Hi everyone just had a quick question to any gear heads about removing and installing a ford transmission on an 06 explorer what am i looking at as far as time and difficulty. Any quick tips or guides would be greatly appreciated. Reason for removal is reverse gave out and these transmissions are notorious for being bad at around 100k.
2006 ford explorer 4.0L 5R55S trans removal
- Thread starter MoparJR87
- Start date
I read Ranger fora because I own an '05 Ranger with the 4.0l and 5R55E transmission. One guy posted about his resisting separation from the engine (he just needed more oomph).
One caveat repeatedly mentioned is making certain the TC is seated before joining the 2. It sets into place in the bell housing and you revolve it. You'll see/feel and hear it settle into place. NO PART of the TC should be visible from the side. If the TC is not seated you'll break the pump as you tighten the engine and transmission together.
late edit: I've never read anything about these units routinely having troubles @100K. The battle cry is, "Keep the fluid clean and you can get the 300K." The more knowledgeable crowd says they swear by external coolers. Mine (FX4) came with one.
Also, the valve body mounting plate is one piece (incl. gasket) now. Any 2 piece VB plate is ancient stock and is a NOGO (superseded).
One caveat repeatedly mentioned is making certain the TC is seated before joining the 2. It sets into place in the bell housing and you revolve it. You'll see/feel and hear it settle into place. NO PART of the TC should be visible from the side. If the TC is not seated you'll break the pump as you tighten the engine and transmission together.
late edit: I've never read anything about these units routinely having troubles @100K. The battle cry is, "Keep the fluid clean and you can get the 300K." The more knowledgeable crowd says they swear by external coolers. Mine (FX4) came with one.
Also, the valve body mounting plate is one piece (incl. gasket) now. Any 2 piece VB plate is ancient stock and is a NOGO (superseded).
Last edited:
I replaced an a4ld in a b4k once and if it is similar definitely follow seating the torque converter fully before slapping it all together. At one point I was lifting the transmission while my buddy had it tied around his waist in front of the truck pulling it against the engine like a cart ox. Get a good transmission jack.
The SOHC 4.0L engines are notorious for timing chain rattles, not sure if the issue was completely fixed by 2006. Their history goes back to 1997...
Ford Cologne V6 engine - Wikipedia
Thank you for the tips this will be a project for this upcoming weekend and needed to know whats ahead of me. ill be sure to triple check the TC seating before putting it back together. any additives that i should add to it or recommend or should i stick to just adding mercon V.
In my Fords I always added Lubegard Platinum. I never lost a transmission in cars that lasted about 200 k miles. Towards the end of their lives I was using Castrol Import Multi-Vehicle (instead of Mercon V), I thought it felt shifting a bit better.
Castrol says "...most Japanese passenger cars which typically have higher anti-shudder performance requirements than European or US designed automatic transmissions."
I even replaced the factory transmission pan with ones from Dorman that have added a drain bolt for ease of draining.
Maybe it was that. Maybe it was the fact that I did a D&R every 30-40 k miles. IDK. They died from rust and being driven in ditches by teen drivers.
Castrol says "...most Japanese passenger cars which typically have higher anti-shudder performance requirements than European or US designed automatic transmissions."
I even replaced the factory transmission pan with ones from Dorman that have added a drain bolt for ease of draining.
Maybe it was that. Maybe it was the fact that I did a D&R every 30-40 k miles. IDK. They died from rust and being driven in ditches by teen drivers.
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