Trans acting up, need help & advice

[JoshT]

Hey guys I have a 99 Ranger 4.0L 4x4 with the 5R55E, the truck currently has ~165K miles. Original engine and transmission, top end on engine has been rebuilt, to my knowledge no major work has ever been done on the transmission. This is not usually a daily driven vehicle so I had forgotten about the transmission slipping a little. Well with my car in the shop due to a wreck I am having to drive this truck back and fourth to work every day, and don't have another way to go.

So today was driving around at work, rather slow speeds (top speed on base is 35mph), and and all of the sudden it started slipping real bad. The O/D Off light started flashing then there was what felt like a very firm shift. After that it didn't slip any more. I drove straight to the local ford dealer, they were talking at least an hour before they could even look at it, and that I would have to leave it with them because from my description the were going to have to remove the transmission and do internal work. Needless to say I climbed back into the truck and left, didn't have time to wait an hour, much less able to leave it with them. When I cranked it back up leaving there the light did not come back on or flash. Thinking about how it stopped slipping after the light started flashing, I turned off the O/D and it hasn't slipped again... yet. I stopped at the closest advance auto and their scanner retrieved no codes. I know that I probably need to adjust the bands and change the fluid, but with school and working full time have not had time to. Now I don't want to throw the stuff at it just to find I have to rebuild/replace the tranny.

FWIW I think the problem has something to do with the O/D portion of the trans. The slipping seems to happen most when the OD solenoid would be engaged. IIRC the shifting solenoid pattern is something like 1 - 1&3 - 1&2 - (none) - 3. With 3 being the O/D solenoid. Seems to me like those probably coincide with when I feel the slipping most.

Any help y'all can give me? I really need this thing to last for the next month, when I should be getting my car back. Can't afford to have it down for repair during that time. Once I have the car back I can look into what needs to be done with the truck.

 

[Fordtruckman80]

Slipping can be caused by many things within the transmission. Even though it seems like an O/D issue, plenty of other problems can manifest themselves as O/D issues. I see that your O/D Off light flashed. Whenever the O/D Off light flashes, it is the equivalent to the engine's CEL. Unfortunately for most Ford owners, the transmission's code system is not held within the ECU, the transmission uses it's own Transmission Control Unit, and this is where the transmission codes are stored. Autozone's code scanners do not have the ability to read Ford transmission codes. You will need to seek out a more advanced scan tool, which can be found at most transmission shops. Most shops will scan the codes for free, as long as you call ahead. Once the scanner is hooked up to the truck, write down any codes that come up. Many times the technician will make suggestions as to what is the problem. And many times these suggestions are wrong. Your best bet is to come back here with the codes and then post them. Once we have the code(s), we'll know the approximate trouble area within the transmission, and more accurate suggestions can be made.

At this moment in time, you are gonna be playing a hit and miss game driving the truck with the O/D Off light flashing. Whenever the O/D Off light is triggered, the trans is placed into "Fail Safe" mode, aka "Limp Home" mode. This means that the transmission control unit applies full fluid pressure from the fluid pump throughout the trans to ensure that the transmission does not slip. This is why your slipping seemed to disappear, and why the shifts got a little rougher. I can't name what exactly happens as i'm not sure, but driving a vehicle with a flashing O/D Off light can be detrimental to the trans. Hopefully your O/D Off light does not return until you get your car back. But in your case, it's probably gonna be hard for it to stay off as your symptoms fall under normal cruising range. It is pretty important that you have the code(s) read as soon as possible.

 

[JoshT]

As said the light went off and never came back. Trans went back to normal operation and did not feel like it was slipping again for the rest of the day. Will see if I can find someplace to get it scanned tomorrow, and post up what I find out.

Just gotta have it to get back and fourth to work till I get the car back. After that I can park the truck till the weather cools off a little and can do the work myself, or work some overtime and pay someone to do it for me. Push comes to shove I'll ride the motorcycle, but with the heat and the traffic I hit every day I don't want to be on two wheels or without A/C.

 

[Fordtruckman80]

As said the light went off and never came back. Trans went back to normal operation and did not feel like it was slipping again for the rest of the day. Will see if I can find someplace to get it scanned tomorrow, and post up what I find out.

Just gotta have it to get back and fourth to work till I get the car back. After that I can park the truck till the weather cools off a little and can do the work myself, or work some overtime and pay someone to do it for me. Push comes to shove I'll ride the motorcycle, but with the heat and the traffic I hit every day I don't want to be on two wheels or without A/C.

Just keep an eye on it. I have heard of hiccups happening. But still get the code scanned just in case.

I hear you man. I had my O/D Off light start flashing on my own truck at just 45,000 miles. I was beyond upset since I use the truck to get to school about 15 minutes away. But my truck was weird and wouldn't always trip the light. I got the code read, trans tech said what he thought it was, $500 dollar repair according to him, I said BS, and just started watching it and diagnosing it myself. I eventually got new tires on the truck, and the light stopped coming on. Eventually I need to explore some more and figure out what wire went loose because that's about all I can think of that would have caused my problems. There are many strange things that can go wrong on these trucks, let's hope yours is as simple as mine was.

 

[JoshT]

Didn't find a trans shop today, the gear heads at work fell through on me for once. I figured someone aught to know of a reputable shop but none did. Will do a Google search tomorrow and stop on the way home.

So far today it has been smooth as can be. No hard shifting, no slipping, no flashing lights. I think it was probably just a hiccup, but still plan to have it checked for codes to be safe.

 

[JoshT]

Another day has gone by with no problems from the transmission. Finally found a shop, apparently I drove right by it yesterday and didn't realize it. They hooked up their scanner and found one code P0731. we took it for a test drive so he could watch something on the scanner and to see if it would do anything again. Nothing happened and apparently he was satisfied with the way it shifted. Got back and he told me that he cleared the code and what happened before was likely either a bad wire connection, or piece of trash causing a solenoid to act up. Also said I shouldn't have any problems but if I do to bring it back and he'll try again.