2000 Ranger 3.0 Automatic. Trans jerking in OD. Now squealing and hard shifts.

Help Master Mechanics...Been following the forums for years but I am lost now on what the problem I have.

Spent hours trying to find out what trans I have. Ford dealer ran the vin and says I have a 4r55e. www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/AutoTrans.html says I have a 4r44e. Pepboys says I have a 5r55e. Not sure if it identifies it but this is on the trans.. RFXL2P-7006-AB 750Nm. 95GT-7A040-8A.

On to the strange problem. Its been running a little rough and once in a while I will get misfire codes from Cylinder 1&6 . Just started to notice when the car is in OD doing about 60mph it will jerk or serge a little. I thought maybe it was the misfire. If I turn off the OD it does not do it anymore.. Been getting worse last few weeks. Have never had any codes for transmission. Have had a few on O2 sensors error codes.

So I replaced all three O2 sensors and then the new problem started. I drove it once with the new sensors and rand about the same. I turned the car off and when starting and driving again I noticed the motor was much louder and shifted harder in all the gears. Also it started to squeal a little. Once it gets into OD its kind of ok but if push off the OD button is squeals getting back into drive.

So since it got much worse after putting the new O2 sensors I decide to put the old ones back in. Well it switched back to normal and much smoother also the motor was quiet again and shifted the same with light jerking in OD.

Now I put back in each new O2 sensor and drove it before putting the next to see if one sensor was bad. But I put all three and was fine. Then after driving for 20 miles when I was playin with the OD button it got loud again and squealing again. I disconnected the battery for 2 hours to see if it would reset and no luck.

So what do you think? Sticking solenoid? Maybe MAF going bad? I got new oil and filter ready to install and bought a 1/4 drive torque so I can adjust the OD Band. Not sure if I should put a shift kit and change solenoids and valve body gasket.? I would hate to do all this and have the same problem and need a full rebuild.

I will also try disconnecting MAf and see if it drives different. Again no codes using my AutoXray scanner.

Anyone got any ideas? Thanks....


2000 Ford Ranger
V6 3.0 flex fuel
2 WD
Automatic trans
250,000 miles
Only owned it for 20k miles
Fluid level good
No Leaks
Only codes I get is Cylinder 1&6 misfire
Just changed all 3 O2 Sensors

Casting on trans.
RFXL2P-7006-AB
750Nm. 95GT-7A040-8A

Vin Number
1FTYR14V4YTB11441

If your OD light is not flashing at any time, I doubt its the trans. Start with the squealing, check your serpentine belt and belt tensioner.
The misfire. Check/replace your spark plugs, make sure to gap them correctly (dont use bosch)
The 4r55e is a 4 speed, the 5r55e is a 5 speed, count the number of gears you have. You should have the 5r55e...

SVT

I have a 2001 Edge with 3.0 & auto. I believe the trans in my truck is the 5R44E. The first digit is the number of forward gears (4 versus 5), so that should be easy to determine. AFAIK, the 5R55E goes behind the 4.0 engine (only). So, either your truck has a 4R44E or 5R44E. I forget when Ford switched from the 4 speed to the 5 speed. 1999?

Also, check the Cam Position Sensor. If your truck has more than 100K miles, and it's never been changed, do it (regardless).

Update. I tried a new oem MAF and no change. I also adjusted both bands on the transmission. Still have the same problem. The motor is still loud and sounds like it working hard like pulling a trailer up hill. But with the problem switching on and off leads me to think its electronic . Experts please help... What could I try next?

Forget everything you know about adjusting automatic transmissions. Ever since rbv's went OBD2 everything is electronically controlled. The bands don't need adjustment (unless its been recently gone through). If you have a driveability issue, its not fixed by adjusting things mechanically, with the transmission at least. Hope you haven't caused your transmission to self destruct. That being said...

Have you done a tuneup? Have you checked/replaced your serpentine belt?

SVT