won't move with linkage off either, off with the pan again

 

sounds to me like something got into a bind in one of the rods

Matt

 

did u get the linkage connected correctly like the picture shows?

 

There is a 'plunger' that comes out of the valve body that has a space for a small rod with a ball shaped end in a space between 2 'discs'. I evidently moved the plunger and did not center that rod where it should be when I put the valve body back on. As a result the rod is now pushing hard against the plunger and therefore it won't allow the linkage to move
I know this isn't a great explanation and I'll try to post a picture in a minute

At any rate I have to loosen the valve body enough to move the plunger to the right position, then it should shift.

I just wonder what the pressure has done to the plunger or it's bore and whether it means the valve body is ruined

 

i would pull it out and lube it with vasoline and make sure the bore is clean. as long as its not scarred it should be fine

Matt

 

Got it all back together, took less fluid than others have reported, about 6 quarts
When I first drove it it did the exact same flare and the OD light started flashing.
Checked the fluid level again, turned off the engine and restarted and works perfectly. Put it through 20 min of test driving, no light flashing, no flare, 1st gear manual engine breaking function restored. Hoping it was just the computer? re-setting? Anyway tried all types of accelerations, no problem

I have good pictures of the valve body before I removed it, if anyone needs them, I don't know how to post them or put arrows or notes, but I could email them. It would be good for any less experienced mechanics like me to watch for the position of that little rod. The pics in the tech article are a littel fuzzy but sure helped

BTW you need an inch pound torque wrench with the capability of going down to 60 in pds or less. I had one that started at 120, but the smaller ones are hard to find and very expensive

FWIW I bought some aluminum roof flashing to place around the pan and help direct the flow of fluid, seemed to help some, cost about $10 at Home Depot

By far worst part is removing the pan, I put in a drain plug, came in handy since I had to drop the pan twice. Still quite the bath. If you can let the valve body drip for a while before you take it off seems to help

I blew a whole day on it but mainly because of chasing parts and tools and my own stupidity not understanding what the little rod was supposed to do

Thousand thanks to all those who posted, especially FordBoy 52

Anyone want to buy a 50-150 pd torque wrench?

 

haha, im delighted that your valve body is fixed. if you want to email me your pics, i can get them posted in this topic. if not, just go to photobucket.com and make a quick account and you can host pics there. shoot me a pm if u need help. if you can illistrate what you did wrong with a pic, that would be great. thanks alot for your update as well

Matt

 

here are some pics of rcwtmw's problem he listed above

Matt

 

Fordboy,

Can you add that pic (and explanation) to the tech thread on this valve body fix? Think this would be a good addition.

CMOS

 

i added this whole discussion, i thought it was up there already

Matt

 

The blue mark is over the rod and the red mark is the area where it is supposed to go. The part of the valve body that moves is in green. The part that is green should have been moved to the right so that the red line and the blue lines match up. This puts the ball shaped end of the rod in between the disc-shaped parts of the movable green piece so that when you move the gear shift selector it moves the green assembly back and forth

 

Excellent explanation, I wouldn't have understood the problem if Matt hadn't posted the pic and you hadn't commented on it. Now I understand things completey.

Nice job guys!

 

I have a 97 ranger (4.0 4x4 auto) that every once in a while the overdrive light flashes on and off and the truck won't move. If you shut it off for aboout 2 minutes its fine. I've read on here about the valve body and tired to go to the link that is set up, but, the page times out. I wondering if someone would be able to give me a link to it and let me know if this might be the problem. Thanks

 

Try this:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/article/...dy_Gasket.html

 

I have a 2001 SC 4x4 auto 4 liter. I've read all the posts here, but still unsure of what my problem might be. I have the condition where the truck winds out more than usual shifting from 1st to 2nd and an occasional "hard" shift sometimes. But, no problems w/ OD or ABS lights and I do have 1st gear engine braking, although I'me not sure if it brakes as much as it should. Iread the posts talking about the connector under the seat that COULD cause shifting problems if it was corroded, but mine looked fine.
Any suggestions??