2000 Ford Explorer O/D light flashing!!!

[melissame106]

Hi there, very new to this, I have been reading all the posts and today is the first day that my o/d light started flashing. My trans has been slipping for a while now usually in 2nd & 3rd gear. The streets are slippery today and my car slipped and the next thing I know the o/d light is flashing. Does this sound like the same problem?? Also my ABS light is on I just had my brakes (all of them) done - they're saying it is the rear drive sensor..

[Rich9690]

Hey guys, I have a 1995 Ford Explorer Xlt 4wd. I have the flashing overdrive light problem too. I had the transmission rebuilt also with the torque converter. about 4 months later i got the flashing overdrive light and the car let me sitting along the highway. I got it towed to my house. I pulled the transmission to find the center of the flywheel has broken out. I then replaced the flywheel and and i got the flashing overdrive light again. Its movable, i drove for about 25 miles but it shifts at about 5500 rms and slams into every gear. What should i start throwing my dollars into now?

[jeffelli]

Well, add me to the list of Exlporer owners with the flashing O/D light. Just bought the car off the owner last evening and drove it home, about 35 miles. It seemed to drive fine. I bought the vehicle for my son for college so I drove it to work today to test drive a little more, again about 35 miles. Half way through the trip I got the flashing O/D. I'm at work now and I'm going to remove the negative terminal from the battery during lunch to see if this helps. Otherwise, it appears I'm screwed. The way I read all of the comments, the possibilities are:
1) bad speed sensor
2) bad wiring to the speed sensor
3) bad torque converter
4) bad valve body gasket
5) complete rebuild needed
I listed them in what I feel is in the order of expense, lowest to highest.
Wish me luck...

[spliceman]

I have an 02 mountaineer and I also had the O/D light flashing, $2200 and a tranny rebuild later I thought it was fixed. My wife doesnt drive very far to work, so the first time we drove a distance after the service, the transmission shifted hard down from second to first. The shop has since replaced a solenoid pack and an "intake device" and it still is doing the same thing. If someone else has had this problem, I could sure use some advice.

[Franco2112]

Spliceman,
I had the same problem with my 1996 Explorer. After the second rebuild it stayed in the shop for a month. Finally the shop gave me a partial refund because they were at their wits end on how to fix it smooth. They fixed it enough to drive it without any codes popping up, but it still was not like when i first bought it. A month later i sold it. Headache gone!

[cubiclycontained]

this is my second explorer with the same problems as everyone else here, what i learned from one of my old mechanics, i had previously owned a 93 explorer that had well over 250,000 miles on it before the transmission went on that one but it had the o/d light going on all the time, with my second explorer a 2001 xls, i started having problems with the o/d light and transmission slippage just over 70,000 miles. what i did was as long as i started and drove the truck like it had a manual transmission, going from 1st to 2nd then finally putting it into drive i could go anywhere, long trips etc, until i put the truck in park i have to do the samething everytime(you dont have to do this everytime you stop though,only when the trucks been in park),ive never had the o/d light go on and i get very little slippage now im somewhere around the 155,000 range, one thing i would also recommend you do is to buy 2 bottles of the lucas transmission fix and go to any place like lube express or something and drain the fluid and put in the 2 bottles of lucas and fill the rest with new transmission fluid. most garages will prob tell you to get a new transmission,its worked for both my explorers i couldnt tell you why the o/d light problem and transmission slipping are related but they seem to be, try this first and see if you get the same results as i did.

[silentcode]

I have a 2000 explorer xlt with 110,000 miles on it. I noticed my flashing O/D a week ago but it is sporadic. However, I can feel something different in my transmission, like a sudden but short spike in my rpm. I have been driving with this condition for a week now and I'm still researching on all possible causes and solution before I have the mechanic play around with my transmission and shed lots of money in his repair shop. Btw, all my gears (1,2, D and R) are functioning. Will let you know what happens.

