Transmission problems

[cruse]

I own a 99 ford explorer until yesterday no problems. Went for a short drive, pulled up outside friends house, (on a hill) selected reverse and it felt like car jumped out of gear! Selected D moved and all other gears work, but not reverse, does anyone have any happier news other than it might be a new gearbox!!! Please reply if you have heard or had this problem before.

Glenn
United Kingdom

 

[Glacier991]

You have a 5R55E transmission. There are many possible causes for your problem, but the good news is the best chance is that your problem is not a rebuild problem.

There are no potential electrical concerns that would have your symptom.

It is possible (and unlikely in my view) that the electronic shift selector (digital range sensor or DTR in the parlance) has gotten misadjusted. Any possible undercarriage damage recently to that or the shift cable?

Moving on it is possible your transmission filter is plugged. What does the fluid look like?
(also low probability in my view).

You could have main control (Valve body) problems. Prominent amongst these is a torn valve body gasket. Also could have a stuck valve.... prominent amongst these would be the reverse modulator valve.

lastly you could have a failed reverse clutch assembly, or a cur low reverse servo (both low probability in my opinion.)

Go review the 5R55E Valve Body rebuild diary and see if you think you are up to it. After you check the first couple things, that is where I am thinking you are headed. Or buying a rebuilt VB.

 

[r.camp]

Did you get it fixed?

Glenn
United Kingdom[/QUOTE]

Hi Glenn,

Did you ever get your explorer reverse problem fixed? I just experienced the same exact problem. I parked on a hill and went to put it into reverse and it seemed to slip and will no longer go into reverse but all other gears are fine.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! It's possible that the filter O rings are either leaking, ripped, or missing.

 

[r.camp]

O-rings

Hi BrooklynBay,

Which o-rings are you refering to?

 

[r.camp]

Sorry, I didn't see that you were refering to the filter o-rings, Thanks. I plan to take it apart this weekend and it appears that simular problems have been solved by replacing the VB. Their a little spendy, and was hoping that this wouldn't be the problem. I had no problems with the tranny prior to losing reverse. And like I mentioned before, the forward gears are still working fine. Would the filter o-ring just rip like that?

 

[r.camp]

I should have mentioned that I had to put the truck in reverse to park on the hill. And 30 minutes later I went to leave by putting it in reverse to back up a couple of feet and then it seemed to just slip out and loose reverse. The reverse lights come on, I can hear it engage in some way but no wheel movement.

 

[r.camp]

As I keep remembering here, there was no O\D light flashing which as been noted in simular cases. It seems that if it were, the problem would be strongly related to the VB. I'm hoping it's just an o-ring being its Christmas and all.

 

[BrooklynBay]

I was thinking that it could be the O rings since it happens on an incline. The filter is the bottom of the sump. If it has a bad O ring, it will lose its prime, and start to suck air. Reverse has higher line pressure so it would start to show up there. Another possibility is that it could be leaking lip seals in a clutch pack, but that would mean its rebuild time. Check the O rings first, then the valve body. If the transmission has high mileage, then it could be a failing EPC solenoid, bad valve body gaskets, or an internal problem with the valve body. Check the valve body bolts to see if they are loose.

 

[r.camp]

What you saying makes total sense. The ass-end of the truck was parked up hill. So, when I put it in reverse, being most of the tranny fluid was at the opposite end of the pan, caused air to be sucked in thru the leaking rings. That dam Hill was steep!! Anyway, I'm a motor guy not a tranny man so this might seem like a stupid question but after changing the filter, rings, gasket, and replacing the pan, will I need to do anything special to get the system to prime back to normal (if the filter rings are the problem)? Also, other than checking the valve body bolts is there anything else that you would recommend that I look for while the pan and filter are removed? I really appreciate your help!

 

[r.camp]

Buy the way BrooklynBay, could you give me your opinion on the 3 problems: filter o-rings, lip seals, and valve body, being the cause (up-hill parking). I was thinking of buying a valve body just in case it needs to be replaced and would have to have it shipped in by this weekend (I'm not sure if the up-hill parking would match the symptoms of a bad valve body). This is my only vehicle and I want to make sure I have all the parts on-hand for this weekend. I won't be able to rebuild the tranny so if it were the lip seals I'm bumming.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Check for pieces of flaking gasket material. You might want to replace the low/reverse servo O rings with the viton D ring kit, and the servo cover gasket. They make valve body end plugs with O rings which would help reduce pressure loss. The only way to check the internal parts of the transmission would be to use an air pressure test plate in place of the valve body. The vehicle's angle won't affect the operation of the valve body. You could use a 0-300 PSI pressure gauge to test the transmission pressure, and EPC pressure.