fordboy, I hope you don't mind but I cleaned up the torque sequence pic, and made it more printer friendly.



I'm going out now to install. My issue is no forward gears. I'm taking a stab in the dark here, as this tranny is a ford reman with less than 20K, installed 3 years ago.

 

Well, no change. What exactly controls the forward gears? The individual bands/clutches engage going from reverse to forward, but the forward clutch doesn't engage.

 

Well, after tearing into the valve body, I now know why I will never ever let another human work on a vehicle I own. This tranny is less than 3 years old and less than 20k. It's a ford reman. cost the previous owner over 5k to put in. Though the updates were done to the valve body, they were done incorrect. the dimple one the one valve was sideways. Along with its retaning clip was bent all to hell. There was also another retaning pin that had its end filed to a point.

Would any of that cause the no forward engagement? I find it hard to belive that theres hard parts broken. But after seeing the valve body, who knows..

p.s. is anyone even reading this thread anymore?

 

I am trying to understand whats going on, are you talking about the valve on the side near the manual valve, the little one on the end? If so then yes this is the forward clutch control valve. If it has broken it retaining clip or is damaged it could cause a no forward engagement. I have seen problems with that valve before.

If it has a spring between the valve and end plug remove it, this will help with delayed forward engagements

ATB620.pdf

 

I am now taking all the valves out and inspecting them, and the bores.

When I found out which valves controlled what, thats when I decided to tear into it..... again. The valve I'm refering to is the one addressed with the tsb. Has 6 holes and a dimple on one side, and a check ball and screen on the other. The dimple was put in sideways, and the retaning clip had been bent and spread apart.

The pin I am refering to is one of the L shaped ones. The last mm of it looked like someone put it to a grinder and sharpened it like a tungsten rod. I unfortunatly didn't see where it came from. Hence the inspecting of all valves.

There was no metal shavings or bits in the fluid, but the previous owner also said he had taken it to a garage to attemt a flush/filter change.

He described it as sluggish engagement that gradually got worse untill all forward gears were lost. Till it's final failure, he was able to get it to engage manually by selecting either 1, or 2. The bands aren't at fault, as I can get individual gears to engage by selecting their coresponding positions manually. [EDIT: What is the proper turn back of the od and intermediate bands? I've gotten from 1.5, to 2.5] Found that out by letting the angry gnomes make me shift from reverse to drive(while on jack stands) and imediately stoping the rotation of the tires... Only did it once though. I've narrowed it down to either the valve body, or the forward clutch/center support seals. Would that have been upgraded in 05 per the tsb's? And does the installing of that carrier while the tranny is vertical apply to this tranny too?

Also, can you take an A4ld and change it over to a 4R55E with swapping valve bodys, or are internal hydraulics different too?

What really kills me in all this is how much I read how these trannys are junk. The ranger in my sig has the original tranny and it's never been out. When I had issues with delayed engagement and stuck valve not allowing the tcc to unlock, I found here how to adjust the clutches, and flush it out. I've done 2 flushes since and got another 70k out of it. It still shifts like it's brand new. This truck regularlly saw #1K loads with 2k every once in a while. And lots of towing.

The only auto I've ever killed is my first. an 88 AOD in an f-150/302/3.08 but I was young and stupid, and the truck suffered. But changing that tranny in Jan at 20* laying in puddles of fluid, I swore I'd never do it again.

The pin I found that was filed on the end, I wonder if that would have caused a missalignment, thus starving(?) the forward engagment valve? (I do know it didn't come from there.) Otherwise I have to tear it out, and winters coming... And money is non-existent...

I'll post pics later of the pins. Oh, also a few of the inner AL pistons were very difficult to remove, like they were an interference fit. Is it also possible the valve body could have overheated and warped? And even though this tranny recived the upgrades, the seperator plate did not have bonded gaskets on it. Also, when I got the new gaskets from ford, I did tell them this was an '05 reman, but could they have given me pre-tsb gaskets that still used the second check valve and fifth ball check?

I apoligize if I'm rambling but very few mechanical devices frustrate me. I have extensive knowledge of fluid dynamics and electronic controls. There is no mistery about how this tranny works, to me. But I'm at a loss as to how a Ford Reman can fail at such low mileage. Not abused. Very good shape. My sons babysitter owned it for the majority of the last 3 years and she only used it at a kid/grocery transport. And she definately isn't a hotrodder.

Thanks y'all for any direction you can give me.

 

Well, I narrowed it down to the fact that the valve body had been improperly/carelessly rebuilt. Theres 2 valves I can't even get out as it seems they jammed the plugs in with a hammer, and warped the bores.

Definately looking at a new vb. The only question remains is did it's malfunction cause hardware damage to the tranny. Does anyone know of anything I can look for without removing it?

 

I have a 2000 Ranger 3.0 Flexfuel 4x4 with the 4r55e in it. It has the delayed forward engagment (must put it in '1' and wait a bit) and harsh shift from 2nd to 3rd.
I replaced the seperator plate/gasket and did the TSB's for the high pressure relief valve replacement. It seemed to help a little, but is still nowhere near correct.

The guy I bought it from took it off roading after which the trans started acting up with the delayed forward and harsh 2 to 3 shift.

No codes (used a cheap reader), no 'Service Engine' lites, no flashing O/D lite, no fluid leaks, etc.
After reading LilDuke's posts, I'm wondering if maybe a valve got damaged from 'off roading' and that's what is causing my problems.
I don't know which valve to look at if I drop the valve body again. Can anyone post a pic to show which valve does what in the valve body?

 

if its slipping, it is burning up clutches, and that cant be easily fixed

 

Hello!

I have an explorer 97 sohc, and 4 months ago I repaired the tranny.

Unfortunately I still have the following problems:

Sometimes ( not permanently ) the gear doesn't shift from 2nd to 3rd, only if I let the pedal for a sec. Then it doesn't shift to 5th.

The problems of the computer are overdive, 2nd gear failed, 3rd gear failed, and P0503 ( intermitten speed sensor ).

The mechanist says it must have some electronical problem, I hope, on Monday Im gonna take it to the service.

Today it started again, furthermore the reverse is slipping and weak....

Please help me I am from Europe, it is Your car if you have questions of Mercedes I will try everything

Thanks

Mate

 

I dont take any responsibility for that vechicle nor want to be associated with it in any way.

What I would do first is fix any speed sensor problem first, that transmission wont work right if it looses it speed signal.

Good luck

 

Today I have ordered the sensor. On Monday Im gonna report about the results.

Thanx

 

we have a 2000 ford explorer with a 5r55e its all wheel drive never had a problem with the tranny till this weekend we went for a drive and the overdrive light started flashing , had tranny serviced at 53000 has 94000 miles on it now checked the fluid and looks like someone put rust and sand in there. hope a tranny filter and new fluid does the trick cant afford much more. may have and explorer for sale !

 

Its not uncommon to have rust in the fillertube, it doesn't mean that its in the trans itself.

Need to have the vehicle scanned to find out what code turned the OD light on. This will give you a direction on what repair is needed.

 

well i want to change the filter and the gasket anyways dont trust it , it wasnt from the dipstick it was covering the bottom of the stick.

 

I have a 1996 Ranger XLT 4.0L, 4x4, automatic 4R55E transmission. Had it rebuilt in Feb. 2008 because 3 of the bands had burned out ($2,000). Now today, I go out and it won't shift into reverse. OD light blinks and I'm screwed. I've more problems out of this pile of ****. My advice to everyone in the world: DON'T BUY A DAMN FORD RANGER! You're better off walking. It's cheaper and less of a hassle :/