What the hell is this Explorer?

[merlin12volt]

Here is the deal. My father in law went out and got a 1997 Ford Explorer XLT Autotrac with a 4.0L V6. Now he lives in a Virginia and I live in Pennsylvania so I haven't seen the truck yet.

He bought it at auction and told me that the park and reverse doesn't work on it. He thinks someone jammed it into these 2 gears and now they dont work. Anyway, he called me asking me if I knew what trannys fit it this. So I asked for the specs. He gave me what you see here but told me it was an AWD? I told him it couldn't be because it is a V6 1997 and it has the AUTO/4H/4l on it. He continues to tell me it is an AWD.

Here are the 2 questions I have:

1. Who is correct? If I have to call him back and tell him I was wrong I will be very upset and very surprised.

2. What Transmissions swap into this truck? Which tranny is in it?

Guess that's 3 questions. Thought I could count guess not. :


Again help is greatly appreciated. I searched the forums and think I have found my answer to question 1. It being that I am correct, but I came here for a reason.

 

[94xlt4x4]

If it's a V6, it's not AWD, but probably has the control trac 4WD, which has Auto, 4H, and 4L modes. He may be getting confused and thinking the A4WD is the same as AWD - it's not. To your second question, it'll have a 5R55E, and to the best of my knowledge, that's the only (automatic) trans that will work happily with the Explorer's ECU.

 

[techieman33]

If it's a V6, it's not AWD, but probably has the control trac 4WD, which has Auto, 4H, and 4L modes. He may be getting confused and thinking the A4WD is the same as AWD - it's not. To your second question, it'll have a 5R55E, and to the best of my knowledge, that's the only (automatic) trans that will work happily with the Explorer's ECU.

Correct, except if it's the ohv v6 it could have a 4r55e. The sohc will have the 5r55e.

 

[merlin12volt]

Thank you very much gentlemen. As I said, Thought I was correct (which I always am) but just wanted to be sure on the first question. As for the second will have to find out out if it is an OHV.

Any way to decipher it via VIN code as far as tranny is concerned?

 

[94xlt4x4]

I don't believe the trans info is in the VIN, but you can find out the engine type. It'll be the 8th digit..X is OHV, and I believe E is SOHC.

 

[techieman33]

edit: 94xlt beat me to it

The sohc motor is an "E", and the ohv is an "X" it will be the 8th digit. I'm not sure if the transmissions were part of the VIN or not.

 

[merlin12volt]

Sorry gents meant vehicle cert label not vin (its late here). I see that the ranger and aerostar have the same tranny. No real issue with swapping tranny from these vehicles?

 

[techieman33]

Yeah, here is the chart pasted from another thread
Transmission Codes

Code .................. Model
D (1997-2005) ..... A5LDE / 5R44/55E
D (1992-1996)...... M5OD-R1
J ....................... M5OD-R1
J (2002-2003)...... R1HD / M5OD-R4
M (2000-2001)..... Mazda M5D4
M (1997-1999) .... M5OD-R2
M (1992-1996) .... M5OD-R1
R (2002) ............. 5R55W
T (1992-1995) ..... A4LD
T (1996-2001) ...... 4R55E
U ....................... 4R70W
V ....................... 5R55S
X ....................... 6R60

 

[merlin12volt]

Thanks guys, you have all been a big help. I like this forum alot. Makes me want to go out and buy an explorer (like I needed a reason to buy another car).

One last question for you all, if it has the 5r55E in it, will the aerostars and rangers swap right into it or are there issues that I should be aware of? IE speed sensors, snout/tailshaft issues, etc.

 

[dogfriend]

Correct, except if it's the ohv v6 it could have a 4r55e. The sohc will have the 5r55e.

My OHV has the 5R55E. AFAIK, in 97, all of the 4.0L engines got the 5R55E (unless it has a manual trans), the 5.0L got the 4R70W.

 

[techieman33]

My OHV has the 5R55E. AFAIK, in 97, all of the 4.0L engines got the 5R55E (unless it has a manual trans), the 5.0L got the 4R70W.

The chart I was looking at showed that some ohv may have the 4r, so I wanted to put it out there so he didn't immediately buy the 5r and realize it was the wrong one.

