Mine was having problems with the 2-3 shift taking forever, two local tran shops both said it was a seal down in the trans that would require rebuilding to install so drive it till it quits working then bring it back. 2 years later i just got finished adjusting the bands like you said at the top. it's like i put in a new transmisssion, shifting is great, the truck drives better, and hopefully gas mileage will follow.

THANKS FOR THE ADVISE!!!!

 

hey john... so would this be easy to do while i was, say, installing a transgo shift kit? what removal is required? valve body?

my understanding is that there is 1 bolt to adjust on the outside of the tranny ner the bellhousing... would you possibly be able to take a picture of the 'working' area on your tranny?

 

I probably could. Did you look at the article I linked at the beginning? It's got more information.

There are two adjustments. One is just above where the linkage goes into the transmission, and the other is to the left of it as your're under there facing the drivers side of the transmission. Small square headed studs with fairly large locknuts around them.

 

Bringing one back from the dead !!!!

I'm going to try this HOPEFULLY this weekend (if weather permits). Just want to make sure the procedure is the same for the 5R55E?

 

Exactly the same. Refer to the Explorer forum link I posted at the beginning. Most of those guys have the 5R55E.

But the procedure is the same for 5R44E and 5R55E.

 

THANKS John !!!!! I knew you would know.

Well, I just finished this on mine (with 87,000 mi), and I TOTALLY agree with John's initial assessment. It feels like a brand new truck. Every shift is considerably firmer, and the 2-3 flare is almost eliminated under hard acceleration. I'm sure the Bama tune probably plays a big part in the shifting, but I don't remember it feeling this good when it was brand new.

Since I'm not a tranny man, I don't know if this much wear is typical or not...assuming this is how the factory sets them also. When I did the adjusment, I paid particular attention to not change any of the settings & how much I had to turn everything. The intermediate band wasn't too bad (I think). It took 3 full turns to hit the 120 in/lbs of torque. Then I backed it off the 2 turns, giving me about 1 full turn of wear. The overdrive band was 2 1/4 turns out of adjustment. That seems a little excessive to me, but hopefully someone that knows trannys can say for sure. I wonder if that much wear was part of my problem with keeping the tranny cool with the e-fan?

Regardless, it's MUCH better now. DEFINETLY a worthwhile "mod".

 

so this is where the adjusters are right?



i think this and a transgo shift kit are in the works for my truck.

 

Yes. The one next to the linkage is a pain -- but it can be done without removing it.

 

good to know thanks John.

 

John, I wonder if this would help my girlfriends Taurus, she has the 2-3 shifting problem, it also revs up before it goes into OD.... Hers is a 4 speed tho, and front wheel drive, so I don't know if her trans has any adjustments like that.

 

Most if not all automatics have band adjustments. The question of course is where are they and how should they be adjusted?

I'm afraid I know very, very little about Taurus' transmissions, sorry.

 

I never answered the first part of this, sorry! You don't need to do any disassembly to do this, though it's easier with the linkage off.

And there are two bolts and their location has been pinpointed on the diagram which was provided by someone else above. (Thanks for doing that -- I should have done it previously.)

 

Well I figured so, but it was worth a shot. I guess its off to the taurus club website to look around....

 

The potential is there if you have a lot of slip -- but it's small. Your tranny spends very little time shifting, and a lot of time fully engaged.

Now, if your bands were still slipping after shifting, then there is some potential -- but keep in mind if you've driven long that way you may have damaged bands or debris in there from the wear and/or cooked fluid from the heat. In a case like that an overhaul is more called for than adjustment.

Basically, there's quite a difference between excess slip DURING shifting, and tranny slip after a gear has already engaged. The first can be helped -- sometimes -- by adjustment, but the latter is usually a symptom of more profound wear or failure.

 

So will this help the hesitation that my truck has when I put it into D? It seems like my truck takes longer and longer to engage 1st gear.

 

That's a problem that generally requires a mod to the valve body. Ford has a fix for it that they will do, or you can install a "shift improvement kit" from B&M or TransGo that will do that for you. I have one which is going into my tranny when I rebuild the tranny to make a 4x4 compatible unit (changing the output shaft, and rebuilding it while I'm in there).

"Delayed Engagement" is a common problem with our trans and is part of an underlying design problem with tolerances. It doesn't affect every trans, but on some it will come up. The problem with it is that pressures will be low even when engaged and that can lead to an eventual slip problem even when in gear. It's a good idea to address it.

Sometimes you can go pester the dealer and they'll put the fix in cheaply or for free since it's a known issue. I guess it depends on your relationship with the dealer and the number of miles on your truck. On a 2000 I doubt they'll do it gratis.

 

Yea I don't see them giving me a break on that, especially since the tranny has been worked on by another shop.

Thanks for the info though, at least I know what I'm up against.

 

well, the thing with the fix from ford is it is a TSB for those years, so it will be a lot easier to get ford to do things about it. The TSB from ford doesnt cover everythign though and for the price of the transgo kit and a new valvebody seperator plate from ford you get the benefits of the ford fix plus all the added benefits from the transgo kit.

 

It's a good idea to change the pressure control solenoid (I think it's the "TPC" -- I'll look that up) while you're in there. Although it's about $100, it's a "wear and tear" part since it's continually thrashing with throttle changes to keep the line pressure where it needs to be.

 

yea, every write up recommends replacing the EPC but it is around 100ish depending on which one you need (there are actually two different ones based on the internals of the tranny and such) however this 5R55E only has 44K miles on it and wasn't showing signs of needing it replaced. It is also very easy to replace the EPC on its own later if it starts showing issues. The only thing you need to pull to replace the EPC only is the pan. There is plently of room to get it out of the side of the valvebody and the bracket just unbolts and comes downward. So if it starts showing issues I can get a new filter and pan gasket and a new EPC and it gives me another reason to change the filter and flush some of the fluid, but hopefully not till at least 100K miles.

Oh and adjusting the bands on the 4x4 5R55E was a PAIN trying to get a wrench on the 19mm lock nut. I used an offset wrench and it worked pretty good as i got them both adjusted. With the bands adjusted and the transgo kit and new fluid this thing shifts and drives like a dream.

 

There's only one "real" EPC and thanks for correcting the acronym -- I couldn't remember it.

The other "PWM" modulated solenoid is the torque converter lock up one I believe.

Yes, the EPC is a lot easier than installing the kit, lol. I just think that if you have a lot of miles it's a good idea to go ahead and do it while you're in there. But I see your point about the relative ease so you can just do it when the filter change happens.

 

yea I know there is only one EPC in the tranny, however there are two different EPCs that were used in these transmissons over the years and you need the numbers off the tranny to order the correct one. one of them has a red band filter and a green band filter, the other has 2 red band filters and of course one of them is about 50 bucks more than the other. So based on the numbers on the side of the transmission ford will give you which one you need. You also need the numbers off the tranny to get the valve body gaskets also, or as they couldnt get the gaskets anymore, the updated seperator plate with the bonded gaskets, which actually makes it alot easier to assemble with the bonded gaskets.

 

Ah! Sorry, I misinterpreted what you said.

 

So those locknuts, how important are they to actually replace? And if so are they a common size?