UPDATE: Tranny Flare/Slipping

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Art Garcia

Art Garcia

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Feb 26, 2008
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This morning I was in a hurry to a meeting at work. I started my truck up and within thirty seconds I took off. It was about 28 degrees outside. I was drove within a quarter of a mile from my house going about 35 when I stepped on it. Engine revved up to about 4-5k in drive and slowly sped up. I left off and continued to drive carefully. I drove about a mile and a half when my OD light started flashing. I shut the truck of and started it up back again. I started to drive again and the flashing OD light came back on. I started to feel the tranny slip in 1,2,3 gears. It has a delayed and hard engagement into reverse. The rpms build up but the truck barely goes. I know when I manually put it in 1st then shift to 2nd and them Drive, the truck runs better. Yes the RPms jump around a lilttle but not like when trying to take off in Drive.



Can anyone fill me in a bit? Does it sound like major repair to the tranny? Or can a simple tranny flush etc help? How much a repair at ford? I haven't checked my AT tranny oil so I dont know where it at. I did have a rear main seal leak and pinion leak.



On top of all this i have a bad antifreeze leak!
 
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There was a member on here who made a post in regards of that. I believe he even posted a link to the eBay site where the valve body was about 200 dollars I believe. When I read that post I went to ford and they quoted me about 1500 repair with a 100k thousand warranty
 
Arturo- Check your fluid level FIRST. If OK, find a tranny specialist that gives free estimates.

Avoid driving too far with the transmission slipping. BTW, fix that lower t-stat housing. GL
 
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do everything you can before you let the dealer work on it, why spend 1500 when it could be just a gasket. The thermostat housing is not to bad to do either.
 
Also try youtube, good video on the valve body there. search

Auto Repair: Fix Transmission Shift Problem Ford 5R55E Explorer more - 1AAuto.com



It is a late 90's repair but I think it would be very similar. GL
 
I am gonna purchase the whole thermostat assembly for 225 at the dealership. I will be putting that in myself as I am well aware of each step. The dealership would charge 70 bucks to put it in.



I'm gonna check my fluid when I get home. I live two minutes from my local Ford which is the closest shop. I'm gonna go there see what they have to say.
 
I called my local Ford Dealership which is located two minutes from my house. I literally live behind it!

Well anyway I called them today and inquired about my issue. My guess is that my valve body needs replaced. I have the symptoms of tranny flare/slipping on 2nd and 3rd. When I put it in Reverse there is a delayed followed by a hard engagement. I drove the Trac for a short distance today, paying more attention to my gears,rpm,OD light etc. I checked the AT tranny oil and it seemed good, fluid level wing onthe crosshatched area. Now they recommended to do a diagnosis test to pinpoint the exact problem, could be something simple instead.



They said the valve body will cost me 1,470 dollars and the labor will be 152 plus tax an shop supplies. They will offer a 12 month/12k mile warranty.



I can do that or buy the valve body off eBay for 150-200 and pay labor cost, shop supplies and taxes. I'd say I'm looking at around 450 dollars with no warranty on the Job done.



What can someone recommend I do
 
Arturo,

The tranny shift flare is caused by sticking valves in the valve body. Ford usually wants to rebuild the transmission if you are our of warranty, and will usually replace the valvebody ir you are still under warranty.



First check your tranny fluid and if it is dark or smells burnt, you need to flush it and replace it with fresh fluid before you consider digging into the transmission and changing parts



This is not a hard repair to make yourself if you are mechanically inclinded. I recommend that you also get a new "improved" valve body and new solenoid pack to go with it. That will probably bring your total parts cost up to about $400 but is best fix as long as you have not gotten the blinking O/D light.



The problem is caused by the sticking valves in the valvebody which over time, will weaken the solenoids, so that's why it's best to replace the solenoids with the new valvebody.



...Rich



 
Art, ditto on what Rich said.

One more piece of info is. Some of our members paid $650 to $700 parts and labor. To a qaulified independent.

If you are not famililiar with valve body remove and install. Let a qualified independent do it.

