Transmission Problem

[zadigadabop]

I was wondering if anyone has any experience with rebuilding a 4.0 transmission (5R55S) themselves or tips on getting it replaces without spending 3 grand.
Basically I had an issue the other night driving down the highway in my 07 Explorer Sport Trac. It started to buck and the the transmission overheated (I have an OBD gauge setup and saw it hit about 250). There was no overdive and wouldn't always move when shifting into reverse. It seemed like the fluid was low but when I checked it the next day it was black and had some grit in it. No metal shavings though as far as I can tell. But I hate to rebuild something that is really bad from the start so I'm thinking of getting a 2007-10 5R55S from the local pull-it and rebuilding it to do a swap. I did something similar for the engine a few years ago so this seems a bit easier. I've also rebuilt transmissions before (2, one on my 72 Challenger and another on a Volare).
Any thoughts?
Is this harder than it seems?

Thanks in advance
Steve

 

[transman304]

Totally doable as a DIY project. You may want to do some pricing of (quality) parts for overhaul. Bands, servo pistons, solenoid block, frictions and steels, filter, bushings, overhaul kit (gaskets and seals). Also reman torque converter and some updates required. Most times the case needs the servo bores reamed and bushed. You will need a good manual to follow for specs and procedures. A lot more pieces than the old 727
Brad

 

[Explorer_PL]

Total up all the parts and see the total $$$
I bought a reman unit for 1,800 incl shipping - just to give you a reference point.

 

[zadigadabop]

Total up all the parts and see the total $$$
I bought a reman unit for 1,800 incl shipping - just to give you a reference point.

Thanks.
I would really consider $1800 if it get's me running again. Can I ask where you got the reman unit from?

 

[zadigadabop]

Totally doable as a DIY project. You may want to do some pricing of (quality) parts for overhaul. Bands, servo pistons, solenoid block, frictions and steels, filter, bushings, overhaul kit (gaskets and seals). Also reman torque converter and some updates required. Most times the case needs the servo bores reamed and bushed. You will need a good manual to follow for specs and procedures. A lot more pieces than the old 727
Brad

You're spot on with that being a 727. Easy one to put back together with a shift kit. However they don't hold up to well doing burnouts in reverse. A hard-earned lesson.

 

[Explorer_PL]

Street Smart transmissions, hope the prices did not go up much.

Replacing 5R55S - got a remanufactured unit.

A friend of ours had a 2007 Eddie Bauer, nicely loaded with 7 seats, factory DVD, no GPS and it's in good condition. It's v6, wish it was v8 116k miles and it lost reverse, and 3,4, and 5th gears are shot also. 4 brand new tires installed, and then it hits the dust so she was not happy. She...

www.explorerforum.com

 

[imp]

You're spot on with that being a 727. Easy one to put back together with a shift kit. However they don't hold up to well doing burnouts in reverse. A hard-earned lesson.

Chrysler's 727 was one of the bullet-proof early 3-speed automatics, and easy to service.

 

[zadigadabop]

Street Smart transmissions, hope the prices did not go up much.

Replacing 5R55S - got a remanufactured unit.

A friend of ours had a 2007 Eddie Bauer, nicely loaded with 7 seats, factory DVD, no GPS and it's in good condition. It's v6, wish it was v8 116k miles and it lost reverse, and 3,4, and 5th gears are shot also. 4 brand new tires installed, and then it hits the dust so she was not happy. She...

www.explorerforum.com

I ended up ordering from Street Smart transmissions since they seemed to really have their act together and seems I could get a good transmission at a reasonable price. The price was $1987 so it did go up a little, but nothing too unreasonable. I did have to pay an extra $200 for shipping to a home address which again isn't unreasonable for something like this. I should have it in a week and hopefully up and running by the following weekend. They have a really good guide for installing this specific transmission and along with your post will really help.
Thanks again. I came to the right place with this question.

Steve

 

[Explorer_PL]

Great, good news.

I remember when I ordered it, I had them leave it at their truck depot and I went there (about 40 mile drive) to pick it up myself to save that 200.

Still better than 3500 and I knew it was completely rebuilt.

My son had it for about 4 years and he did not go easy on his Explorer: offloading like crazy or pulling trailers of all sort and size. And that transmission did not even blink.

 

[zadigadabop]

Transmission installed and working great. My only complaint is that the notes from the supplier are wrong in some areas. They stated that it came with 2 qts and to add 8 qts of fluid before startup. Fluid pored out of the bellhousing at about 7 1/2 qts and my heart sank. I though something was wrong with the torque converter seating or some seal. After a while I realized it shipped with a lot more than 2 and the excess was coming out of the vent tube. Needless to say there was a lot of fluid on the garage floor and a big mess to clean up. (kitty has no litter now). Not really their fault since its impossible to tell how much fluid is in a 5R55 since there's no dipstick. This tranny is also not an easy one to get a hold of and move even with a tranny jack. There's no flat surface for it to sit in a cradle and is unbalanced as h@ll. I almost lost a finger when it shifted even though it was strapped in.
4.5 out 5 stars for Street Smart for their service and being very easy to work with and delivering a good transmission and a good price. 3 out of 5 on this Ford 5 speed for being a PITA for replacing, but there is a lot of room on this vehicle to do the work.
Just a rant, maybe a note for someone else thinking of doing this job but I'm glad I got it done. I feel better having a new strong transmission under me.

 

[Explorer_PL]

Z, I had the same problem with balancing the unit on the jack.

For anybody doing this job, if you look at the pictures in my post, I build a wooden tray and bolted it to the Harbor Freight jack. It was "custom"
built to the shape of the 5R55 oil pan so the tranny was pretty stable in it.