tranny shifting hard in 95 XLT 4x4 (suggestions?)

[S. Allen]

I have a 95 Explorer 4dr, 4x4 with 129,000 miles on it. We had the infamous "OD-OFF" blinking light/tranny re-build scenario about 3 months ago and after a tranny rebuild, it seemed to be back to normal.

(This seems to be the Achilles heel with the Ford Explorer...knowing all the family members and friends that own them have told me (as well as reading the complaints on this site.)

2 months after the repair, the OD-OFF light began blinking again and the tranny went into its fail-safe mode. We took it back to the mechanic and he ran the computer on it and said that the tranny was fine and it must have been something electrical or computer-related. He re-set it and it drove normally.

Recently, the OD-OFF light started blinking again (crap!), so I disconnected the battery for about 30 minutes, letting it sit on the driveway, thinking this might clear it out.

Well, it cleared the codes and the OD-OFF light has not blinked since. However, I have noticed that it upshifts rather hard from first to second and second to third. Downshifting does not seem overly heavy, though. The overdrive seems to work and everything else is normal, but the heavy shifting bothers me.

Did I do something wrong by disconnecting the battery? Should I have driven it around more than my 2-5 minutes, after hooking it back up?

Any and all suggestions on how to fix it would be appreciated.

Thanks!

-SA

 

[kps36]

SA, see my topic under the hood "tranny - please advise' posted today. Iam in the same boat but with no noticable difference in shifting. It has go to be sumpin' electric/sensor/switch ??
BTW, what is the failsafe mode ? I don't believe the Ranger ever did that.
But, like you, I'm looking for some kind of problem here (cheap).
I was thinking about R/R the OD relay if I could find it (again Haynes,owners manuals= no help).
This happened in my Volvo about a year ago and it was the OD realy. $25 fixed it.
thnx.

 

[S. Allen]

fail safe mode

Well...thats what I called it, anyway.

The failsafe mode is when the OD-OFF light is flashing and the tranny will not go into OD while driving around. There is also a noticeable "clunk" and heavy downshift from 2nd the 1st gear.

I was told by a Ford mechanic that this is the tranny's failsafe mode, to protect it...and that you should not drive it very far in this mode...just limp it to the mechanic's shop.

I have a 91 Ranger with a 5spd manual and it has DEFINATELY been less trouble than the automatic tranny in the Explorer. I only replaced the clutch at 135K miles and after 10.5 years and 175K miles, the Ranger has been a much better steed than the more complicated and more expensive Explorer.

Every tranny person I talk to says that Ford auto trannies are nothing but trouble.

I also see people that own Explorers that are much newer than mine and still have the same old troubles we have gone through.

Does Ford not care about fixing what they MUST know is a trouble spot with the Explorer?

We will NOT be buying another Explorer. The new ones sit lower and look like glorified mini-vans. Thats alot of dough to shell out for a truck with plastic bumpers too. Besides...real 4x4s do NOT have independent rear suspension!

-SA

 

[AgExplorer]

My '95 starting doing this earlier this year and the tranny shop found the torque converter had shed quite a bit of metal. $2200 and a week later I had a new rebuilt tranny.