Spring Season - Transmission Digest

Main Navigation

Advertisement
Social Connect
Resources
Our Brand Family
Transmission Digest - Babcox Media
Helping transmission shops achieve successful and profitable operation.
Automatic Transmission

Spring Season

A 2006 FORD Explorer with a 4.0 engine using the 5R55W/S type transmission came back to Jeremy at Warren Transmissions 8 months after the original rebuild. The customer stated that all was good prior to climbing a hill when it felt like he was losing power and the engine began to rev quite high like the trans was slipping. Customer said he managed to nurse it home.

Wayne Colonna
By Wayne Colonna
Published:

Technically Speaking

  • Author: Wayne Colonna
  • Subject Matter: 5R55W/S
  • Issue: Slipping

A 2006 FORD Explorer with a 4.0 engine using the 5R55W/S type transmission came back to Jeremy at Warren Transmissions 8 months after the original rebuild. The customer stated that all was good prior to climbing a hill when it felt like he was losing power and the engine began to rev quite high like the trans was slipping. Customer said he managed to nurse it home.

Related Articles

When brought to the shop, truck would barely move if even if you revved the engine. The pan was clean when dropped, but the ATF was black and had a nasty stink of converter failure.

The unit was completely disassembled but had no internal hard part, clutch or seal damage evident. The converter was badly burnt and the paint was peeling off.

The oil cooler was checked and flushed to verify proper operation with no problems found. Transmission was completely cleaned, reassembled and installed with a new converter and seemed to be engaging and shifting normally on the lift with the wheels off of the ground but it still would not pull with the wheels on the ground.

Checks were then made with the TRS and speed sensor with a scan tool and all seemed to be functioning properly. At a stop in gear, the TSS, ISS and OSS read zero. The TSS did show RPM when the engine was revved in Park or Neutral and would stop when shifted into gear indicating the clutch and gear train were holding. Oil pressure was good and it did feel like it engaged but still no pull. Scan tool data for the TSS would seem to indicate the problem was still with the converter not turning the input shaft.

Jeremy pulled the valve body and exchange it with another one. Removing valves out of the valve bodies in the 5R55E, and the 5R55S/W transmissions can be very difficult. Sometimes damage to the valve body takes place when trying to do so. Putting in a different valve body resolved the problem. Once this became a confirmed fix, the malfunctioning valve body was disassembled for inspection. If it became damaged along the way by pulling out valves, it was headed for the trash anyway. After pulling a couple of the easier valves out, Jeremy found that the Converter Clutch Control Valve Spring was in several pieces. After 13 years this spring reached a season of collapse, which prevented the converter from having its proper supply of fluid. Not the spring season one looks forward to.

You May Also Like

Automatic Transmission

Sherlock Holmes Approach to an AB60 No-Move Situation

The effectiveness in diagnosing automatic transmission malfunctions is an art form. Although there are similarities among the wide varieties of transmissions on the road, each transmission has its own peculiarities. Aside from having mechanical, hydraulic, and electrical hardware systems to contend with, software/programming issues and various vehicle platforms make diagnostics much more difficult.  Using scopes provides

Wayne Colonna
By Wayne Colonna
Published:
ab60

The effectiveness in diagnosing automatic transmission malfunctions is an art form. Although there are similarities among the wide varieties of transmissions on the road, each transmission has its own peculiarities. Aside from having mechanical, hydraulic, and electrical hardware systems to contend with, software/programming issues and various vehicle platforms make diagnostics much more difficult. 

Read Full Article

More Automatic Transmission Posts
GM 6T40 Pump Identification Guide

The 6T40 was introduced in 2008 for General Motors front-wheel-drive cars in the Chevrolet Malibu and has gone through several changes throughout its three generations, specifically in the pump area. The 6T40 is closely related to the more lightweight 6T30 and the heavier duty 6T45 and 6T50. Generation one started phasing out during the 2012

By Jason Larochelle
Seeing the Forest AND the Trees

They say that the proverbial phrase “I couldn’t see the forest for the trees” means that a person or organization cannot see the big picture because it focuses too much on the details. Related Articles – 4L60E Harsh 1-2 Shift – TASC Force Tips: Diagnosing 8L45 & 8L90 Shift Complaints – TASC Force Tips: Hydraulics

By Wayne Colonna
The Manifold Pipeway

The Honda six-speed transmission has been on the bench of many specialty shops for one reason or another (figure 1). But, for those of you who have yet to lay your hands on one, mounted on the upper side of the unit is one of the largest, if not the largest solenoid and pressure switch

By Wayne Colonna
8L90 Vacuum Testing

Below are the diagrams for vacuum testing GM 8L90 transmissions. Note: OE valves are shown in rest position and should be tested in rest position unless otherwise indicated. Test locations are pointed to with an arrow. Springs are not shown for visual clarity. A low vacuum reading indicates wear. For specific vacuum test information, refer

By Sonnax

Other Posts

Sometimes, a diagnostic code is all you need

With ATSG having the opportunity to help shops solve problems, sometimes we get faced with some real doozies. A shop will call and give us a laundry list of DTCs, leaving us to think someone must have a bulkhead connector unplugged. We then go through the arduous task of deciding which codes prompted other codes

By Wayne Colonna
10L80 and 10R80 pump gear differences

You may have seen an article in the August 2023 issue of Transmission Digest called “GM 10L80: A new kind of pump noise,” which goes over how the front cover housing in the 10L80 is fitted with a converter drive gear and idler gear. The idler gear drives the pump’s driven gear, and is press

By Wayne Colonna
Spotting different 68RFE designs through the years to avoid issues

The Chrysler 68RFE has had several changes through the years. Its four-speed predecessor began with a noisy solenoid pack identified by a black colored pass-through case connector (seen in Figure 1).  Related Articles – Shift of the shaft: Diagnosing Chrysler 48RE manual shaft issues – Top 20 Tools and Products: The Winners – Performance supplier

By Wayne Colonna
Sometimes, you should sweat the small stuff

It’s a common phrase: There may have been a time when you worried about something, and someone who knew what you are going through said, “Hey, don’t sweat the small stuff.” Sometimes, this may be good advice. But other times, it may be wise to handle the small stuff before it becomes bigger “stuff.”  Related

By Wayne Colonna