I was on my way home from work this evening when I pulled up to a red light and stopped. When the light went green, I gave the car gas to go.

The engine revved up over 3000 rpms, but the car barely creeped into the intersection then started slowing down again.

To make a long story short, I can hear/feel the car go into gear when I put it in forward or reverse, but it won't move. It acts like its trying to move, but won't go.

The only transmission shop around here is a crooked as a barrel of rattlesnakes, and I'm not taking another car to them.

So I'm going to get the service manual to this transmission, and fix it myself. I have a couple of friends who have worked on automatic transmissions before, so I have guys that know the ins and outs of transmissions. Honestly, I've been wanting to work on a busted Ford FMX in the garage for a long time. I've done just about everything you can do to engines, so transmissions are the next thing to learn.

I'm assuming the first place to start would be to check the fluid level. If it's a mechanical problem, would the torque converter be the first thing to look at?

I'm not getting a light that says "Gearbox Fault" but the one that says "Traction Control Fault" has been lit since I bought the car. If there's no "Gearbox Fault" light would I learn anything by scanning for codes?

When the car is in "Park" the parking gear actually engages and the car doesn't go anywhere, so I don't think its differential related.

Worst case scenario, if I need a rebuild, is there anything I can modify to make the transmission more bulletproof? Are there other similar Ford transmissions that might be more durable, be a bolt-in swap, and work with the Jag's computers? I know 1999-2002 Lincoln LSs interchange, but they are identical. Would a 2005 Mustang Transmission work?

I've seen rebuilt transmissions listed online for $1200. If we well and truly bugger this one up beyond repair trying the DIY approach, we can always swap in a new one.

I refuse to believe this thing works on black magic that is beyond my comprehension. I intend to tackle this problem head on.

 

Most likely the cable from shifter either stretched or needs adjusting. If the former you'll need a new one.

If neither of those, may be low on trans fluid.

 

I admire your tenacity. I look forward to reading your follow-up. Good luck.
Steve

 

Thanks. Although it's quite possible my tenacity will leave me with a gearbox in a zillion pieces, and me reinstalling a new one someone else rebuilt. Still, the only way to learn is to do.

I've had a bunch of suggestions as to what the problem could be. The one that makes the most sense is a torque converter. I can feel the transmission going into gear when I move the shifter, so I don't think its the cable. Although I will check that once I'm under there. I know this transmission has problems with the bores on the servo pistons wearing, but that usually manifests itself as slow or non-existant shifts between gears after the car is moving.

If the fluid level and shifter cable look good, I'm pulling the transmission out and checking the torque converter before going any further.

 

Well, yesterday I towed the car to a friend house, who has some experience with automatic transmissions.


The car goes into gear just fine, but when you give it gas, it doesn't move, but it acts like its fighting against the brakes, even though its not.


Also, when towing the car (we pulled it with a tow strap behind my Thunderbird, with the car in neutral), the engine RPMs got higher the faster we went.


Something is definitely rotten in Denmark, and its more than just the torque converter.


So the new plan is to rebuild the box with new clutches & bands, and install a new torque converter. I'm on the fence about whether or not to install a shift kit. I really don't want more performance out of the car, but I do want the transmission to last a long time when we get it back together.


When this is all said and done, I am either going to be very familiar with the inside of this transmission, or my car will be a flaming pile of metal at the bottom of a steep cliff.


Maybe both.


So crack open a beer and watch me rush in where angels fear to tread.


We don't have time to work on the car today, but tomorrow, we start removing the gearbox.


Fortunately, I have two other cars. Both of them are hot messes in their own right, but they at least move under their own power!

 

This is getting really interesting. I'm intrigued.

 

Just remember. This is a very common Ford gear box.

It would probably be much cheaper to find a low mileage used box with warranty.

Just my 2 cents.

 

How will you fix it if required?

I really think you should just get a rebuilt unit with a warranty. As was posted above these are very common 5 speed Ford transmissions and ALL the problems have long since been figured out. The transmission can now be built to withstand 1000+ HP so the basic unit is very robust.




Would you or your shop know all this?
.
.
.