The seperator plate in some cases holds checkballs and springs in place. Proper torque pattern and torque is very necesary.

If we lived close I would do it for you. Valve bodys and torque convertors. Is all I trust myself with, on auto-trans internals.
 
I've read old post in regards to the valve body and 5R55E tranny. I read how one other reason beside the valves sticking is the solenoids and gaskets going bad.



Now I want to let you all know that my OD light flashed back when I had about 120k. At the time I wasn't aware of what the significance of it flashing.. I did shut the truck off back then and never had it come on again until the other morning. The transmission was fine but once in a while I would have a hard engage when shifting into reverse. Also I noticed a slight tranny shift flare here and there. It wasn't big issue as to you almost didn't feel it or noticed it. And here recently I experienced the tranny bump. All these were the symptoms of supposedly the valve body going bad.



At 180k the sport Trac is now undrivable. Yes it will run but the tranny slip is highly noticeable. I don't want to drive it like this and possibly cause excessive damage to the valve bodys clutch, solenoid, bands and valves. I really want to avoid a major repair. Hopefully it isn't too late. I should have looked into it awhile back when the OD light first flashed.



More than likely I will be purchasing an updated valve body with updated solenoids and gaskets. I've seen them go for 200.00 dollars. Now I'm somewhat mechanically inclined but due to lack of tools, work space and time, I probably will not tackle this with my dad. It's winter, so we don't have the greatest weather to work outside. We don't have a garage at our house so it's nearly impossible to do it myself.



Ford suggested to run a computer diagnostis or electronic diagnostics test to see what the problem is. They charge 80 dollars for that. I read a post where they performed that to someone else with the same issue and didnt get nothing out of the test so i will be declining that test. They also said they could take the tranny apart to look for the problem but im sure they will charge me up the butt for that when I know the problem could possibly be the valve body. Like I mentioned earlier FORD will charge 152 dollars labor plus supplies an tax. I'd say 180-200 dollars to install. The valve body is about 200. So I'm looking at about 400-450 tops for that job with no warranty from ford but a warranty on the valve cover.
 
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Arturo,

Eddie is correct that there is a separator plate and little check balls and springs that you don't want to drop, loose or put in the wrong places, so it takes some attention to detail and be very careful when removing the valvebody so as not to lose track of these parts.



I've used Vaseline to hold the little checkballs and springs in place while the valvebody was reinstalled...I think that is still a common practice.



Also the leaking gasket you are refering to is the gasket that separates the two halves of the valvebody.



The problem is not so much the gasket failing as it is an uneven sealing surface on the valvebody that causes the internal leaks. One of the common tricks of performance transmission builders is to use some 1000 grit sandpaper on a flat sheet of glass to flatten the gasket surface on the valvebody.



They move the valvebody mating surface over the sandpaper until they see an even flat finish...that gives the valvebody the best seal. This is done with both used and new valvebodies to insure they are dead flat to prevent leaks. Most repair shops don't do that, but it does add a lot of life to the transmission especially when running higher pressures found in performance transmissions, and the Sport Trac tranny's have had this problem with normal pressures?



...Rich



 
Should I have ford start breaking down my tranny starting with the valve body and gaskets to see if that's what the problem is?



Or



Go ahead an purchase the updated remanufactured valve body from central valve bodies and take it to ford to have them fix it?



By the way My AT tranny oil is in the crosshatched area on dipstick. It is red still. It is not dark or burnt
 
With 180k miles on it, I would be thinking about a rebuilt transmission. No doubt you have plenty of other wear in there by now, and I would not want to spend $500 on some new parts for a worn-out transmission.



I'd get it rebuilt by a trusted/experienced independent transmission shop, purchase a rebuilt unit and install it, or install a low mileage salvage yard unit.
 
Arturo,

If all that is wrong is the valvebody and solenoids, they only transmission breakdown necessary is to remove the transmission pan and filter which gives complete access to the valvebody and solenoids. This can all be done without removing the transmission from the vehicle....If they take the tranny out, you are looking at a lot more unncessary labor charges.



