Long story short im rebuilding my transmission. i have no previous knowledge of transmissions other than the fact the people seem to be scared of them lol. i have ordered the rebuild kit and all three bands. I have started pulling it apart but i have only gotten the first drum out and have pulled the friction and steel plates out. now the rebuild book and other sources have said that the 5r443, 5r55e, 4r44e and the 4r55e are identical transmissions aside from the actual parts are just different in size. The rebuild kit also states that the kit may seem slightly different because this is the same trans that they have built since 1997 so the kit contains more updated parts from over the years. but seeing as how my ranger is an 09 i wouldn't expect to see to many differences in the kit v. my trans. when i pulled the the first drum apart, i noticed that the first steel plate is almost a 1/4" thick. the kit and the book how ever doesn't include nor mention a steel plate that thick. All the steel plates are the same size except the the ones in the reverse drum. Does anyone know if i have to replace that first plate with another one the same thickness or can i follow the book and add another steel and friction plate instead. im just starting to worry that i have gotten the wrong book and kit. I know the book says they have to be a certain thickness all together but im just concerned about that first steel plate being that thick. any help at all is much needed.