Hi Paul. I picked up my Ford Explorer from the repair shop on Friday, Jan 25th. The transmission had to be completely rebuilt, so I guess it was a major repair bill. But the good news is the owner of the shop had all the work done at no charge to me. When I went to pick the vehicle up it was out in the parking lot. I started it up when I got there because the temperature was -25C and I wanted to warm it up while I was in the office settling the bill. The vehicle was spotless. They had cleaned it inside and out. It looked almost new! I thought to myself they are just trying to soften me up before they hand me the bill! To my surprise they admitted responsibility for the damage because the vehicle had been under their care and this shouldn't have happened. Needless to say I did a lot of celebrating Friday night! I'm so delighted to have my vehicle back. The only thing I have noticed is that it doesn't shift as smoothly as it used to. It is sort of sticky as I work my way through the gears. In other words it takes a little more effort. It's hard to explain. I have to take it back to the shop in a week to have them ckeck all the fluids, and I will try to explain the problem to them. At least I want it on the record should anything happen in the future. Thanks again for your help in explaining things to me. Hopefully I will get a few more years of driving out of this vehicle!

 

Shelley get them to check a small metal bearing at the base of the stick. It looks like a hollow cylinder that has been slit on the sides. I can't think of the term for it right now. But if it has worn out or they didn't put one in that can make your shifting a little rougher. And just remember to have that tranny fluid changed every 10,000 miles. I myself had a tranny blow up in my 92 Explorer so i've learned all the ins and outs of em and their little quirks since then. Good Luck.

 

Good Deal , Shelley . Its hard to beat free . What may be going on is the new parts in the trans combined with the cold temps causing the hard , notchy shifts . The M5OD seems to shift like that when its cold. Mine has always shifted like that when the temp gets down .