I'm going to rebuild the 5R55S in my 2004 by myself. it's slipping, the friction surfaces have all fallen off, it's toast (at 175,000 miles). I just took out the E4OD from my 95 Bronco, and it was the biggest undertaking I've ever done on a car. It just about dam near kilt me... Is the explorer going to be this hard? If I have the rig up on (tallish) jack stands, will the transmission slide out from underneath? Are there a bunch of hidden bolts that are impossible to get to? (On the Bronco, I pretty much HAD to remove the in-car on-top-of-transmission access plate to get to the bolts!) Is the torque converter going to be impossible to line up when I go to put the transmission back in? are the electrical lines almost impossible to get off? The exhaust pipes, will I have to cut them to get the transmission out? Anybody know of a good write-up for R-n-Ring the transmission? I looked around on the internet and don't see any good write-ups of the remove and replace process, but good info on the actual tear down.

Thanks!

 

Good luck rebuilding a 5R55 at a reasonable cost. IMO they are throw away transmissions and when they fail, its 9 times out of 10 much cheaper for a reman unit. The OD planetary is bad for the brass bushings wearing out on the planets, just that part alone is close to $500. The solenoid body gets contaminated from the brass and thats another $300. The valve body wears and valves start sticking so its a good idea to install a new one, bam $200 more. The servo bores wear and pressure bleeds off causing the bands to slip which burns up the drums, $300 more plus having a machine shop install brass bushings into the case, another $150. Then you have the rebuild kit, bands, servos, fluid, filter, new torque converter, and what ever else that is worn and you are close to $2000 in parts.

 

well, I wasn't really asking about what should I do about the innards, but your response is thought-provoking. I'm not sure on a transmission that blows out as much as this one does, where I would get a reman that I trust. especially when I'm going to put it back in myself. Know of any places that are reliable?

still looking for some inside info about what it actually takes to get this sucker out of, then back into, the explorer though.

thanks

 

They arent that hard to remove, remove the trans crossmember, transfer case if 4wd, front and rear driveshafts, exhaust, starter, torque converter nuts, etc. Are you in the rust belt? If so prepare to drill the crossmember bolts and heat wrench the exhaust. The bellhousing bolts are pretty easy to get to with a very long extension and swivel sockets. There are 3 speed sensors and the solenoid body connector plus the harness is attached to the case pretty good at 2 places. I would suggest a reman with the best warranty, Ford remans are pretty good and the warranty is 3yr/ unlimited mileage good at any dealer.

 

If you are going to buy a reman, have the whole thing done by the reman seller. You want a new hobby? You want to pay for a trans and be told your warranty is no good because they didn't do the install?

DIY has it's place, but in this case putting in for extra hours at work, taking on more work if you are self employed etc and paying someone who will stand behind their work is the smarter move imo. (unless you are a transmission man yourself, which it would not seem that you are....)

Good luck with it.

BTW is your '04 a 4.0 SOHC? If so, consider doing the cam chain service (sorry, not sure of the details, probably just a "cassette") on the passenger side cam while the trans is out.

 

I'm most concerned about getting the exhaust off. I had to cut through the Bronco's exhaust to get stuff out, and it's still not welded back together again. No, I'm most concerned about clearances. If I have the car up on jack stands, will I be able to get the transmission out from under the car? The Bronco it was a b**ch. Wadda ya know about getting it out from under the Ford? I checked around today and remans, good ones, are about $2500 where I live. I found one for $2000, but frankly, I don't trust it. This is with unlimited mileage and 3/yr warranty. But most of my time is in the labor getting it in and out of the car. For me to rebuild the tranny myself, I am going to spend $250 for solenoid pack, $200 for TQ, $350 for 'master rebuild kit', $100 for solenoid shift kit, $100 for both pistons, and $200 to bore out the piston holes and put in brass sleeves. lessee, that's $1200, and at that point, I *know* it's a solid build. For $2000, I'm still left wondering what the rebuild guys skimped on. it's hard to trust remans online because there's not a lot of them sold, anybody could post a positive review, as if they even had any, and I don't care if they warranty it, I don't want to take the flipping thing out of the car again, even if they did pay for shipping & stuff. The only way I know it's going to WORK when I put it back in, is if I do it myself, or if I have a local shop warranty it. Nope, I can't say I really trust remans.

 

btw: yeah, it's a 4.0 SOHC. I was told by Ford Service, when I asked them if I should have this done while the tranny was out, they said, "we aren't seeing problems on the 2004 4.0 6Cyl timing chains. We do see them on the model prior to this, but not on your engine. I wouldn't change it until it breaks". Made me wonder. I'm considering replacing them while the engine is out though, yeah. And front and rear seals, they're both leaking like crazy. Oddly enough, even currently, the transmission runs *great* and so does the engine! At 170,000 miles! no clicking, tapping, no smoke of any kind, the thing is a champ! The only reason I'm replacing the transmission, because it runs flawlessly already, is that all the friction stuff has flaked off (well, a good deal of it) and was in the tranny pan when I had it removed and looked at, just for fun. Transmission guy scratched his head and said, "well I'll be! Why is this thing even moving at all! I wouldn't think this transmission would even work!" but it works great! no slippage! No missing gears, no codes!

 

As with the transmission, fixing or refreshing the timing chains is a good idea and doing it before it "breaks" is a better idea.

When the timing chains take a dump on that motor, they take out the valves and nick the pistons. Instant junk.

The upside is you can swap almost any 4.0 SOHC for another, at least the long block. Mustangs included. Some fiddling is required, but other than the vehicle model specific intake, accessory drives and exhaust, they are all close enough to swap.

My sohc went down the road after a drunk hit the Exploder. The '99 is a pushrod--nearly "silent" on start up compared to the '98.

And yes, the word is they improved the tensioner set up in '04.

Enjoy whichever way you go on this one.

 

wait- what? Your 99 is a pushrod, but your 98 isn't, AND you're telling me the pushrod is MORE silent than the OHC? My Bronco is pushrod and that thing clacks like CRAZY on startup! All new cam, pushrods, hydraulic lifters, rockers, valves, and springs. it's far noisier than the 04 Explorer, which is nearly silent.

 

Most noticeable at start up. AFAIK the pushrod 4.0 usually does not have valve train issues, but then this is the first and only one I've had. The old 2.8 with solid lifters was a real clacker. I had a 2.9 but sold it at 60k+ so I guess other than the leaking valve covers, I didn't enjoy the old age problems with heads cracking etc.

My '98 spit the trans out a few miles shy of the end of the ESP. I got a new trans from Ford. The '99 shifts fine, appears to be OEM at 115k.

Trying to decide if I should send the '99 down the road. It's a stripper and trouble free, but I would like something a little nicer with more air bags, a stronger roof and maybe a lower center of gravity......

 

The old saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" If it shifts good, I wouldn't mess with it.

 

The trans in our '04 Explorer couldn't be rebuilt - the bores were scored too badly. So, we got a Ford Rebuilt installed, 3 yr/unlimited mileage warranty, too bad we don't drive it that much..