It snowed. The roads have been plowed. Sure, theres still SOME snow on the roads. But not enough to warrant putting the truck in 4hi, just 2hi, with lots of wheel spin and steering. Well about halfway to my local watering hole from my house, i lost power to the rear wheels in "drive". Second gear still works, and i had power to the wheels in drive, if the overdrive was off, for a second.


How much is this gunna cost me 😳

 

Reads like the forward one-way clutch has failed, if there is no Reverse then could be the pump as well

Cost of rebuild depends on year and engine so you/we can get the model number of the transmission

Also year will determine what used models might work as a "roll the dice" replacement

How many miles on this transmission?

 

Drive is GONE, i limped the truck home in 2nd, once i got in the driveway i put it in druve and got the RPM'S up over 5k, and started rolling backwards.

Reverse is on its absolute last legs too apparently, cuz i tried that in the driveway and the tachometwr was reading awfully high for the speedometer to read "0".

Truck is an '07 FX4 (4.0L, 6 cylinder, auto, 4x4) with about 106,000 miles on it.

Checked my dipstick with the engine running and everything nice and warm. Just did a tranny flush with my last oil change, about 4k miles ago......

 

Doesn't look like there is ATF on that stick, well maybe a little at the bottom?

106k miles is way to early to have a problem with a 5R55E model transmission, any history on it?
Did it sit for long periods, was it in a flood???

I would drain/drop the pan and look for metal particles, if one-way clutch goes it will usually show metal bits in the pan

You can use a 2001-2011 5R55E from a 4x4 4.0l Ranger or 4x4 B4000 Mazda as a replacement, plug and play
Has to be from 4x4 and 4.0l engine size

You can look at car-part.com
To get an idea of what used 5R55Es go for in your area

You will need a new torque converter regardless, with used or rebuilt

 

I bought the truck 2 years ago with 61k miles on it. I am the second owner. In 12 years the previous owner manages 61k, or about 5k/yr......i"ve put 40k+ on it in two years. I use 4wd VERY sparingly. Car parts has trannys listed anywhere from $850 to $1200.

 

"Low milers" are a double edged sword, interiors are mint but drive train was "run dry" more than a few times(driven after sitting long periods)

But still an odd occurrence for the 5R55E, it happens, you just drew the short straw

4WD doesn't effect the transmission one way or the other, thats done in the transfer case, the transmission "stress" is the same in 2WD or 4WD
In 2WD 100% of power goes to rear wheels, in 4WD 50% goes to front wheels and 50% to back wheels, transmission is at 100% in either 2WD or 4WD, no difference

Get pricing on a rebuilt to compare to used, those used transmissions seem a bit pricey, wrecking yards are usually 50% of rebuilt price
I see rebuilt 5R55E for 4x4 for $1,400-$1,800

Life for rebuilt automatic is 250k, so at 20k a year thats about 12 years, and you do get a warranty, but usually 1 year
If you get a used one with 150k that should last you 5 years, some come with limited warranty, 30-90day
250k is a low number they can last 300-350k

 

I drew the short straw once as well and blew up my 5R44E in similar fashion at 78k. But somebody had already been into the transmission at some point so it was a downhill slide from the time I bought the truck.

Anyways, when it comes to rebuilding transmissions, you really do get what you pay for. A $600 rebuild is gonna be just that, and you'll find that most of your parts will be washed off and re-used. There will be no upgrades to the known failure points of the specific transmission, so they could end up failing again down the road. These cheap rebuilds almost always fail in short order. On the other hand, you can also find somebody who charges you $2500, but takes you for a ride and does a $600 rebuild. It's important to check reviews, longevity of the company, etc. to make sure your transmission is a rebuilt a competent rebuilder.

 

My father in law thought he lost his trans (5R55E) in the truck (98,000 mile at the time). He took it to the dealer and it ended up being the valve body gasket problem. They did the fix and it's still good at 125k.
May be something to check.

 

So i delved a little deeper today. Checked tranny fluid with engine off and everything cold. Plenty of fluid.

Started the truck, let it idle until everything was nice and warm and checked the dipstick, it was nearly dry.

Put it in reverse, it wanted to go, but good lord was that engine working awfully hard for minimal power to the wheels. There was also a pretty good whine to it (imagine a serpentine belt that is loose and squealing)

i can still smell the tranny fluid on my hands, and it doesnt smell good.

 

So how much fluid did it take to bring it up to the full mark?

 

Not entirely sure, i added a quart and tried checking it again, but i had to let it settle because the whole dipstick was coming out covered in fluid.....then it started snowing. Tomorrow the transmission shop opens.

With the engine off and cold, the dipstick reads overfull, like substantially.

With the engine idling and everything nice and warm, theres so little fluid it barely registers on the tip of the dipstick

 

Update: had the truck towed to the transmission shop. They called me uo a few hours later after having a chance to go thru it.

The transmission cooling lines are leaking, and, the transmission has been damaged internally. Complete re-build with all new components, plus replacing the cooling lines is gunna run me $2600.


So to recap, in 2020, i spent $3,000 on a new flatbed after my bed disintegrated. I had the master cylinder, rear shocks, sway links replaced, which thank god i got the warranty when i bought it, other wise that wouldve run me about $5,000. i'll have spent over $10k keeping a truck roadworthy long enough for me to pay off the $8k or so i still owe on it.

Kinda disappointed with my very first pick up truck rn.....

 

Had similar happen to me with my 2003 Ranger, started having transmission problems shortly after I bought it for $10k. Transmission blew up four years and 30,000 miles later, but I still owed money on it. I was quoted the same to rebuild it, but I chose to manual swap my truck instead, with total parts coming to $1500. So I still ended up having to pay over 10% of my truck's cost to be able to keep driving it while I continued to pay it off.

I assume by transmission being damaged they're assuming that it has been run low on fluid and overheated. More than likely they haven't actually torn down the transmission, they just know if it ran low on fluid, it likely overheated and so they're expecting damage. They'll have to tear apart the transmission to see the damage so while they're in there they may as well just rebuild it. It's part liability, and also allows them to clean out whatever junk may be floating around in the transmission now. Make sure they flush the coolers as well, no point in replacing the lines and rebuilding the transmission if they don't flush out whatever junk may have gotten into the coolers. If they aren't flushed, any contaminants/debris can make their way back into the transmission and destroy it in short order.

 

Well a wrecking yard Ranger bed runs $400-$800 so I wouldn't include that $3,000 in "repair" costs, lol

How long is the warranty on the transmission?