no 1st gear or overdrive - 4r44e

[Huricane]

hello, i just purchased a 95 ranger 2wd with a 4.0 and auto, which i presume is the 4r44e. the truck has well over 250,000 miles on it, the seller stated that the transmission had been "gone through" not long ago. what all that entaled, i dont know and neither did he. it was running poorly when i bought it and idling very high and would slam into gear when you shifted. it seems as though it has no 1st gear and no overdrive.

whether you manually shift into 1st or put it into d, it takes off in 2nd. when you get on the highway, it wont shift into overdrive, and also wont kickdown a gear if you floor it. the od off light doesnt function either, i replaced the bulb in the dash and also traced down the faulty switch in the gear selector, which is now working properly, but it doesnt turn the light on when you press the button.

i adjusted the bands today and you can sometimes get it to go into first when slowing down, but not all the time. when you get on the gas it seems to go into 2nd gear. i havent pulled the pan yet, but thought i would see if anybody here has any advice before i tear into it.

thanks

 

[manaen]

sound like the tranny is running in limp mode. Could be a blown gasket on the valve body. It is interesting that it is 1st and OD since those two gears use totally different engagements. Although I don't know the differences in the 4r and my 5r. There are guys on here who are tranny experts I'm sure they will have some more insight into the problem.

 

[Hurricane]

there are no transmission codes in the pcm either. what is limp mode and how do i check to see if thats what it is?

 

[manaen]

Oh btw welcome to the forum

limp mode is what the computer defaults to when it doesn't understand the return sensor readings from the transmission. When something is not acting properly the computer goes into limp mode to get you home.

Does your code reader read the ford specific pcm tranny codes? becuase an off the shelf cheaper unit from autozone (or the like) will not read the tranny codes. I would think if you are in fact in limp mode there would need to be some codes.


Have you checked the tranny fluid for level, color, and smell?

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I'm suspicious of blown one way sprags. It shifts hard when it engages to further reinforce this theory. Do you have any problem with reverse?

 

[Hurricane]

all other gears shift fine. the thing that i still cant figure out is why the od off light wont function. ive tested all the circuits. the pcm is getting the signal from the switch, but it wont command the ground for the light to turn on. i have an equus obd2 scanner that reads live data and any other codes, but nothing shows up for transmission.

i just changed the fluid/filter as its quickly burning up. taking off in 2nd gear all the time is going to kill this thing quick. would it behave this way if it were in limp mode? the 2/3 shift is smooth and reverse works fine. i found out that the transmission was replaced a year ago, but dont know if it was a rebuild or came from a junkyard.

can a 4r44e be interchanged with a 4r55e? according to alldata i should have the 55, so if it was replaced with a 44 would it still work as normal?

im wondering if theres something wrong with the pcm that its not allowing the light to come on, that either the trans was replaced with the wrong one or i may have a faulty pcm, although everything else works like normal.

can anybody point me to what exactly limp mode is and how it would behave if it were in limp mode so that i can possibly scratch that off the list?

thanks for the help

 

[BrooklynBay]

Limp or FMEM mode takes a default program from the computer to help you "limp" home if there is a fault in the transmission. It increases the line pressure through the EPC solenoid to get around leaking seals which might not allow the clutch packs to engage under normal circumstances. This increased pressure adds extra stress to the parts, so it's not recommended to drive too long this way.

 

[Hurricane]

one other thing is that no matter what the speed, there is no kickdown. if its in 3rd and you floor it, it will not downshift to 2nd.

 

[Hurricane]

the pcm was bad or somebody changed it to a manual trans pcm. the new one fixed it and i have all 4 gears now

 

[BrooklynBay]

Thanks for the update!

 

[manaen]

Wow a manual trans pcm, it's a wonder it shifted at all

I guess there is some form of manual failsafe mode, interesting

glad you got it fixed!!