Transmission woes

cbxer55

Active Member
Jan 25, 2020
318
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38
Oklahoma
So, drove my 07 V-6 auto to work yesterday. Nothing unusual occurred, no OD off blinking, no check engine light. When I went to come home after midnight, car started, but when I put it in gear, nothing happens. It just sits t here and revs when I hit the gas, but no motion. WTF happened?
 
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So is that an electrical shift trans like our other 05 up cars have been? I have had the indicator light be in a gear, but the switch in the shifter not make contact. How many miles are on the car, and is the shifter worn?
I also suggest you dump codes.
 
So is that an electrical shift trans like our other 05 up cars have been? I have had the indicator light be in a gear, but the switch in the shifter not make contact. How many miles are on the car, and is the shifter worn?
I also suggest you dump codes.
It's electrical, computer controls everything these days. What codes, the CE is not on. I'll check anyways, as there could be PD codes. Car has 121,000 miles. The shifter feels fine. Figured I'd go over there today, pull the negative terminal off and give it 3o minutes, then hook it back up and see what happens. Otherwise, it's on a military base. Probably going to be hell trying to get a tow truck on base to get the car off if I can't get it moving. DAMN IT! If was fine on the way to work.
 
It's kept in a garage, and I've never seen any indication of rodents in there. No droppings on the floor, etc. Big Wolf Spiders, yes. And I leave them be as well. They ar en't hurting anything, and they keep the Brown Recluse population away. But no rats, or mice I've ever seen.

I have a friend with a trans shop a mile from where I live. So, if I can't get it off base today, I'll figure out how to do it tomorrow and have it delivered to his shop.
 
My oldest kid’s Beetle’ transmission sensors and wires got chewed on while parked at school.
It could be a stuck solenoid or a piece of crud in the valve body. I am glad you have a pro to help.
 
Awful hard to check that with no dipstick. Have to put the car on a lift to do that. Hard to get it on a lift if it's not moving. Anyhow, had the fluid and filter and solenoids changed in May / June last year.
 
Awful hard to check that with no dipstick. Have to put the car on a lift to do that. Hard to get it on a lift if it's not moving. Anyhow, had the fluid and filter and solenoids changed in May / June last year.
The transmission is not going to fix itself. You, or someone else, will need to get under at some point. The 5R55 transmissions aren't all that reliable. There are a lot of other parts in it that can fail beyond the solenoids. I can't count the number of times I see people throw money at a 5R55 transmission and in the end find they need to install a remanufactured transmission. It looks to me like you need to get it to someone who can diagnose the problem(s). I had to replace one in a Mountaineer at 116k miles. They can fail at any time after 100k miles.
 
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Finally found a tow company that can get on Tinker AFB and get the car off base to my friend Rick's shop, ACE Transmission. Since the car is idling higher than normal at start up, and since I have had issues with a P0741 code, Torque converter clutch locked off, in the past, he and I tend to agree that the torque converter has likely failed. He has a reputable company that supplies him, so we are going to roll with pulling the trans right off the bat, and inspecting the converter. He's a friend, and his charges aren't "out-of-this world" high. So we'll go with that, unless something different presents itself once the trans is out of the vehicle. Him and his son do not remove the engine to get the trans out. Said they've never had to. Watched his son remove and replace a transaxle in a Chevy Cobalt today. Made it look easy.

Rick is also building a custom Turbo 400 for another friend's custom build 1949 Ford F6 COE. It's on a GM dually frame and will have a 396 under the cab.
 
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Rick and his son know they can get the trans out without removing the engine. It's at his shop, waiting on the vehicles that were there first to get finished. Once they get on it, I'll let you all know what ended up being the culprit. Fairly certain it isn't the linkage or cable, because the Park detent still works. Cannot push the vehicle when in Park, but can push it in any of the other positions.
 
Got the Mustang back today. Ends up it had been rebuilt some time in the past, and not so good. Used El Cheapo parts. A broken snap ring wreaked havoc with the internals. So Rick rebuilt it from the bottom up with all new parts and a new converter. Maybe this will take care of the P0741 Torque converter clutch locked off codes I was having previously. Time will tell. Drove the car one mile straight home from his shop, was embarrassed at that. The car has never been so dirty or shoddy looking since I've owned it. When it got stranded on base, it got hit with two thunderstorms, fortunately no hail. Then it sat at Rick's shop for two weeks while he got other vehicles there before mine done. It was FUGLY! Took three hours to get it cleaned to the way I like it. Will take it for a drive Saturday or Sunday and see what happens. I expect the best, Rick has been doing this all of his life.
 
Pictures? My car doesn't look any different at this time. I do have a set of two carbon fiber heat vents to install on the hood. I made a template out of aluminum so I can transfer the inner outline onto masking tape on the hood. Probably won't get those done until next weekend though. I have to go out and put the carbon fiber diffuser back on. Had to remove it so it wouldn't drag on the ground when the car went up onto the flatbed truck used to transport it from the Air Force base to Rick's shop.
 

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Transmission failed again Friday the 27th. OD OFF light started blinking, wouldn't go into OD and when I let off gas, engine went to idle, no engine braking at all. Also starting very hard from a standing start forward or reverse. Dropped it off at the place that rebuilt it Tuesday. He got into it and said, lots of clutch material all over the place. Doesn't know why. Said it must've been slipping, but I never saw it on the tachometer.

It's under warranty as of now.

Talking with him about just going ahead and dropping s manual transmission in it. He said it wouldn't be a problem if I want to go that route.
 
That weird , and tough luck. Is that you daily driver
No. I have a 98 Ford Ranger as a daily, had it going on 22 years. It's been super reliable. 3.0 V-6 automatic, with the trans being the predecessor of the 5R55, the 4R44. Never a lick of trouble with it. I did just have a shift kit put in it while it was in my friend's shop getting the rear axle ratio switched from 3.73 to 4.10.
 

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To bad you weren't closer I have the brake and clutch pedal assembly for sale.
Going manual isn't a done deal yet. It's only in the event Rick can't figure out what is going on. Being an electronic computer controlled transmission, a myriad of things could be the culprit here. I discussed with him that if it gets to be too much of a head-scratcher, then we should talk about putting a manual transmission in it. His response, "I like the way you think!"

My response, "The way I think usually ends up costing me a lot of money." LMAO!