Can I tow anything?

[uchi]

manaen, right now auto trannies to me are like rusty brake lines, things i pay a mechanic to work on, lol. mind you id tamper with it a little here and there, but with all the work i put into my car, i really dont wanna touch my daily driver, id rather pay someone to fix it for me because i know itll get done in a timely manner and that it wont be like my car, sitting in the driveway for weeks at a time sometimes waiting for me to get around to it

 

[manaen]

the 2-3 flare you guys mentioned, is that when it almost feels like it hesitates for a split second going into third and then grabs it and moves along normally again? i noticed today that with a little more throttle going into third it feels like it almsot hangs the gear for a tad longer than the others and then takes it. should that be something i should be worried about?

the overdrive on the 5r55e, when i disengage it would the tranny be coming into third or 4th gear? i shut it off last nite and it felt like it might have kicked into 3rd.

yeah that is exactly what the 2-3 flair is, as it gets worse it will actually allow the engine to increase in RPM right before the shift into 3rd which as you might guess is really bad for your bands and clutches.

The fixes are
1) transgo shift kit
2) new valve body gasket
3) EPC Solenoid
4) fluid flush/change

 

[xFatcatx]

You know I really have to disagree with you Manaen. Me and many others had the 2-3 flare and only a handful that I know of fixed it with a shift kit and EPC. I think I wasted $110 on the new EPC I bought. I did the Ford Blowoff Valve, Updated Seperater Plate, Gaskets, and EPC and I still had the Flare. I took the Valve Body out 4 different times untill I finally just got a reman one from ebay. I think the problem exists in one of those wretched bores and knowone really knows which one it is. I dropped about $500 on everything when I could have just put the reman in, plus fluid, plus sep plate with bonded gaskets for about $250 total. Of course I am no expert on it but that is just what worked for me. I spent months in the Transmission Forum pulling my hair out takin ATF showers every weekend. If you do have that problem Uchi it will get worse with time. By the time I fixed mine which was about 6 months from when it started my RPM's were reving from 2500 all the way to 3500 before it would shift. It happens right around 30mph depending on how your foots into it. This is way off topic now so you might post in the Transmission forum or pm me if your sure this is an issue you have.

 

[xFatcatx]

And oh yah I forget, please read the "5R55E Rebuild Diary" and the "5R55E Stairway to the Diary" before you post and ask any questions. All the info you need is in those two threads. They are both in the Stickys at the top of the Transmission and Transfer Case Forum.

 

[manaen]

You know I really have to disagree with you Manaen.

I'm a big boy I can handle it

You raise a good point, those fixes are not a cure all, there are other things that can effect the flare issue. Each and every case needs to be handled uniquely. Anyone reading these forums needs to take that into account. Everything you read here needs to be weighed against your situation taking the good points that you think apply to your problem. However my point was that those are a great starting place, and IMHO are well worth the price. With or without flair problems those updates are worth the price.

I think I recall you mentioned that the valve body you purchased included the upgrades. I'm glad that it fixed your problems, and it is great advice for others with the same problems. Since the new VB fixed your issues it does point to a valve body problem, which in theory should be repairable without a complete replacement.

For those that don't want to mess around with the VB, a complete replacement may be just the ticket as well.

bottom line you make a great point! and you've given people here another option to fix their problems.

 

[gijoecam]

Since nobody's mentioned it, your vehicle's towing capacity is in the owner's manual on page 172. If you have
3.27 rear end, 3380 lbs, with a GCWR of 7500 lbs
3.55 rear end, 4380 lbs, with a GCWR of 8500 lbs
3.73 or 4.10 rear end 4880 lbs with a GCWR of 9000 lbs.

My 98 is good for 4700 lbs with a GCWR of 9000 lbs. It actually weighed 4300 and pulled my boat at 4650 lbs. (actual numbers from the local CAT scale)

My gallery's having issues at the moment, but I've posted the pics before...

-Joe

edit: Got the gallery working again:

 

[xFatcatx]

Manean-"However my point was that those are a great starting place, and IMHO are well worth the price. With or without flair problems those updates are worth the price."

I aree with you Manean on how everyones problems can differ. My point was if that is the route he is going to correct a Flare issue then a reman VB could be a better choice, as the parts you mentioned, New EPC and Transgo Kit will run you close to the same price as a reman Valve body.

I am just trying to save people the extra work and extra $250 or so that I spent doing those things first and then puting in a reman after it was all said and done. That dang EPC is not cheap, $110 from fastparts and around $150 if you make the mistake of getting it from a dealer. Good point though.

 

[manaen]

Since nobody's mentioned it, your vehicle's towing capacity is in the owner's manual on page 172. If you have
3.27 rear end, 3380 lbs, with a GCWR of 7500 lbs
3.55 rear end, 4380 lbs, with a GCWR of 8500 lbs
3.73 or 4.10 rear end 4880 lbs with a GCWR of 9000 lbs.

My 98 is good for 4700 lbs with a GCWR of 9000 lbs. It actually weighed 4300 and pulled my boat at 4650 lbs. (actual numbers from the local CAT scale)

My gallery's having issues at the moment, but I've posted the pics before...

-Joe

One thing to add to this, the most important number there is the GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Rating). everyone looks at the max trailer weight and say they can tow X lbs. However you need to subtract the weight of your vehicle with all the people and gear from the GCWR to see what your max trailer load should be. Will your truck blow up if you exceed this, probably not. Would it be ok to exceed this for a short distance pull, probably(use your own judgement here). But when it comes to towing your family across the country for a vacation or a move, do you really want to take a chance and end up like those people who died pulling overloaded uhauls?

