backdraft1

tranny
I HAVE A 1996 FORD EXPLORER..HAD TRANSMISSION FLUILD CHANGE AT 100K....WHEN I START IN THE MORNING IT SEEMS LIKE IT IS PUSHING INTO DRIVE.. THE. I DRIVE AND IT GO TO 1ST, 2ND, THEN IT START IDLE UP THE RPM GO HIGH THEN IT KICKS INTO 3RD GEAR...I CHANGE THE FILTER AND IT DO IT BUT NOT MUCH.. CAN ANY HELP

Opera House

Did this happen before the filter was changed? Explain what pushing into drive means.
Have you noticed any erratic movements of the speedometer?
Does the transmission seem solid in manual low and 2?

backdraft1

when i start the truck, it go to 1st, 2nd, 3rd, but going to 4th it start slipping and rpm jump from 2500 to 5000 not going into 4th until i come off the gas. one tech said something about a trottle body value was staying open, between 3rd and 4th gear.
pushing mean: throwing itself into gear.it does this at about 40 to 45 mph. the speed does not go up til it go into 4th gear. it do this only when you have started from a freash start. the filer was change afer i first notice this, and the problem is still going on.

backdraft1

if i do it manual it still slip between 3rd and 4th gear.

Opera House

The 4R55E is kind of an orphan transmission that was only made for two years. It is basically an A4LD mechanically so hard part failures are the same, but I don't have a manual to give valve body details on it. The earlier A4LD had a 3-4 shift solenoid that had a metal screen that would clog and cause these problems. A manual is available fro www.bulkpart.com for $16 that has several pages of diagnostics. A basic seal kit is available for about $30 if you are thinking about dropping the valve body and cleaning it. Don't try this without a manual or tip the body over, things fall out.

cubboy

It's called the Valve Body and it is like a computer in the tranny. I'm guessing that you have a five speed tranny, which is a four with the 1st gear and OD to make up the third gear, at least this is what I'm told. This seems to be quite frequent with Ford Explorer, and Ford knew that this part was going to be bad. It costs about $600 and you can only get a quality one from Ford. Nice monopoly. I called Ford and filed an official grievance, maybe if enough people do, they'll do a recall. Hopefully you were taking you foot off the gas right it before it would shift, at least then you clutch wouldn't burn out (that's about $2000). Good luck.

djcad2005

This message describes my problem exactly. My O/D light starting flashing suddenly and when I'd start slowing down to about 18-20mph it seemed as if the transmission was slipping. I had my transmission flushed and filter changed even though the mechanic said it wouldn't help and that I needed a new tranny. After 2 days the transmission went back to normal and was shifting even smoother then before. The O/D light stopped flashing. All seemed good. A week later (today) I was driving on the highway going about 60 when I started noticing the speedometer going crazy. It was jumping up and down to 40 then to 50 up to even 100. But my all else felt the same. Then after that went on for a few minutes gears seemed as if they were trying to follow what the speedometer was saying. Third gear was as far as it would go. O/D off light started up again. This is very confusing because even though it seems the transmission is messing up it almost seems like computer problem or a glitch. Any help would be greatly appreciated because this seems like a tricky fix and mechanics might not narrow it down.

dxrflyboy

The erratic speedo seems to indicate a faulty vehicle speed sensor. Because the trans. is electronically controlled, the PCM relies on an accurate speed signal from the VSS to know what gear to put the trans. in. Unfortunately, the VSS may have been damaged by an internal trans. failure. Hopefully, it's just a faulty VSS.