Tranny problems

[bobtsgt]

So we hauled the jet skis to the lake yesterday. Had OD off and pulled just fine. Launched them in the water and pulled up the ramp. No problem. After 2 hours I go back to get the trailer to load back up. Put the X in 4X4 and rolled back into the water using Neutral. Load up the skis and put it into first with the OD off and bring it up off the ramp. We tie down and procede up the hill in Drive with OD off. Once out of the park I get on the highway and the damn thing acts up on me. 1st gear to 2nd hits pretty hard. 2nd to 3rd is alright. But now the OD does not engauge. The OD light flashes along with the screen saying CHECK TRANSMISSION. I reset the screen but it pops back on 5 miles down the road. Anyways I'm thinking that either the servo for the OD is messed up or maybe the OD belt broke. But I can't figure out why 1st to 2nd is so much harder now. Granted the RPMS in 1st climb up to 4,500 or so before it shifts. Anybody experience this or have any ideas. I'm not to keen on autos yet. Thanks

 

[manaen]

Your running in LIMP mode, which means the computer is sensing a problem with the tranny and going into an emergency mode to get you home. Your OD light is flashing becuase the computer has a stored code for the tranny. The problem is you cannot read tranny codes with the cheaper ODB code reader. You will probably need to have a mechanic Friend or Ford read your codes, and then you can troubleshoot from there.



btw, there is no OD belt, I assume you meant the Band, and if the band broke you would be missing more than just OD. The reason you are missing OD and your shifts are hard is because limp mode boosts the fluid pressure to counteract slippage problems due to leaking VB or servo or a weak solenoid. And also will not allow the tranny to go into OD

 

[manaen]

BTW, this could be as simple as low, old, or bad fluid causing slippage which would make the computer go into limp, or a Band out of adjustment. But there others here who know so much more about these trannies than I do, and I will be curious to hear their assessment. Just don't panic your tranny isn't dead yet, and don't rush out and spend 2k+ $ on a rebuild wait for the diagnosis...

 

[bobtsgt]

well thanks a bunch for the info. I have a buddy who use to work at Ford and owns his own scan tools. I'll shoot him a call and see if I can bring it over. Never thought about a limp mode but it makes sense. And yeah I ment OD band. In my line of work we usually just call everything belts to help customers ID things. I will check the fluid here in a minute and see if its burnt or what not. I believe I changed fluid at 60K and now has around 80K give or take. Thanks again! I'll keep ya posted.

 

[bobtsgt]

well I just found that the 20A trailer light fuse was blown so I replaced it. I also started it up and had gained access to turning the OD off and on but the CEL is still on. Going to try and get it read tonight.

 

[bobtsgt]

well I got the codes read. Turns out to be a 2nd gear and 5th gear miss or something and a pressure servo problem. My guy is going to look into it tomorrow and let me know what we can do. Probably will end up replacing the servos and the filter since we're in there. Everything is good for about 1 mile then the computer remembers the problem and starts acting up again.

 

[bobtsgt]

well my buddy swapped the solenoids and poured in some fresh fluid. Still having the same problem. When he dropped the pan there were no metal shavings or anything. Looks like it needs a rebuild now. My buddy has a guy at our local Ford thats going to do it for $500 plug parts. That includes the take out,full rebuild and cleaning and putting it back up. We'll see what happens when he gets it done.

 

[aspitaletto]

wow tow a jet ski and your trans takes a dump, i too am having major issues with my 4wd system. got the news today that a pinion seal is blown, and the transfer case is shot. the farthest ive ever done to "off roading" is going up my stone driveway

46K miles "quality is job ONE"

 

[bobtsgt]

yeah mine just turn 74K I think. Everything was running awesome until last week. Then yesterday we took the skis out again and now mine has a fuel problem and my wife's has starting issues I think the damn things are cursed

 

[E.B. Cornburner]

Well don't feel bad, mine's starting to give me problems too. Last night we went to the stock car races at a track about 75 miles from home, and I'm motoring down the freeway around 70 MPH or so, and all of a sudden, I see smoke coming from the back of the X! I pull over on the next exit, and check it out, and the whole bottom side of it is covered in ATF. No visible leaks whatsoever either. It appeared to be coming out of the top side of the tranny where I'm assuming the breather vent is located. I babied it back home after the races and once I was near to the shop, I got brave enough to kick it down a couple times, and it shuddered horribly. I got it on the hoist and pulled the drain plug and the fluid looked decent, maybe a little discolored, but not bad. Refilled it to the correct level (not the easiest task with bottom-fill trannies) and went for a drive again. It seemed fine. *shrug* Drove it to work this morning with no issues to speak of. Nice crisp shifts (ok...not really, but it shifted the way it usually does) and no shuddering.
I talked to my tranny guy and he told me that something is slipping causing the fluid to get hot enough to boil out the breather. He said usually it's the torque convertor or the overdrive clutch pack/band that causes this on these trannies. He also went into great detail on just what an absolute POS these trannies are.

I did locate a nice used one with 25,000 miles on it for $650, so that's probably the route I'm going to go. I can't justify spending the money on a complete rebuild when used ones are as cheap as they are. With 25K on this one, that more or less tells me that I probably got at least a good 75K of miles in it before it drops. I can guarantee I won't have this vehicle that long. I just don't like driving the same thing for that long.