Joe, I love the fact that you mention you weighed your trailer, that is awesome!! everyone should take note! this is an important step in safe trailer towing!! Many times you cannot trust label on the trailer, oh and I have heard too many camper sales people quote UVW (unloaded vehicle weight) when trying to sell a camper to people who don't know any better. They are only looking for the sale, and if they can sell the fact that your current TV (Tow Vehicle) will be fine they have a much better chance of making the sale.

The UVW will NEVER be in play when you are towing a trailer or a camper. Unless you are a factory delivery person moving new campers for a living. AS soon as you load up your favorite frying pans, food, toys, or water tanks that number is junk. The only number you can rely on is the ticket they give you at the weight scales.

OK I will step off my soap box , flame on...

 

[gijoecam]

Joe, I love the fact that you mention you weighed your trailer, that is awesome!! everyone should take note! this is an important step in safe trailer towing!! Many times you cannot trust label on the trailer, oh and I have heard too many camper sales people quote UVW (unloaded vehicle weight) when trying to sell a camper to people who don't know any better. They are only looking for the sale, and if they can sell the fact that your current TV (Tow Vehicle) will be fine they have a much better chance of making the sale.

The UVW will NEVER be in play when you are towing a trailer or a camper. Unless you are a factory delivery person moving new campers for a living. AS soon as you load up your favorite frying pans, food, toys, or water tanks that number is junk. The only number you can rely on is the ticket they give you at the weight scales.

OK I will step off my soap box , flame on...

I'm right there with you. In fact, I'm picking up a new popup today, and on the way home, the first stop is going to be the local CAT scale. I want to see what the unloaded weights are on the trailer, and the empty weight of the truck works out to. (I've never weighed my F-150, but I'm curious)

-joe

 

[manaen]

I am just trying to save people the extra work and extra $250 or so that I spent doing those things first and then puting in a reman after it was all said and done. That dang EPC is not cheap, $110 from fastparts and around $150 if you make the mistake of getting it from a dealer. Good point though.

I agree with you there, it will be nice when Borg releases that new EPC which will hopefully add some competition and better options to the field, and maybe increase the reliability of the 5r55e.

I didn't realize your VB came with new solenoids, that is a really good deal and a time saver for those who don't want to mess with installing a shift kit. Did they allow you to select which shift level you wanted (ie.. light, medium, heavy towing). Do you know which upgrades were installed in the VB and how it was setup? Did it include the transgo shift kit, or just the ford updates?

Heck for $250 if it included all the updates and a shift kit with new EPC, I would say why would anyone want to do it themselves.

But being a control freak, I would want to know all the details of what was installed in the VB. Frankly I enjoyed the knowledge that I gained by installing the kit, I learned many things about this automatic transmission in the process that will help me with future problems. After all I know that with a 5r55e I am in for a rebuild in a few years, it is just a sad fact, my only hope is by then someone will come out with some more bulletproof parts for the 5r55e, not only the shift updates, but updates for the weak hard parts as well. But I guess if I can rebuild it and get another 150k out of it, I will be happy.

 

[uchi]

sorry for the late reply, been super busy with work lately.

i find that i only feel the 2-3 flare from time to time, i dont ever get into it hard usually barely feeling the truck shift gears at all. i find when i mat the gas it shifts hard and crisp, no hesitation between gears and only at a certain amount of throttle am i noticing the flair. chances are though had i not read about it on here i wouldnt have known to look for it and would have assumed it was normal like the way my dads 4l60e in his van shifts. the downside to this truck is i have no idea who the previous owner was, got it from a used car stealership and i just crossed 150 000 km, which is what, about 95 000 miles or so if my math skills serve me right, and ive had the truck since 146k, so its still really new to me and im finding the odd quirks here and there.

the tranny talk is great info, ill be sure to find some time and read the info in the tranny section and then go from there. i wanna get the truck in for a tranny flush very shortly as im not sure when it was last done, anyone object to it if the tranny is in fact starting to flair a little? i only ask because i know if you have a tranny that starts to slip the worst thing you can is to put fresh fluid in.

 

[CDW6212R]

... i only ask because i know if you have a tranny that starts to slip the worst thing you can is to put fresh fluid in.

That is the opinion of some people. I don't buy the idea of new clean fluid causing any failure. If magic dirt or debris or dirty fluid keeps a transmission functioning, I want that "magic" out of my vehicle. Meaning that a repair is necessary, so do the repair, not pray for the best.

Anyway, do the extra research that you mentioned, it can only help. I'd suggest doing a valve body kit(with solenoids), and changing to synthetic fluid, plus Lubegard additive. The kits give directions on how to adjust the bands, that's part of the job.

High quality maintenance usually fixes 95% of trans problems. Good luck,

 

[uchi]

thanks alot, fluid change is first on the list ill see how things go from there

 

[uchi]

oh and what do you guys think of the lucas brand tranny fluid addidtive?

 

[CDW6212R]

Lucas is a good brand. I choose Lubegard because they have been the best since the 80's, they specialized in factory support issues, (approved for Chrysler blah blah...for problem transmissions).

 

[uchi]

oh, well if its approved for chrystler then this stuff must be amiracle lube cause we all know chrystler trannies werent at their best not that far back, lol.

i made the ocmment about the fluid basic strickly on personal experience. the tranny in my old cavalier had started slipping a little, 280 000 km and i had been abusing it for 100 000 or so. so i went in for a fluid change and first thing i noticed is how much worse it was shifting and how much more it was slipping. might be a coincidence but who knows.

ive never seen the lubeguard stuff on the shelves, is there a palce i can order it online? and also im assuming its best if i remove the same amount of tranny fluid that im replacing with lubeguard?

 

[CDW6212R]

All of the tranny parts stores sell the Lubegard, Pep Boys did at one time. The bottles are only about 8oz. like a fuel injector cleaner bottle. It should be somewhere online. Regards,