When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Have a 2004 explorer that was headed to the smasher by a guy so I grabbed it for 140 dollars for another explorer i have. Long story short it runs and drives and has 156k miles and has all gears, hesitates severely and when I ran the codes I have 13 codes! I was going to use it for parts but this explorer is in damn nice shape.
Considering it has codes for all the shift solenoids and torque converter, I'd certainly suggest you invest some time looking over the wiring for the the transmission. Maybe someone forgot to plug the connector back in after some service. Maybe a rodent chewed through a supply or ground wire. Maybe the fuse for the shift solenoids or valve body is blown or not making a good connection.
On that plug that is on the top of the transmission pan. The one that plugs into the selenoid pack. What size bolt is on that plug? Also is there an easy way to get at that plug? I have the main drive axle right next to it and it's a nightmare to get at. Any ideas?
You're venturing in to new territory for me. The bolt is probably either an 8mm or a 10mm, but I've not looked at an image of the connector and I never had a reason to try to access that connector on my prior Mountaineer or Aviator. I do recall one time when changing oxygen sensors in my Mountaineer there was what appeared to be an access panel above the transmission. It looked like it might be accessible if the center console were removed, but I was able to get the sensor out without needing to dig further so I cannot even confirm that. Maybe pulling the drive shaft and/or loosening the transmission cross member will help gain access to the connector? Hopefully someone else with first hand experience in this area will chime in.
So I wanted to do a last minute post for now. After struggling with the 10mm nut on that plug I was able to get it off. Plug might be savable but will have to do some cleaning. The solenoid pack will need replacing as I noticed pins were missing from the pack. I will be dropping the pan and replacing the solenoid pack when it comes in. I was able to get my Autotel camera to work and although the pictures are absolutely terrible I will post them so you can see how bad the plug was and you can make out some of the missing pins. I think I will go ahead and replace the transmission filter as long as that pan is off as well.
Wow, do you know yet if the oil is coming through the connector on the solenoid pack or if it's the environmental seal that is compromised? That's a lot of what appears to be oil and dirt coating that plug! It is tough to tell from the images which pins are missing and if they are broken/damaged or were maybe never there. I will caution that it's not uncommon for vehicle connectors to have unused terminals. Sometimes one end of the connector will have more contacts than the made due to using a universal connector/harness to cover any combination of options, but the other end will only contain contacts for the options that the particular vehicle has.
Oil compromised the plug and I ordered the new selonoid pack and all pins are supposed to be there. I believe it was 6 on each side. The tranny fluid has never been changed for what I can see. The bolt was super tight. I am cleaning the plug right now but I honestly think I may have to replace it. That alone will not be fun. A lot of soldering and heat shrink tubing ahead of me. So if the plug is that bad I can only imagine what I will find underneath. I have a selonoid pack I bought online coming along with fill adapter for the transmission pan.
