What transmission does a Explorer Sport have?

[williams.cory]

Currently I have a 1997 Explorer Eddie Bauer with the 5.0L as many of you probably know. I might be trading it for a 1999 Ford Explorer Sport. Now, the person is some chick that doesnt know much about motors. So I'm not sure if it has the SOHC or the OHV, hopefully I'll take a peak at it tomarrow. But my question is, even if it has the OHV, will it have the 5R55E trans or the 4R55E? I know on earlier models if it was OHV then it had 4R55E and SOHC had 5R55E, but did they still make the 4R55E in 1999?

Hope I didnt make it confusing....:roll:

 

[CDW6212R]

The 4R was dropped when they got the 5R done, in 97 I believe. They are the same trans besides the minor changes to get the fifth gear in the 5R. So the Sport you are eying has a 5R55E in it.

If it's the SOHC then you should know about the valvetrain issues. You should search and read some of the threads here about those. You will likely be doing that work at some time for the engine if it's the SOHC. Look for rust also while you inspect it, up there the life span of a truck is very very short.

 

[williams.cory]

Oh yes, I know all about the issue's they have. I will not buy it if it has the SOHC. And since all 1997 and above have the 5R55E only, then I certainly won't trade. To my understanding, the 5R55E has lots of issues to. Thanks for your help

 

[CDW6212R]

The V6 trans is just not as strong as the V8 unit, which has been developed since 1980. The 5R55E is based on the A4LD which began in the 80's as a 4cyl. car trans. It has a long way to go to being ideal for a truck.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

i also wanted to say what CDW6212R said about the rust issue. it would horrify you if you looked under the rocker ground effects. when you go to re look at it, if you can, crawl under it, and look at the inner rocker panels. if it shows any signs of rust, or flaking under it, you may just want to walk away. my truck looked minty, until i pulled the ground effects off to paint them, long story short, it took me about 3 weeks to cut, wield and body work a set that i cut off a clean truck....not fun.

 

[gijoecam]

Oh yes, I know all about the issue's they have. I will not buy it if it has the SOHC. And since all 1997 and above have the 5R55E only, then I certainly won't trade. To my understanding, the 5R55E has lots of issues to. Thanks for your help

Do they have issues? Sure, some do. Can they be solved? Do all of them fail prematurely? not by along shot. Keep in mind that for every one you read about here with issues, there are literally thousands (if not tens of thousands) going about their daily drives with no issues. I'm not going to go on and on about how great the 5R55 series is, because I don't want to mislead you. However, I will say that with nothing more than regular maintenance and service intervals and average duty (i.e. not hauling around a 5000 lb trailer all the time), they will generally last several hundred thousand miles.

FWIW, when mine was going through the lemon law proceedings, the transmission was the one thing on the vehicle that hadn't let me down.

 

[williams.cory]

Do they have issues? Sure, some do. Can they be solved? Do all of them fail prematurely? not by along shot. Keep in mind that for every one you read about here with issues, there are literally thousands (if not tens of thousands) going about their daily drives with no issues. I'm not going to go on and on about how great the 5R55 series is, because I don't want to mislead you. However, I will say that with nothing more than regular maintenance and service intervals and average duty (i.e. not hauling around a 5000 lb trailer all the time), they will generally last several hundred thousand miles.

FWIW, when mine was going through the lemon law proceedings, the transmission was the one thing on the vehicle that hadn't let me down.

Yeah I know some people havnt ever had a issue with the 5R. But I do not want to take a gamble with that trans. Way to many problems IMO. I'm happy with my 4R70W

 

[williams.cory]

i also wanted to say what CDW6212R said about the rust issue. it would horrify you if you looked under the rocker ground effects. when you go to re look at it, if you can, crawl under it, and look at the inner rocker panels. if it shows any signs of rust, or flaking under it, you may just want to walk away. my truck looked minty, until i pulled the ground effects off to paint them, long story short, it took me about 3 weeks to cut, wield and body work a set that i cut off a clean truck....not fun.

I have NEVER seen so much rust until we moved to Michigan!!!!!!! Where we came from, if there was just one spot of rust anywhere it was strange. We get to Michigan and HOLY HELL! Thats all I can say. When I got a flat on my X, I went to jack it up with the original factory one, and it wouldnt jack up! I almost broke the luck wrench ( end twisted ). And to this day I havnt been able to get that jack to work because she's rusted so bad. But there isnt a whole lot of rust on mine, but its a lot to me cause I'm not used to it. :