5R55E auto trans won't downshift to 1st gear on 2000 Explorer 2wd

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pspongetti@netzero.net - 30 Mar 2007 06:08 GMT

Good Evening,

I found an earlier post (2004) on this topic but no clear solution.

Any ideas on why my auto trans won't downshift to 1st gear when
manually placed into 1st gear? It will limit itself to first gear
only when accelerating in 1st gear but it won't allow engine breaking
to decelerate on decents. It seams like it is in neutral when no gas
is applied, allow
it to coast and even pick speed on a steep decent. 2nd gear
functionality works fine including engine braking.

I have experimented with it enough to know that it is a real problem,
and not related to high-speed shifting in to 1st.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

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Paul G. - 30 Mar 2007 15:52 GMT

On Mar 29, 9:08 pm, psponge...@netzero.net wrote:

> Good Evening,
>
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>
> Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

Here's the answer I posted previously. I should have included "5R55E"
so you could find it...

That is a known problem caused by a gasket in the valve body blowing
out. It's fixed by replacing a plate in the valve body with a new one
which now has the gasket permanently bonded to the plate. They
recommend replacing a failure-prone solenoid while you're at it.

Here's some great info on this problem from "Serious Explorations":

TSB 03-22-10...

FORD: 1995-2001 EXPLORER

ISSUE:
Some vehicles built prior to 12/1/2001 may exhibit the following shift
and engagement conditions:

No 2nd Gear
No 3rd Gear
No Engine Braking In Manual 1st.
Out of specification pressures controlled by the transmission main
control valve body separator plate may be the cause.

ACTION:
Verify the condition, the main control valve body separator plate may
need to be updated to the latest level. Refer to the following Service
Procedure for details.

See the whole article, be sure to read the stuff way down at the
bottom:
http://tinyurl.com/yg23rj
-Paul

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pspongetti@netzero.net - 30 Mar 2007 21:38 GMT

> On Mar 29, 9:08 pm, psponge...@netzero.net wrote:
>
[quoted text clipped - 49 lines]
>
> - Show quoted text -

Thanks for directling me to your earlier posting. I have yet to meet
another Paul that was not a nice guy!

I have never worked on a trans before so I may follow up with a trans
shop or dealer, if the cost is reasonable.

Does anyone know if there are any risks if I continue to operate the
truck with this condition? In normal driving the trans works fine.
It's rare that I manually shift into first. T

Reply to this Message

Paul G. - 31 Mar 2007 03:14 GMT

On Mar 30, 12:38 pm, psponge...@netzero.net wrote:

> > On Mar 29, 9:08 pm, psponge...@netzero.net wrote:
>
[quoted text clipped - 59 lines]
> truck with this condition? In normal driving the trans works fine.
> It's rare that I manually shift into first. T

I believe this is not going to be real expensive to repair, I'm pretty
sure they can remove the valve body and fix it without removing the
transmission and the parts are not expensive. I think it's a drop-the-
pan operation.

I'm not a transmission expert, but I think you can continue to drive
it with those symptoms. The gasket can blow out in other spots and
cause more severe symptoms like slipping shifts in higher gears, which
can do some damage, though. I'd suggest getting it fixed as soon as
possible as transmission failure IS expensive.

You might print some of that out, it will help a lot to steer the
repair shop in the right direction. If you're lucky they'll know all
about it- "Oh yeah, that TSB. We do a lot of those." If they say
you need a new transmission, look elsewhere.

As to being a nice guy- sure, just keep me on technical stuff and off
politics and religion... ;-))
-Paul

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