[okhedher]

thanks sherri,i'm omar from dubai,i've the same problem and i'm going to solve it according to your case.

[Kelwood80]

Hey everyone, I didn't read all the posts but I did a lot of research on this myself because of the same thing. Fortunately, there IS an easy cheap fix. I have heard every excuse there is about this problem and how people have taken it to different places and all said different things to fix the same problem! So frustrating!!! How could there be so many different fixes for the same problem? TransGo sells a kit, part #SK 44-55E. It's a shift kit that is about 40 bux shipping included. It upgrades the fluid flow and pressures. The stock valve body gaskets also blow out and from what I've seen; they ALL blow out in the same place. You'll need to get a new valve body plate from the dealer, it's an upgraded version with the gaskets bonded to the plate instead of separate. The instructions that come with the shift kit are VERY vague and are very frustrating to follow, but if you have patience and realize that it's really not that hard, you can fix this problem for about $100. I've been a mechanic for over 20 years; I'm very meticulous and honest. This worked for me...so far. 2-3 shift is still a tad different but 90% better, but the rest of the gears shift real nice. Hope this helps, can't believe the number of people that have been screwed!!!

[expresslube]

I drive an 2002 Explorer with 168,000 miles; it has the 5R55W automatic transmission in it. Like many of you, my O/D light started flashing, and I was getting a hard shift from 2-3. After much research , including from this site, I learned that the problem is NOT solved by replacing the transmission. The problem is solved by replacing the auto trans solenoid pack (drop the pan, replace the solenoid pack, replace the the pan and refill with fluid). I had the repair done for just over $500 - labor & parts. The challenge is finding a transmisson specialist who understands the problem and is willing to do the solenoid replacement INSTEAD of replacing the transmission. My transmission is now shifting silky smooth.

[zx9crazy]

Originally Posted by expresslube

I drive an 2002 Explorer with 168,000 miles; it has the 5R55W automatic transmission in it. Like many of you, my O/D light started flashing, and I was getting a hard shift from 2-3. After much research , including from this site, I learned that the problem is NOT solved by replacing the transmission. The problem is solved by replacing the auto trans solenoid pack (drop the pan, replace the solenoid pack, replace the the pan and refill with fluid). I had the repair done for just over $500 - labor & parts. The challenge is finding a transmisson specialist who understands the problem and is willing to do the solenoid replacement INSTEAD of replacing the transmission. My transmission is now shifting silky smooth.

I have an 2002 and it is shifting hard 1st to 2nd and the o/d light is comming on, Does anyone know what the solenoid pack costs?

[No Overdrive]

Hello all, found this site and reading all the posts. we have a 2000 explorer v-8 awd. last night my wife was driving home from work and said it felt like it went into nuetral so she stopped, switched tho o/d on and off and was able to proceed, but now the o/d light is flashing and there is no overdrive. the transmission shifts fine just just no o/d. I serviced the trans this summer and drove from denver to texas then back with no problems at all. this might be the speed sensor. did anyone still have overdrive when the light was flashing?

[PhilzCamp]

My 1996 Explorer did this but with about 192k miles on it. The manuals state that the OD light will blink when a sensor detects that the transmission and the engine spin at diff speeds, after gear engagement. For me, this meant the Torque converter was going bad. It only did this when I would use the OD. So until I got this fixed, I didn't use OD. But I would say its a bad sensor for a vehicle with 46k on it. Hope you don't need a $2k fix like I did ! But my old '96 XLT has 317k+ miles on it, doesn't burn oil and still runs strong. Good luck !

[jhawk44709]

I see that guys are saying the O/D Light flashing could be from the auto trans solenoid pack.. Would be the best (hoping not ford) to get a new one?

Thanks
Matt
Canton, OH

[PACamp61]

Same problem
Slip between 2-3
Happened 4-5 times and the O/D OFF light starts flashing
$11.00 fix Add 1 bottle of Lucas oil transmission fix
Less than 24 hours later problem gone.