Can they tell if the valvebody or solenoids are bad?...probably not since the slipping is only intermittent it may or may not be visually obvious on the shift valves. Also, if the vavlebody gasket is leaking, the slipping may be caused by pressure loss and that would not leave a visible sign except perhaps where the gasket is leaking. The solenoids are electrical devices and there is not anyway to tell if they are getting weak. The only background on this problem is based on others who have determined that the sticking valves overloads the solenoids and make the slipping worse, so they recommend replacing the solenoid pack when replacing the valvebody.



I also doubt that you can take your parts to Ford and expect them to install them. The want to make the markup on the parts and the labor and will usually give you a line of bull that they cannot warranty their work if they don't use genuine Ford parts. So your best bet is to take the truck to an independent transmission shop and get a quote on parts and labor to replace the valvebody and solenoids. I suspect that is about what Ford would charge you just for the labor.



...Rich



 
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ART,

I was thinking there was a post about yr ago. One of out members got a ford remanufactored trans for less than $3000 installed. 12/12 warranty.
 
I remember seeing a post about something like that. Of course it would be great to get a new tranny. But with 180k I think it's best to just go with valve body replacement. Who knows wether my engine will die soon. Let's hope not as its still running strong. I have a nice sport Trac I must say. I did flip it on it's side about 5-6 months ago. She still looks good but there are a few cosmetic defects here and there. I will also have to spend some money on a new water pump and possibly thermostat housing, along with ball joints and maybe new control arm. I really don't want to invest much more money than what's needed. I'm gonna keep driving it for as long as I can. Maybe by then I'll have more money saved and can get a loan to buy a 2 nd Gen. STA
 
I have called around a few shops. All have said to take my truck to them and they would look at the valve body to see if that's the problem.



One shop said that instead of replacing the whole valve body, they would just look for the damaged parts and replace them. They said it would save me money.



Another shop that was highly recommended to me said that they have worked on a large amount of explorers with the 5R55E transmission. They were basically telling me all this info that is written above so they made me feel assured they know what they are talking about. The mechanic mentioned to check the AT tranny fluid level and if low add some because the dipsticks doesnt read accurate.



I went to ford and bought some mercon V added a whole quart. I drove it for a bit And the OD light never came on and started flashing like it normally does. It drives better Now bu you can still feel the tranny slip in 2 and 3rd.



What steps should I now take.
 
Just got off the phone with a mechanic that I've been talking to about my truck. I took it to a shop called Chips Transmission here in Sevierville, TN.



They dropped the pan and noticed that there was a chunk missing from the o ring around the filter. He mentioned someone who last serviced the trasnmission didn't do a proper job. I informed him that I've owned the truck since 60k and it now has 180k. During that time I have never serviced the transmission. He was surprised that if the last transmission service done by the previous owner wasn't done right, that these 120k I put on the truck ran fine with half the o ring missing. He is also thinking thT overtime a chunk of the o ring deteriorated.



He mentioned there was black grease and friction material that insinuated for a more serious problem such as internally wise. He added that the computer was reading that it was slipping on first, second, and third gear. He would proceed with checking the valve body but by the way ot looks, he doesnt want me to spend on the valve body when later on it could be the whole tranny. So what am I looking at?



Replace the tranny for a new/remanufactured Jasper tranny for about 2,500-3,000?



Find a used 5R55E tranny with low mileage, install it and service it immediately?



Or replace the valve body and just drive it til it's final days?



Keep in mind that about 7 months a go I flipped this truck so cosmetically wise, there's still a few things that need to be fixed such as front end straighting, ball joints replaced, water pump replaced. With these things I'm not sure whether I wanna drop that much money for a new tranny when I could used that money for down payment on newer sport trac. I could keep this one and part it out or sell it as whole.

Or go forward with rep
 
I would look for a salvage yard transmission. Your old one might have a core value to help offset the purchase. Shouldn't be too hard to swap it out if you can find one from a similar year-- i would think you could find a shop to do it for a reasonable price. That way your trac will still go- you can have the option of keeping it or trade it or sell it. If it doesn't run, your options and your $ are going to be severely limited.



Good luck.
 

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