Tranny Grinding

[IAmTodd]

Today when backing out of my drive way, my x made a horrible grinding sound. When i stuck it into reverse it started to back up, then it just stopped and made a horrible grinding. Its done this one time before.

What could be the problem? I hope the tranny isn't about to go

 

[Crankcase]

Sorry to say, it sounds like the tranny reverse gear is on its last legs, sorry man

 

[transmissionguy]

Hey what kinda tranny do you have is it manual or automatic?

 

[IAmTodd]

!@$$@!$!$$!@*&$*&&*#@

**** @&^%*@^%$ !^%#*&^ !@***!@!!#@@

btw-auto 4r55e

@#$!*&!$%!$$#@

 

[IAmTodd]

What the |-|E|| i don't need reverse!!!!!!

 

[A Quiet Boom]

Were you in 4wd drive when it happened? Mine make a horrible noise in 4wd and it's coming from the transfer case. Without taking it apart yet I'm assuming the chain inside is going bad. Either way grinding noise from driveline usually means dent in wallet no matter what you drive.

 

[IAmTodd]

i was in 2wd both times, yesterday though i had just popped it outta low b/c we had a ton of snow and i really didn't wanna deal w/auto backing out. Either way, let the saving begin!!!

Does anyone know of a really good tranny shop around Pittsburgh??

 

[Gator]

Transfer case

My 97 XLT 4WD started making what appeared to be a slight grinding noise from the transfer case recently and a when I placed it into 4WD/High or 4WD/Low the noise went from slight to extreme.

The mechanic that looked at it today said that the chain inside the transfer case is most likely dry and stretched from lack of use--I failed to put the case in 4WD occasionally to insure the gears were lubricated--and will need to be replaced. He also said that if I drove it further without having it fixed, I stood a good chance of catastrophic failure of the chain/gears/case. In any event, it sounds as though it will get expensive when he opens it up on monday. The bill will be about $1000 he said.

If anyone has a better idea, or thinks that I need to find a different mechanic please let me know.

The truck has 59K on it and I have not had the transfer case serviced--it is due on the 60K inspection. Thanks.

 

[bandlow]

I had a similar situation. ('95 XLT Auto, 120k).

Had the 4WD/4WD LOW lights flash. Cycled through AUTO and LOW and everything seemed fine.

When I shifted into reverse had the grinding metal noise.

I haven't confirmed it but I think it was from the transfer case.

The first thing I plan to do is drain and refill the T-case and check shift motor operation.

It only happened once so I'm going to drive it until something else happens. If it's the T-case I plan to rebuild it.

 

[transmissionguy]

transmission grinding

Hello,
I cant tell for sure but your grinding problem could be an assortment of different things and unfortunatly they arent cheap. The expolorer transmissions are not easy to work on and are touchy. The planetary gear assemblies have been known to strip and come apart this will cause your grinding noise. The clutches can burn up very easily as well. The bad part is these transmissions can be very exspensive to work on depending on the severity of the damage done. I have seen only a few of them in my shop but they were all pricey repairs.

 

[IAmTodd]

I've had it happen to me twice, not flashing lights that i saw. But if it is the transfer case, i do beleive i'm ditching the control trac. Although it was nice the other day switching from dry roads to snow covered back roads, didn't have to switch at all. So maybe i will keep it.....hmmmmm

 

[IAmTodd]

a big but i'm taking the plunge and buying new tires. If it is the tranny, it may not go, but atleast it'll look good

 

[Jason_25]

Re: transmission grinding

Originally posted by transmissionguy
Hello,
I cant tell for sure but your grinding problem could be an assortment of different things and unfortunatly they arent cheap. The expolorer transmissions are not easy to work on and are touchy. The planetary gear assemblies have been known to strip and come apart this will cause your grinding noise. The clutches can burn up very easily as well. The bad part is these transmissions can be very exspensive to work on depending on the severity of the damage done. I have seen only a few of them in my shop but they were all pricey repairs.

How much experience do YOU have doing rebuilds on the A4LD and it's brothers, the 4R44E,4R55E, and 5R55E? There are some on this site that will beg to differ on some things you're saying. Are they really that hard to work on? We have a member on this site that rebuilt his with very little trouble and has noticed that the parts such as the planetary gear and clutches are actually the strong points of the tranny. I also have a friend that owns a transmission shop that says the same thing. Aren't all automatic trannies with O/D and computer controls expensive to work on?

 

[IAmTodd]

FORD AND THEIR STUPID TRANNYS!!!

 

[transmissionguy]

the tricky part im talking about is the valve bodies they are very touchy cause they can be easy to not get right hey im not claiming to be any expert or anything im just going by what i have seen so anybodys help alaong with mine is fine with me

 

[Opera House]

You're not paranoid

The 5R55E is out to get you. Just kidding. Bought a spare 5R55E to play around with. Where the mechanicals were a little weak on the A4LD, the valve body seems to have problems this time in the 5R55E. EPC solenoid, valve bracket cracking, upgraded seperator plate, and a weak spot in the gasket on the other side of the low/reverse servo. There is a large section of the valve body that doesn't have any supporting bolts. I checked my 97 last year when I changed the filter and all the valve body bolts were loose. This might be the cause of some problems. These only tighten to about 7-8 ft-lb. Overall the transmision seems to be better and at least the valve body is easy to work on. You need to buy some long 5 & 6 mm bolts, cut off the heads, and make guide pins.