4r55E Problems

[FarmerJohn]

1999 Ford Ranger 4.0l Automatic 4wd

Here is the situation. Thanks in advance for your help.

Background:

I had two cracked heads on my engine, so I replaced it with a used engine. When I pulled the engine I pulled the torque converter(TC) with it. When I put the engine back in, I bolted the TC to the flywheel and put the engine in. I turned the engine over in both directions until the bellhousing was flush with the block and then I bolted it together. No engine problems at all, but the transmission is giving me fits.

Problem:

While going down the road, within the first 5-10 miles, the O/D light starts to flash. The tranny goes into it's limp mode and then the tranny shifts hard. I took it to the dealer, they said the torque converter is not good, and maybe more. That's truly absurd. There were no problems before. In doing some reading, I decided maybe I didn't get the TC to seat fully. I thought that maybe the TC was seated into the pump and therefore not driving the pump to give fluid to the TC. Seemed like I just made a rookie mistake. So, I pulled the tranny to reseat the TC. With the tranny off I seated the TC until it hit the bellhousing, everything seemed normal. I pulled the pan to check for fluid and fillings and such. Not really any fillings or major clutch dust to speak of. A few sparkles, nothing out of the ordinary for 175k miles. I buttoned everything up, and put the tranny back in. The problems persists. By the way, when the O/D light is flashing, no OBD code is present. I have checked many times.

Question:

In doing more reading, I am going to investigate the following possiblities:

- TPS not giving correct readings - possible since it's a different engine
- TCC Solenoid - not likely, it was fine before
- Brake Switch - again, it worked before
- I'm going to pull a cooler line to confirm that the tranny is pumping fluid
- I will disconnect the battery and allow the computer to reset

What else should I be looking at? Did I mess up the pump during the first install? Did I screw up the TC? Shouldn't there be fillings in the ATF if I did? Anyone else had similar issues? Thanks for your help.

 

[Explorin94]

How hot did the engine get with the 2 cracked heads? An overheating engine will kill the transmission.
What code is the transmission blinking? Is it a lockup code? You won't get an engine (OBD) code from the transmission. You would never had got the Bellhousing bolts to tighten up if the TC wasn't in all the way. Although you may have destroyed the front pump and it would seem like a bad TC to Ford. Do the battery thing but I think your problem is here to stay untill you read the codes that the transmission is putting out.

 

[FarmerJohn]

The engine didn't get terribly hot. It was still on the gauge, and only for a short amount of time. And I would think that if it got too hot it would change the fluid color, and the tranny fluid look healthy. How do I check the tranny codes?

 

[Explorin94]

Same as you would the Engine. But you may need to take it to a shop with a Modis or equivalent code scanner.

 

[FarmerJohn]

Update:

I pulled off a cooler line today and the tranny pumped lots of fluid. So I think the pump is still functioning. I removed the TPS and replaced it with the one off the old engine. No change. I also pulled the negative battery cable off for about 15 min to reset the computer. No change. Any other ideas as far as what I should be looking for?

I have an Innova 3100c for a code reader. In doing some research, it doesn't read tranny codes. It looks like a 3130 will read tranny codes. Can anyone confirm this?

Thanks

 

[reds61on]

One other thing that can cause this problem, without throwing a code, is the MLPS (Manual Lever Position Sensor) also known as the Neutral Safety Switch. I had this problem with my 1996 Bronco. It would not throw a code and if I stopped, turned it off, and then restarted it the O/D light would quit flashing. Only to come back the next time I came to a hill and had the OD on. I too tried the TPS first but to no avail. Of course that was a full size Bronco with the E4OD. That one was located on the drivers side of the tranny by the linkage. Not sure if that is it but letting you know of another possibility.