Otherwise...We just got a 2003 Durango R/T in at my dealership. Bright red, 5.9L Magnum, the whole ball of wax. If I could justify the abyssmal fuel mileage they get, I'd drive it in a heartbeat.

 

[bobtsgt]

well it sounds like you had more fun then I did. $650 isn't bad for a good used. I'm thinking for around $800 or so I should have a complete rebuild. My guy said he can get tranny kits for around $220 or so depending if nothing else is needed. Guess I'll find out next month.

 

[aspitaletto]

He also went into great detail on just what an absolute POS these trannies are.

well i know that because of the amazing trade in value's of fords i will be converting this 4x4 Explorer to a RWD in the very near future.

now im just kinda remembering all the issues with the 4wd engaging at highway speed, slamming into ON and OFF modes.. it was because of a bad speed sensor... oh ive replaced speed sensors on all 4 wheels, and 2 times on the right front. I wonder if the POS speed sensors attributed to my transfer case demise ...hmmm

 

[manaen]

That is why I recommend to everyone to do the upgrades to the tranny, These things run very hot in stock form. The first things would be the temp gauge and an extra cooler. Once you have the temp gauge on there you will see how quickly temps rise when your pulling something in low gear or backing a trailer up a grade, or just climbing a long grade will get temps (in stock form) up above 200F very quickly. Expecially when you add AC into the mix it doesn't take long to cook a tranny. This is my one grip with Ford is that the trannies in the light duty trucks are not designed to last a long time in stock form. Living in a very mountainous area over here on the east side when I first put my temp gauge on I routinely saw temps climbing way too high. So here is what I did to my tranny to bring the temps down to manageble levels. Oh I also need to add that I routinely tow a 5000lb popup camper. Oh and my truck has the 5r55e transmission, so your needed upgrades may vary..

1) Transgo shift kit with the heaviest (towing) springs
2) New EPC Valve, I am also testing a borg warner prototype that seems to be working very well
3) Ford Valve body updates
4) Addtional transmission cooler, I have a total of 2 external stacked plate coolers and the radiator cooler
5) Temp gauge on the output from the transmission
6) Drain plug added to the pan just to make fluid changes easier
7) drain all the oem fluid and upgrade to a full synthetic mercon V (the oem stuff is a blend)
8) added large external filter
9) added PSI gauge to the external filter so I can monitor fluid flow in the cooler lines

Since I have done all that my temps rarely go above 190 on the hottest days even with the AC on. One time they went to 201 when it was 100F outside climbing a mountain while towing with the AC on, I just turned off the AC for the rest of the climb and the temps jumped right back to around 190.

 

[gasparny]

How does the Solenoid pack on 5R55W Trans Fail?

Is it a burnt out winding in one or more Solenoids or do they jam up mechanically?

I have code P0775 which is Solenid B pressure circuit malfunction. Symptom is no second gear and eventually, after O/D Off light begins flashing, No O/D

I tested the solenoids with an Ohm meter at the Solenoid pack and measured around 5 ohms resistance on four of the 6 solenoids and 25 ohms on the two larger solenoids.

Suspect problem could be, based on searches in this and other forums, that the Servo pistons could be worn or worse, the Sevo Piston Pin Bores could be worn.

Just thought I would ask before I start changing things. If pin bores in the housing are bad, I am in for a big job. Will I need and special tools to remove the components if the pin bores require a bushing?

 

[bobtsgt]

well my guy changed the soleniods with no help. Now we are waiting on a new valve body to see if that helps it. I talked with the tranny guy and he said this would be the cheapest route to take right now. If the VB does nothing then at least I have some new parts in the damn thing I guess. Also found out that the right front and rear wheel bearings were on there way out so my guy is doing those as well. Not having time to work on my cars makes me sad

 

[gasparny]

You may want to check this link. My only code is P0775. Have same problem as you.

https://atsg.biz/articles/html/False Pretense/False Pretense.htm

 

[bobtsgt]

wow that is very helpful. Great find. I'm going to relay that to my guy.

 

[bobtsgt]

Got the whole thing rebuilt. Turned out to be the servo. It was destoryed. Everything shifts like new except the OD light comes back on. We are thinking valve body even though its brand new from Ford. Other then that things are looking better and better.

 

[jasonfeith]

2002 XLT V8. Always have had, on and off, the rough shift from park to Reverse. Car was great, new tires and new shocks, second set of shocks, 3rd set of tires after 125K last Friday. Sunday night, OD light flashing so fast its like a bad trip, not that I would know what that was like, and service engine soon light on. Took it in on Tuesday, got the quote yesterday, and should have it back today. Complete overhaul, new bands, servos, and everthing else the belt knocked into when it broke. $2800. Life can really suck sometimes, but if thats the worst thing that happens this week I feel I am still a lucky person. By the way, Fu ford. Had a bmw and infinity before, never had to replace anything other than brakes and tires upwards of 150K. This car has gone thru 4 sets of hub replacements, a new axel, and two 4wd chips. Have a great day everyone.

 

[gasparny]

Just wanted to update. My overdrive solenoid piston turned out to be the problem as well. It was completely sheared around the piston pin. That is pretty amazing considering the piston cup is about 1/8th inch thick.

Don't know whether I should go in and replace the band also, as I found a very dark (black) powdery residue in the pan. Looked the same color as the friction material on the bands.