4r44e swap to 5r44e??

ttranger · Aug 8, 2009

Hello,
ok heres the deal i have a 96 ranger 3.0 2wd. The trans went out and i could only find a 5r55e out of a 98. They look identical and from what i've been able to read are interchangeable. I had to swap the bell housing so i put the new front pump on the older bell housing because the newer front pump has the new needle bearing design. So that was no problem. THen i had to swap the tailshaft housings because the speed sensors were different and the wiring harness wouldn't plug up. That was no problem either. Also i swapped over the neutral safety switch which also was fine. Now i've filled the tranny and started it up and i have absolutely no gears. i've let it run for 30 minutes putting it through the gears and NOTHING. Now it seems to me that it has to be electrical. Does anybody have any ideas? Thanks in advance.

Bruce · Aug 8, 2009

If you check the oil level before you start it up take note to where the oil is on dipstick wipe dipstick off put back in tube and start it up and check oil while running to see if oil level goes down cause even with electrical plug unhooked it should do something like reverse or some kind of forward.

Roadkill · Aug 9, 2009

What about the transmission controller? I would imaging they are different seeing as one is a 4 speed and the other is a 5 speed.

ttranger · Aug 9, 2009

yeah i put in 4 quarts and checked it then i turned it on and it sucked some in a little that's why i ruled out the front pump. i left the converter in the truck so i didn't want to overfill so that's why i turned on after 4 quarts to make sure i didn't overfill. The plug on the side that goes to the valve body harness is the exact same pin configuration so i doubt is has anything to do with that. From what i've read the valve body is the same. The "5th" gear is achieved by overdriving 1st under a load so it should shift 1-3-4-5 with my PCM which would be the exact same gear ratios as the 4r44e shifting 1-2-3-4. I'm stuck. Your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you!!

ttranger · Aug 9, 2009

Is there a possibility that the front pump design is different on the back side? Because i had to swap the bell housings and the 5r55e front pump has the needle bearing design. So, i had to swap the front pumps over. From what i could tell when doing this there is only one was the bolt holes line up. Am i correct?

Bruce · Aug 9, 2009

The front pump design was changed but it only affected the cooler flow. If you only put 4 quarts in an empty transmission its not near enough fluid. If you had the pump apart and you didnt have the pump gear alignment tool it will bust the pump gear, thats why i asked about the fluid level. As far as the electronics it should work except for 2 gear(the overdriven 1st gear). Try unplugging connector and see what happens.

ttranger · Aug 9, 2009

i didn't drain the converter so i figured there would be some fluid left in the converter. So i put in 4 quarts and turned the engine on in Park. It sucked some fluid in and i l put in another quart. I then let it warm up and checked it. It was about a quart low so i put in another quart. All in all a total of 6 quarts. I do not have any alignment tool. Could you elaborate on that please?

Runnin'OnEmpty · Aug 9, 2009

Did you remove the valve body?
If so, the gear engagement linkage is
tricky to get back in place, and easy to
be left unconnected, in which case you'll
have no gear engagement......

ttranger · Aug 9, 2009

no i didn't touch the valve body. i just swapped the bell housings and since the front pumps are different i just swapped over the front pump. i didn't take the pump apart, i just unbolted it and swapped it over to the other bell housing.

Bent Bolt · Aug 10, 2009

Did you install the input shaft when you swapped pumps ??

ttranger · Aug 17, 2009

update: i pulled the trans out again. I took the front pump off and found that the inner notch on the pump gear was sheared off. Now my question is do i need to get that alignment tool? Becaue my buddy says they never uses a tool and that i didn't have the torque converter complete lined up. I didn't take the converter out when i did this the first time. So i think that if i pull the converter out and make sure it is completed seated when i put the trans back then i should be ok right? So, do i need to get that tool or not?

Bent Bolt · Aug 17, 2009

Yes you do.

ttranger · Aug 18, 2009

man that sucks!! 70$ for a tool i will only use once. Thank you for the info!!

swamprat · Aug 18, 2009

ttranger said:
man that sucks!! 70$ for a tool i will only use once. Thank you for the info!!

Cant you get one from Advance in the rent a tool program?

ttranger · Aug 20, 2009

i don't think so. i checked pep boys and they didn't have it available.

4r44e swap to 5r44e??

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