5R55E problems
 

2005 ranger 5R55E automatic no 4th and 5th or reverse gear. Used 2004 ranger edge for parts. 2004 trans. Had the ISS sensor deleted from the factory. 2005 trans has the extra ISS sensor and factory wiring. I did the ISS bypass by cutting off thd plug and splicing the 2 wires together. After installing 2004 trans. It still has no 4th and 5th gears, but reverse works now. I wonder if I may have a bad solenoid in both transmissions the original trans had 205,000 on it. The replacement has 135,000 on it and was told it was I'm his daily driver working sd was pulled because he was upgrading his edge to a 5.0. what could the possible problem be.
Whatcould be the possible problem?

Welcome to the forum

You have some bad information, well old and applies to just 1 or 2 years in the 5R55Es life, in the 1990s
ISS = input shaft speed sensor in the 1997-1999 5R55E and it was next to bell housing, and was never actually used in the computer, but would set a code if the wires were disconnected, so you just spliced them together, if new trans didn't have that sensor

Picture here of the original ISS location(discontinued in 1999): http://www.atraonline.com/gears/1999...gmar99p49a.jpg

In 2001 Ford added an Intermediate shaft speed(ISS) sensor, totally different, it is in the center of transmission above the shifter, and computer DOES need this sensor, in 2001 and up models

Current ISS location: http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_...0010_large.jpg

Not sure why a 2004 5R55E wouldn't have that, maybe it was an older one(pre-2001) that was swapped in before you got the vehicle

But not the problem of no 4th or 5th
No or slow Reverse is quite common on any automatic, Reverse requires 175psi fluid pressure to engaged, Forward just 125psi
So if there is a pressure drop in the system then Reverse is the FIRST to go, you would also notice some slipping in forward gears usually
If you REV the engine and Reverse "kicks in" then its for sure a pressure issue, transmission's Pump runs at engine RPMs, so higher RPMs = higher pressure if pressure was being lost

Used automatics are a roll of the dice in the best case, so similar failures in the same model are not surprising
You could have a computer issue, so its not shifting correctly, but that wouldn't explain getting reverse back
Or maybe a wiring issue on the trucks transmission harness, try and see if there are any transmission codes, P07XX codes

Thank you so much for all the good information. I think you hit it spot on as it being related to pressure. After I read your post I tried it again but started off by punching the accelerator through the floor and holding it there on a nice straight away and it progressed all the way up to 5th gear. So the gears do work but under normal driving conditions Im not pulling those kind of RPM's. So now that I know that it is a pressure problem what next. Is there a cost effective repair for this problem or am I looking at a total rebuild. I did find another used trans near me with 99k miles on it with a 1 year warranty for 300 dollars. So if the repair on this one is much over that then it's a done deal. On the ISS sensor. I got the used trans home and once side by side I noticed the replacement was missing the sensor just above where the shift linkage connected as you indicated. The original has that one and one near the rear of the transmission. As the replacement only has the one near the rear of the transmission. On the code question. I did go-to my local part store and had them check for codes since the OD light wad flashing. There was a code for the output shaft sensor on the old transmission. I drove on that one untill I destroyed it and the truck would not move. I have not checked for codes since the replacement has been installed. But the OD light blinks sometimes as well... Thank you again for your superior knowledge on the subject...