No Reverse!

[Kyle 99Ranger]

All right so here's what happened. I was backing up, up a slight incline and bang! truck came to a dead stop and it fealt like a backed into something so i got out to look around and low and behold... nothing around my truck for at least 20 feet. I got back in the truck to go back again took my foot off the brake hit the gas pedal and nothing happens, i just rolled forward and the engine revved up.
Ok, i figured my tranny was just going out but now almost 6 months later nothing has changed. I thought it might be a worn boost valve so i bought a new one that was supposed to bump up the trans pressures more than stock for firmer shifts... Got nice crisp fast shifting but still no reverse!
I tried jacking the truck up in the air before i replaced the boost valve and disconnected the shift linkage on the side of the trans, started the truck and shifted from Park all the way to 1st manually putting a wrench on the shift linkage to turn the selector. I could hear the trans fluid hiss for a short moment then the clunk when it would engage from Neutral to Drive. But when i went from Neutral to Reverse it would make the same noise but never engage fully, it drags just enough to barely turn the wheels in reverse.

A couple of my collegues at work suggested that maybe my valve body is worn? Anyways any suggestions would be greatly appreciated this is driving me crazy! I have even tried driving her hard a couple months ago to try to get the tranny to slip but it wont do it so I think the transmission is still good for now but they are not my strong suit so correct me if i am wrong haha.

Sorry for the long ass post just wanted to give you guys all the details that might help.

By the way the truck is: 99 Ranger, 3.0l 4X4, ext. cab. I believe the transmission is the 4R44E

 

[Fordman]

Low reverse band servo cover gasket may have blown out. Cant explain why forward still works, except I've seen it before. The low roller clutch may be holding in place of the band for forward I suppose.

 

[Bruce]

I think the band broke....the low reverse band only holds in manual low..other wise the sprag holds in all other gears.

 

[Fordman]

Possible, but I have seen extremely few low reverse bands failing. Had one come to be...no reverse . Forward worked fine. Ended up being the low rev servo cover bolts backed out.

I think the band broke....the low reverse band only holds in manual low..other wise the sprag holds in all other gears.

 

[Bruce]

He said it went bang like he hit something....loose bolts or blown cover gasket would not go bang.

 

[fordmandan87]

it seems like the low reverse band broke. they are under lots of pressure so a bang usually is heard. fyi it is in the bottom of the tranny

 

[Bent Bolt]

Pull it into MAN 1 and see if you have engine braking.

 

[Fordman]

True. It would have shown up a little more gradual also. I just figured that since he had it under a bit of a load, the sudden release {what ever the cause} of load off the driveline could have caused the bang. It is interesting though. I've done a ton of these, havent seen a broken low rev band yet. Broken servo piston, broken cover bolts, loose bolts yes.

He said it went bang like he hit something....loose bolts or blown cover gasket would not go bang.

 

[snoman6115]

its gotta be ur reverse band, that happened to me bout a month ago. backin up and bang no more reverse but forward would work and it seemed like it was jumping when i shifted into drive right? well luckily my dad has a bunch of buddies who do tranny worka nd they got me a heck of a deal to fix it.

 

[Kyle 99Ranger]

Thanks you guys for the help! Guess I will be pulling the trans and taking it to a shop... Kind of figured i would be anyways haha!

 

[Kyle 99Ranger]

Pull it into MAN 1 and see if you have engine braking.

when i put it in 1 going down a hill or just going down the road it acts like i put it in neutral until i bring the RPM's up to match my speed then it acts like it pops into gear and accelerates until i let off the gas, where again it returns to a normal idle even though its going down the road. I have gotten alot of surprised, and almost dumbfounded reactions to this problem i am having when i tell anybody about it. Especially when i tell them I have been driving the truck nearly every day now for close to 6 months I think haha!