What did YOU do today?

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Truth.

So total tangent (sorry if there's a thread for this question) but

What is up with 5R55E? As I look through the market I am reading about the post-2001 transmissions. I know they can be "maintained" with high miles, but are these transmissions that bad?

I really just want to stay with a manual but so hard to find. My wife wants an automatic but she may just have to continue to live with me disappointing her

So, as @sgtsandman mentioned, the 5R is a descendent of the 4R which is a descendant of the A4LD. These transmissions like to be serviced and kept cool. Neither of which most people worry about. Two of the bands are externally adjustable and should be adjusted every 25-50k. Fluid and filter probably every 50k. I also highly recommend a shift kit to help with the somewhat sloppy shifts, which also produce heat.

My 92 with an A4LD that was considerably sloppy, I put a new torque converter in it at about 170k along with a shift kit set at near maximum performance and all the mods I could throw at it short of pulling the transmission completely apart. It would light up the tires after that if you hit the gas too hard… night and day difference. It would still be on the road if someone wouldn’t have hit me…

 

[JoshT]

So I look for a unicorn. You know, old guy who garaged it and just went back and forth into town?

You, have to be careful with finding those unicorns too. People go searching out "low mile" vehicles and wonder why things start leaking and falling apart when they start driving it regularly. Parts can go bad just as much from sitting as from being used.

In cases like these unicorns, while sitting there with limited use seals start shrinking and deteriorating, rings get stuck, rust starts forming, etc. When you start using it, thise things start failing and causing problems. It can be hard to tell if something drove 5 miles once a week for 20 years,

Also those short 5-10 mile trips that the old guy took can be bad for wear. Short trips like that the engine and drivetrain never get properly warmed up which isn't good for wear and can lead to condensation inside things like the crankcase and transmission. Condensation inside the crank case is never a good thing and since the oils and fluids never fully warm up, it doesn;t p[roperly burn off like it would on longer drives.

Not trying to deter you from seeking out the low mile unicorn, just want you to be aware that they can come with their own set of problems. If you find a nice truck with high miles, don't necessarily pass it over due to fear of future transmission work. Consider if the price and budget allows for rebuilding in a few years. If it does, buy it, run it until it breaks, and get it fixed. If you find a good rebuilder it'll be like new and probably last the life of the truck if properly maintained from that point.

 

[broncc]

Bought a bigger drive for the shop """tv""" so I can store more videos. I have a miniPC on the back of the tv that just shuffles through ~500gb of top gear/retro motorweek/video option/hot version/top truck challenge/goodwood highlights/crusty demons/and anything other vintage stuff I like. I just turn the TV on and off and its kind of like broadcast TV.

It's a bit easier to stay on task when you don't need to leave the garage for a distraction...

 

[pacstud]

You, have to be careful with finding those unicorns too. People go searching out "low mile" vehicles and wonder why things start leaking and falling apart when they start driving it regularly. Parts can go bad just as much from sitting as from being used.

In cases like these unicorns, while sitting there with limited use seals start shrinking and deteriorating, rings get stuck, rust starts forming, etc. When you start using it, thise things start failing and causing problems. It can be hard to tell if something drove 5 miles once a week for 20 years,

Also those short 5-10 mile trips that the old guy took can be bad for wear. Short trips like that the engine and drivetrain never get properly warmed up which isn't good for wear and can lead to condensation inside things like the crankcase and transmission. Condensation inside the crank case is never a good thing and since the oils and fluids never fully warm up, it doesn;t p[roperly burn off like it would on longer drives.

Not trying to deter you from seeking out the low mile unicorn, just want you to be aware that they can come with their own set of problems. If you find a nice truck with high miles, don't necessarily pass it over due to fear of future transmission work. Consider if the price and budget allows for rebuilding in a few years. If it does, buy it, run it until it breaks, and get it fixed. If you find a good rebuilder it'll be like new and probably last the life of the truck if properly maintained from that point.

Thanks. And tbf, my current ranger had 180k when I got it, and at the time it was only 7 years old. I've put that on it again so...

At some point I'll just roll the dice and know that I need a war chest to fix the inevitable repairs.

 

[scotts90ranger]

As with most tuesday nights it was project night with my brother, normally working on his projects... as per normal for farm equipment he had an issue tonight on an implement where a tire exploded... I don't blame it, it was old enough to be a passenger tire with only nylon cords but still be metric dimensions but a 185R14... conveniently the tube wasn't completely shot, took 3 patches to scab it back together but ended up at my shop since I have a slew of junk tires (decades newer than anything he had in 14...) and the one I just pulled off the boat trailer just had a sidewall hole so fine with a tube and was dismounted in the shop driveway .

Also worked on the #2 misfire code on his '11 2.5L Escape, thought we found it when there was oil up to the boot on that cylinder spark plug so we changed that plug, then coil but on the drive to my shop it still misfired and always on #2 so we took the 10 minutes to swap the #1 and 2 injectors. I'm hoping it's not valvetrain...