 

We spent some quality time wrenching on the car this afternoon, and came across something very interesting...

Step one, of course, was to check the fluid level as per the instructions printed on the bottom of the pan. The fluid level was good, but it was almost black.

Step two was to remove the pan and filter. The filter is held in place with two bolts. Why, oh why,when you put something on, can you not use two bolts with heads the same fracking size?!?! Anyway, when I unbolted the filter, and pulled it out, another cup of fluid poured out of one of the holes the filer had been plugged into. It was so clogged nothing was getting through.

I had two friend with me. One used to own a foreign car shop back in the days when finding someone with metric wrenches was a rarity. The other is a grumpy old former marine who's idea of a good time is taking his Jeep apart in the backyard and putting it back together. Both have been through automatic transmissions a few times. Both of them swear up and down my problem is caused by the filter being so clogged up. I have a new filter on order, but I won't have time to install it until Saturday. So right now the plan is to flush out all the dirty, black fluid out of the torque converter and cooler, put everything back together with clean fluid and a new filter, and drop the car back on the ground and seeif she runs.

If not, it's back to plan B and removing the transmission. I know the servo bores have a tendency to wear unevenly and cause problems. One of the members on another forum has had good luck with a company in Wisconsin who makes new pistons with oversize O-rings to seal in the worn bores. Also, I'm aQC inspector at a machine shop, and I have the tools to accurately measure a bore down to .0001”. So if we wind up having to rebuild, while everything is apart, I'm going to check the bores for egg and taper and see if they are worn or not, and decide what to do from there.




And yes, a sensible person would justbuy a new transmission with a warranty and stick it in and be done with it. I am not a sensible person. In the worst case scenario,a nd we get the transmission apart, and either can't get it back together, or it goes back together and still doesn't work, I'll have still learned a great deal about transmissions, and only be out the cost of a rebuild kit and a torque converter, which cost me $550. And then I'll just order a reman unit for $1500 and stick it in. $2000 is the minimum it would have cost me to drop it off at a local transmission shop here and tell them to fix it, so I still haven't lost anything but time.

Best case scenario, I need a $30 filter and kitty is back on the road this weekend. Second best case scenario, my friends and I get this one put back together, it works, and we are freaking awesome for doing this ourselves.

 

>we are freaking awesome for doing this ourselves.

gotta love the enthusiasm, good luck
================================================== =
You dreamed of a big star
he played a mean guitar
He loved to drive his Jaguar...

So welcome to the machine

 

Well, we stuck in the new filter and poured in some clean fluid. We fired up the car, and...

No joy!

Same exact symptoms. So this weekend, out comes the gearbox. I have a rebuild kit with clutches, steels, bands, and gaskets on its way, as well as a shiny new torque converter. Once we have the gearbox out, I'll evaluate the servo bores and see what they look like as well.

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more! Or we'll seal up the gap with our English dead!

 

I bought the Ford recon box. It lasted 2 months and when pulled out was junk. The tranny shop had bought a recon box with very poor quality-control. They replace solenoid packs etc and eventually gave me a new box under warranty. A year later still good. My audi box just gave up...

 

Well, it's been a while since I posted a progress report, but it's been a while since I've made anything resembling progress. Between tending to a sick grandma, a trip to Honduras, and several spells stalled out looking for the right tool, I hadn't got much further than pulling the gearbox.

One big hang-up was the fact that no matter what we tried, we could not get the oil pump off the front. The manual I downloaded off the internet said to simply pull out the turbine input shaft, then put a slide hammer on the pump shaft and pop it off.

Oh, if only it were that easy!

The turbine shaft was stuck, and I do mean stuck, and short of grabbing the splines with a vise grip, there was no getting it off. So, I went off to Northern Tools and bought a set of taps, drilled a hole in the middle of the shaft, and tapped itwith a 1/4-20 thread. Screwed in a bolt, attached a slide hammer, and off comes the shaft.

