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Connect a 0-300 PSI test gauge to it, then check the pressure. # 10 in my list of useful threads has more information.

 

[01explodersport]

well i feel really dumb right now, i dropped the pan today and realized my mistake.. the manual shift valve wasnt in the right position, i overlooked that yesterday, the annoying thing is, after i put the new VB gaskets in, it still has the 2-3 shift problem.. and the gasket was blown out right where it should be to cause that problem.. but at least its driveable now