 

[dogfriend]

I thought that I actually ran across a thread once where they substituted a 5R55E for a 4R55E in an early 2nd Gen (95 - 96). I believe there are some internal upgrades going from 4R -> 5R, but the extra gear is actually accomplished by using 1st + OD, so it is programmed into the PCM, rather than being a extra set of planetary gears or some other difference.

Anyway, the reason that I believe that the 97 OHVs have the 5R is:

1. Mine has it.

2. The 97 factory service manual only covers the 5R and the 4R70W. There is no section on the 4R55E.

It is possible that Ford built some fleet vehicles or something in 97 with the 4R, but I haven't ever heard of one on the forum.

 

[CDW6212R]

Be careful in swapping the 1997 5R's, there were some with different sensors in the side. I have a friend Ford mechanic who had to rebuild his wife's 97 Explorer trans, because two that he tried didn't match the sensors his had. One trans he tried was a 97 Explorer, so some are not compatible. 1996-1998 were huge change over years for Explorer parts, lots of things changed through that range, even during each year. The parts will be virtually the same, but some will be slightly different. Just look them over carefully.

 

[dogfriend]

Thanks guys, you have all been a big help. I like this forum alot. Makes me want to go out and buy an explorer (like I needed a reason to buy another car).

One last question for you all, if it has the 5r55E in it, will the aerostars and rangers swap right into it or are there issues that I should be aware of? IE speed sensors, snout/tailshaft issues, etc.

For 97, the speed sensor is installed on the transfer case, so no issue there. If you get a 2wd trans, you would be removing the extension housing and bolting the TC in its place. One minor issue is that the 4wd trans has a deeper pan and a different filter (longer pickup tube) than the 2wd trans.

Not sure about harness differences (if any) between Aerostar / Ranger / Explorer. If worse came to worse, you could probably swap the harness from the old trans to new.

Brooklyn Bay is the Aerostar expert; he could help if you find an Aerostar trans and want to know if it will work.

 

[gijoecam]

As I tried to type this earlier.... The 4wd case uses a different output shaft than the 2wd, and the output is the first in/last out.

 

[CDW6212R]

Any 2WD transmission would require complete dis assembly to make into a 4WD. The output shaft is not the same, and that is the first part installed in a trans, thus the last part removed.

 

[Spdrcer34]

seth247 has a few pictures of his 2WD to 4WD conversion to his 4R70W transmission. I know I have a few pictures of my M5OD conversion from 4WD to 2WD...

Ryan

 

[gijoecam]

seth247 has a few pictures of his 2WD to 4WD conversion to his 4R70W transmission. I know I have a few pictures of my M5OD conversion from 4WD to 2WD...

Ryan

But we're not talking about a 4R70 or an M5OD. We're talking about a 98 Explorer with a 5R55E in it. On some transmissions it is a simple thing. On his, it's not.

 

[CDW6212R]

The new 2002 versions of the 5R trans are easy, because they have one output shaft only, and no rear tail housing to speak of.

Almost every transmission ever made as a 4WD version has two different output shafts. So the example Ryan suggests is valid. The 2002+ 5R trans would be a bad example for this thread.

 

[gijoecam]

The new 2002 versions of the 5R trans are easy, because they have one output shaft only, and no rear tail housing to speak of.

Ummm, not so. Just checked the diagrams to be sure.

According to the parts diagram for a 2002 5R55W/S, there are two different output shafts, and the 2wd gets one with a tail housing while the 4x4 gets a shorter output with a gasket between it and the t-case.

The 6R60 trans is the same way (two different output shafts, one for 4x4 and one for RWD). I checked the 5R55 and 6R60/80 series trans in the Explorer service manuals through the 2010 model year. ALL of them use two different output shafts depending on whether or not it's a 4x4.

Almost every transmission ever made as a 4WD version has two different output shafts. So the example Ryan suggests is valid. The 2002+ 5R trans would be a bad example for this thread.

Generally speaking, yes, but that fact is of no value to the OP who has a 97 Explorer with a 5R55E trans, which uses two different output shafts.