OK---so call me stupid-tranny question

[BigTrannyProblem]

Nothing like taking the transmission out of the vehicle and then attempting to diagnose the problem.

Anyway, this is a 3rd vehicle for us and back during the summer when it started to give us problems, I parked it in our garage for future repair. What happened in the meantime is not good: it lost power to the battery and all of the DTCs were no longer there when I went to check. (I didn't have a scanner until after the battery died...) And for those who say "parts store x or y would have read them for free"---the vehicle wasn't moving anywhere due to tranny problems.

So, I opened her up...fluid was burnt but no metal. Valve body gasket---fine. Solonoids resistance tested within specs (thanks Glacier). That made me decide to get the tranny out for further inspection. Removed exhaust, driveshafts, transfer case, and tranny.

Now that I have it out and ready for a reman to be delivered, I started to think: what if it is an electrical problem?

Is there any procedure that I can follow to rule out problems with the OSS, DTR, TFT sensor, and PCM?


_________________________________________________________________
----------BACKGROUND AND SYMPTOMS-----------------


130K miles

Unknown service history on tranny

When I bought it, fluid was pink as if it had recently been flushed


Symptoms:

Wife was driving it when CEL came on, also the overdrive light was flashing off and on. She drove it about an additional 5 miles after this started.

When I arrived on site (about 2 miles from our house) it had a little time to cool. I checked the fluid level and it was low. I smelled the fluid and it smelled OK also.

I got in it and managed to drive it about 1/2 mile up a hill before it started to die again. It was basically having to redline just to keep up momentum.

Sat there, let it cool about 15 min and managed to limp it home, still with it slipping all along the way and getting progressively worse as I got to our steep driveway. Waited another 15 min and made it up the driveway.

Filled fluid up to the proper level (after waiting about an hour to let it cool a bit). Went to drive it and same thing. Went a few tenths of a mile and then slipping and more slipping until stop. Manual shift to 1st, 2nd, 3rd, drive, or reverse made no difference.

Again waited for it to cool and then took it up the driveway. Looked at the underneath and it was coated with blood.

Rinsed that off and parked it in the garage and put a piece of old carpet under it. No leaks since then.
_________________________________________________________________


Anyway, I now have access to the electrical connections needed to test. If anyone has any ideas on what #s I should look for on my digital multimeter, let me know. DTCs would have made this easy...this is definitely a reason to 1) never let your battery die and 2) buy a scanner before you ever have any problems.

Thanks for any input,

-Bill in PA

 

[Glacier991]

Well I sincerely doubt your issues were simply input issues to the PCM. And the final agony back home probably finished whatever was wrong off.... or at least glazed some frictions.. I am thinking you might have suffered ... oh... say like a stuck check ball in the forward drum as a result of a late life fluid flush putting gunk in suspension, for example - or maybe a blown out valve body gasket. At this point that seems immaterial.

BECAUSE... you have the tranny out. The major work is done. Either rebuild the one you have or go ahead with your replacement - UNLESS IT COMES FROM A JUNKYARD! NO JUNKYARD TRANNIES! JUST SAY NO !

(I have a thing about junkyard tranny replacements.... it was probably where it belonged.)

I can cite you chapter and verse about pinpoint tests, but for the most part with the tranny out they won;t do you much good, and like i said I am doubtful you were having issues as a result of a sensor, based on your symptoms.

ps. your DTC's probably were incorrect gear ratio type of DTC's, which don't tell you much anyway. Don't kick yourself too hard.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Are you going to rebuild it yourself, or buy a rebuilt unit? Check the for sale forum. I always see other members selling transmissions there. You could rebuild your present one, and save it as a spare if you decide to buy another one. When you first described the symptoms of how it was struggling to stay in gear, the first thing to come to my mind was a failing EPC solenoid not maintaining enough pressure.

 

[BigTrannyProblem]

Well, thanks for the replies. I haven't ordered mine yet. They only need 2 days lead time to get it ready for me and I am doing the fuel filter and other easy to get to things this weekend.

I and am a little intimidated with rebuilding it myself. I would do it, but my father-in-law who is ASE certified did his own on a Mark VII and after all that work it still had shift problems. I guess that is what worries me---doing all that work just to find out that it doesn't work correctly.

Plus, I can get the whole deal w/ a 2 year warranty, VB update, new solonoids, and converter for under $1000 (if I pick it up myself making the 16 hr roundtrip to Chicago)----[Roadmaster Transmissions].