Next step, removing the front pump. Attached a slide hammer to it and...it wouldn't budge Got a bigger dude to work the slide hammer, and still no joy. In a moment of brilliance (or maybe insanity), I hung the transmission by the pump shaft from an A-frame, laid a 2x6 across the bell housing, and went to wailing on it with a BFH. It STILL wouldn't come out! At this point, I put thegear box on the ground, chain it to a tree, and I'm getting ready to chain the pump shaft to the rear bumper of my 1978 Grand Marquis with a 400 cubic inch 6.6L V8, when two of my friends have a slightly less psychotic brainstorm. Instead of using a car with way too much engine, they suggest using a comealong. (I don't know if that's the name used in other parts of the world, but in Texas, that's what we call a manual-powered winch). Well, we hooked up the comealong and went to cranking, and after almost lifting the transmission off the rack we had it on, it finally pops the oil pump off the front!

It is at this point we get confirmation of something we've suspected all along...this gearbox has been taken apart before. The gasket between the oil pump and transmission case was made out of the cover of an old phone book from 2006!

Once we finally had access to the guts of the gearbox, we could begin a postmortem. The front band was scorched black in places. We pulled out the front clutch pack andremoved some of the clutches. They didn't look as bad as I expected them to, but the steels had discolored spots on them. We pulled out the first planetary gearset, then the second clutch pack and gearset. The gears on the second gearset are also showing discoloration from getting hot. The second band didn't look too bad (not scorched). The drums weren't scored, and the gears themselves looked like they were in good shape other than being a bit discolored, so hopefully we won't have to replace any of the hard parts inside the gearbox.

We did have one “D'oh!” moment, though. Back at the beginning of July when we pulled the gearbox, we took the speed sensors off the outside of the case, dropped them in a Folger's can...and forgot to take them inside. They got rained on. They look like solid-state pieces that just work off induction, so I'm hoping we can soak them in aerosol contact cleaner and save them.

We've got a rebuild kit with clutches, steels, bands and gaskets, and since we're this far in, I broke down and bought a new torque converter as well. Other than looking at the clutches on the first pack, we haven't really torn down the other clutches, but since we plan on rebuilding one clutch before disassembling the second, I am going to officially declare that we have reached what Roger Welsch would describe as “The Golden Moment of Turnaround” where we are finished removing old parts and get to start adding new parts. Labor day is a 3 day weekend here, and I'm using a vacation day on Tuesday to make it a 4-day weekend, and this little black kitty will occupy the majority of my attention, barring any other unforseen mishaps. Hopefully by Tuesday night, we will have Humpty put back together again. Or at least pretty darn close!

 

Love your tenacity, can-do attitude (though friends with knowledge are always welcome!) and your way with words. You are so right, doing these things yourself is always interesting and scary but ultimately so satisfying. Go black kitty!!

 

Good luck!

The phone book part... ouch.

 

beauty is in the eye of the beholder or something like that

and it's a comealong just about everywhere people with greasy fingernails hangout.

 

You are certainly keen.. Good luck with it. I once spent a few hours fixing a jeep auto and the problem turned out to be a $7 relay......after shop said it needed new solenoids etc...
Got the new gearbox in the Audi today . They paid bec only 55k.
Getting an 8 speed grand Cherokee this week and hope its as smooth as the Jag now is.

 

Now I do need advice. This is one of those "While you're neck deep in poop anyway" tasks...but my research tells me the little springs inside the valve body pistons are prone to breaking.

I found a valve body kit for a 5R55E on eBay that looks like it has what I need:

Transmission Valve Body Rebuild Shift Correction Kit 4R44E 4R55E 5R55E Ford 4R55 | eBay

Will a kit for a 5R55E fit my 5R55N?

 

I have the same problem with my 2001 stype 3.0. Car ran fine never giving any indication that the trans may be going out, then leaving a stop light it wouldn't pull. You can feel it engage and try to pull but moves very little then slips. After a 200 mile trip to retrieve it on a trailer I have since pulled the pan and filter. The fluid level was was correct and fluid was still red and did not smell burnt. My car has 183,000 miles on it and for that many miles everything looked clean with very little debris in the pan, only fine minimal debris on the magnet. Could a new filter and fluid fix my problem?