Transmission being not so happy (auto)

[Drunkenturtles]

For now, I have an 05 gt (used) with about 140k miles. The car run great 90% of the time, but if I run it a little too long or hard the tranny starts acting up. Normally, second and third gear. Some of the issues is delayed or slow shifting, not wanting to down shift, some times those specific gears grind, and hard shifting.

I'm thinking about resetting the ECU, change fluids, maybe a tune, but what else could help?

 

[DieHarder]

2 questions: From your description I'm assuming it's an auto?

1) When was the last time you changed transmission fluid?
2) Have the transmission bands ever been adjusted?

If you're hearing gears grind in an auto that's not a good sign. Recommend getting a professional to take a look at it to diagnosis what may be happening to it.

 

[Drunkenturtles]

2 questions: From your description I'm assuming it's an auto?

1) When was the last time you changed transmission fluid?
2) Have the transmission bands ever been adjusted?

If you're hearing gears grind in an auto that's not a good sign. Recommend getting a professional to take a look at it to diagnosis what may be happening to it.

I'm gonna change the fluid, though my mechanic took a look at it and said it was fine.
The bands have never been messed with, so maybe that's a thing too. I'll start with the easy things, reset ECU and fluid change, then I'll see about the bands. Tbh, if my trans does blow up it won't be such a big loss because I got the car for 6k. Though, I'll definitely get a professional to look at it.

 

[stv_huff]

The transmission doesn’t have a dipstick so what did he check?

 

[Drunkenturtles]

The transmission doesn’t have a dipstick so what did he check?

He lifted the car and checked the fluid directly. At this point, I think all I'm gonna do (sometime next week) is to change the fluid and reset the ECU. If the trans grenades, I'll replace it. Surprisingly, it'll cost me less to replace the trans than it cost me to replace the chain. Hey, maybe I'll take that as an opportunity to put on an x-pipe or cat-back since you gotta take those things out to replace the transmission.

 

[DieHarder]

Recommend adjusting the transmission bands: Adjusting bands is a 20 - 40 min procedure you can do with an inch pound torque wrench. With a 140K it probably needs to be adjusted and may help resolve the shifting issues at least.

There are two adjustment bolts with lock nuts on the drivers side of the 5R55 transmission. They have square ends with lock nuts. The front one adjusts overdrive; the rear intermediate gears. First, mark the bolts with a line across the face with a silver marker so you can tell position when it is turned.

All you have to do is loosen the lock nut; then using an inch pound torque wrench and the proper size socket torque the bolt down to 128 inch pounds (~ 10 foot pounds). Then using an open-ended wrench back the bolt off 1.5 to 2 full turns (latest update is 1.5 turns) and last keeping the bolt from turning tighten the lock nut to 40 ft lbs.



In Summary: If you end up doing the band adjustment, it's, loosen the lock nut, tighten the center bolt to 10-15 ft/lbs, back off 1.5 turns, then tighten the lock nut to 40 ft lbs while holding the center bolt to keep it from moving. The number of turns was in debate for some time but the latest info is 1.5 turns. DO NOT let the center bolts back out too much or you could end up dropping the seating surface of the band. If that happens you may not have any other choice but to drop the transmission, pull the TC and Trans Pump to gain access to the bands themselves and reseat the adjustment bolts. (borrowed from Mustang Forum).

If you don't feel comfortable with the procedure take it to your local mechanic. Shouldn't be too much for them to do it for you.

 

[Drunkenturtles]

Recommend adjusting the transmission bands: Adjusting bands is a 20 - 40 min procedure you can do with an inch pound torque wrench. With a 140K it probably needs to be adjusted and may help resolve the shifting issues at least.

There are two adjustment bolts with lock nuts on the drivers side of the 5R55 transmission. They have square ends with lock nuts. The front one adjusts overdrive; the rear intermediate gears. First, mark the bolts with a line across the face with a silver marker so you can tell position when it is turned.

All you have to do is loosen the lock nut; then using an inch pound torque wrench and the proper size socket torque the bolt down to 128 inch pounds (~ 10 foot pounds). Then using an open-ended wrench back the bolt off 1.5 to 2 full turns (latest update is 1.5 turns) and last keeping the bolt from turning tighten the lock nut to 40 ft lbs.



In Summary: If you end up doing the band adjustment, it's, loosen the lock nut, tighten the center bolt to 10-15 ft/lbs, back off 1.5 turns, then tighten the lock nut to 40 ft lbs while holding the center bolt to keep it from moving. The number of turns was in debate for some time but the latest info is 1.5 turns. DO NOT let the center bolts back out too much or you could end up dropping the seating surface of the band. If that happens you may not have any other choice but to drop the transmission, pull the TC and Trans Pump to gain access to the bands themselves and reseat the adjustment bolts. (borrowed from Mustang Forum).

If you don't feel comfortable with the procedure take it to your local mechanic. Shouldn't be too much for them to do it for you.

^^ really interesting info, I'll definitely talk with him about doing that. I'm not comfortable nor do I have the right tools for the job, but this taught me something new
I'll have him change the fluid and adjust the bands, might as well do the diff fluids cuz there's no way that was taken care of for the 145K mile life of that car.

 

[DieHarder]

If you do the differential ensure they add the exact friction modifier Ford calls for in addition to the diff gear oil. If they don't you could end up with a noisy differential or worse.

 

[DieHarder]

If that doesn't help it's fairly likely that the servo bores on the right/passenger side of the transmission have worn out and fluid is leaking past the rods. For more detail on the problem and fix:

At that point I'd say probably easiest to swap it with a re-manufactured transmission. Or, if you're really adventurous a rebuild kit is $75 - $400 depending on what you need. The major cost of course is labor to tear it down and put it back together unless you happen to have a friend who rebuilds transmissions. And, since it's apart replace all of the clutches/steels while you're in there. Good Luck.

 

[DieHarder]

Spoke too soon regarding getting a remanufactured transmission... Instead, according to the gentlemen on the video if the bores are worn there is a bore servo pin replacement kit that he claims is permanent and extremely easy to replace. No teardown required. Watch the video and See below. May save you a lot of money...;D

Published on Aug 29, 2015
To clarify this is a permanent fix in such that even a new case or sleeving the case will wear out in time same as the o-rings on these modified servos. The o-rings are also available separately.
For more information check out their website Here-
http://www.fordservoboretransmissionf...
Step by Step install video Here-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHplw...
Common Symptoms-
-Shift flare into 2nd, 3rd and 5th gears.
-Happens more so when hot.
-Letting off the throttle usually allows trans to shift.

Common Dtc's associated with worn servo bores:
P0732 2nd gear ratio error
P0733 3rd gear ratio error
P0735 5th gear ratio error
P0775 PCB solenoid or circuit fault
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[Drunkenturtles]

Gotta say, I learned a lot of useful information from this thread. It's reassuring that my trans has hope and wouldn't be hopeless to fix or even replace.