If I didn't need all of the specialty rebuild tools that the ATSG guide calls for I might be more apt to try this all on my own. But, just looking at the shift kit, rebuild kit, and new solonoids, I would be at around $500 or so and no warranty.

Curiousity is killing me as far as what is inside the case.

Thoughts?

-Bill in PA

 

[BrooklynBay]

If tools are what is stopping you, Glacier lends out tools with a deposit. I would suggest printing out the diaries to use as a reference while rebuilding it. The ATSG manual, and Ford 3 ring binder along with the diaries are an excellent way to start.

 

[BigTrannyProblem]

Well, I don't have the 3 ring binder on the 5r55e. Just the ATSG book which seems to jump around a lot. What is the time on a rebuild? I need to take at least 2 or 2.5 times that since it would be my first tranny rebuild. Not committing yet, still trying to decide.

 

[BrooklynBay]

It could be time consuming if you don't have all of the parts you need, and have to stop in the middle to order them.

 

[BigTrannyProblem]

Well, what is the chance of needing any hard parts when I didn't see any metal in the fluid? Or am I nuts just even thinking about doing this myself considering the price of a reman by an ATSG & ATRA shop?

 

[BrooklynBay]

Sometimes there could be a crack, or excessive wear on a hard part. You will get the experience of doing it yourself, and you will know exactly what was replaced instead of taking somebody's word for what was replaced.

 

[E-rock]

what is the transmission rebuild time

 

[BigTrannyProblem]

OK. I just gave in and ordered the 5r55e from Roadmaster in Illinois. I sure did want to open the case and see what I could find, but really for the price, I would be a fool to do so. Show me where someone is going to give you a deal like this for under $1000 for a reman w/ NEW solonoids and VB updates
and a 2 year warranty (labor included up to $35/hr). It just ain't gonna happen many places. I of course will let you all know how the pickup process goes.

It should be back here and ready to install on Sunday if everything goes right. Does anyone know a good source for picking up the TC nuts and transfer case gasket, etc?

Thanks.

-Bill in PA

 

[BrooklynBay]

Try WWW.Drivetrain.Com, WWW.Bulkpart.Com, WWW.Axiom.Com, or WWW.TransmissionPartsUSA.Com.

 

[Bent Bolt]

If it makes you feel better, NO trans electrical problem will cause a " no movement" issue in a Explorer. Now if you had a Escape with a CD4E...........

 

[BigTrannyProblem]

Thanks BB and BB. Just a little more online shopping and I will have this project ready to go. And that does make me feel better about the electrical. Whew!!!

Will post updates as I receive parts.

Thanks.

-Bill in PA

 

[BigTrannyProblem]

A good and a bad (?) thing about Axiom:

Good---they will ship your items and just invoice you. Nice level of trust there that shows they are customer oriented.

Bad---they don't tell you shipping before you complete your order. I put "Cheapest shipping method available" in the 'notes' section of the order page. We'll see what that turns out to be. I don't like the mystery of shipping costs.

Got most of my shopping done now and I look to start the install Sunday.

-Bill in PA

 

[Glacier991]

Good luck. I am sure others will be here to pitch in and answer Q's if you have any. I will be gone from Tomorrow night thru Monday, otherwise I would offer to help.... PM me if you want a cell phone # as a "help line". I mainly rebuild em, do not consider myself expert at installing them though.

 

[BigTrannyProblem]

Thanks. I have started the install and all is going well.

So far I have:

flushed the lines/old cooler

installed the updated N/C flexplate spacer

bolted up the tranny bellhousing bolts to the engine and torqued them to specs

still lots to do...but it is going well. not flawless, but pretty good for a first time installer.

-Bill in PA

btw Glacier, I will be out your way next weekend---Reno/Tahoe.

 

[Glacier991]

Well at the rate we are going, it should be beautiful with little snow on the ground. I was up last weekend and was amazed how sparse the snow is this year. If you need any tools, pm me. I have a full set.

 

[BigTrannyProblem]

Not much left to do now... Just add the factory and aux tranny cooler, fill up the tranny and T-case, connect the driveshafts, and deal with the exhaust.

It sure is nice to have a lot of room under the truck to work, but it is a PITA to reach up so high to get the T-case in place. I almost dropped it on my head once. Yikes!

BTW, for anyone who is interested in doing this themselves, there are 2 different types of TC nuts available from Ford. Do yourself a favor and get the brownish ones. The silver ones are a little easier to get on/off due to less of a rounded top edge, but the brownish ones are the originals and are a better grade.

-Bill in PA

 

[Glacier991]

Thanks for that tip !