Body of Evidence
- Subject: Changes to valve body & separator plate
- Unit: 5R55S
- Vehicle Application: Ford trucks and SUVs
- Essential Reading: Rebuilder, Diagnostician
- Author: Jeff Parlee
In 2009, Ford changed the casting of the 5R55S valve body and changed the separator plate as well.
The rough-forging number on the 2009-and-up 5R55S valve body is RF9L2P 7A101AA, and the date casting is 09. There are changes to the worm tracks in the valve-body casting, and the separator-plate hole sizes have been reduced in the VFS1 and VFS2 oil circuits. The 2009 casting uses two checkballs in the same locations as in the earlier 5R55S/W.
There is currently one TSB for the 2009-and-up 5R55S valve body, bulletin # 09-21-4 with a date of 11/02/09. The TSB addresses a “whistle noise when hot at an idle in all gears.” The fix is to install an updated separator plate, which can be identified by two small ID holes near the servo bore. At the time of this article it is unknown whether the 2009 valve body will retrofit previous years.
Jeff Parlee is director of product support at ValveBody Xpress.