High miles on electronically controlled autos?

[01rangerxl]

Now that I have a vehicle with an electronically controlled automatic, I feel nervous about it. It shifts fine with 150,000 miles on it, but I feel the need to buy a big cooler, a big pan, upgraded parts etc... to keep anything bad from happening. With the Ranger I know that in the extremely unlikely event that anything would happen to the manual transmission, I'd likely have months of warning and even a total replacement would not be a massive deal. With the Explorer, it is like some sort of automatic transmission clock is ticking...especially considering that this thing has racked up a ton of miles with a boat hitched to it, driving in 4WD, and all that. Heck, considering I saw the auto begin slipping badly in my friend's Accord with 75K and at 80K in my cousin's wife's Montero Sport, I feel like I am on borrowed time already! So does anyone have any newer electronically controlled auto trans success stories? What did you do to make it last? It seems like auto trans reliability tanked in the 80s and still has not recovered to pre-OD reliability, so I want to hear some good news!

I guess just the fact that mine has made it to 150,000 miles with zero repairs means the previous owner was doing something right. It seems like unmaintained autos don't live long past about 120,000 miles.

 

[Lonnie]

Just keep clean fluid in it and drive.

 

[MrCritical]

I see late model autos with 250k almost every day. No problems. The electronic transmission can make adjustments to wear and your driving habits the old ones can't, thereby extending transmission life. It can warn you of a problem in the early stages the non electronic ones can't. And save you a ton of diagnostic time in many cases.

 

[calvin1]

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With the Explorer, it is like some sort of automatic transmission clock is ticking...especially considering that this thing has racked up a ton of miles with a boat hitched to it, driving in 4WD, and all that.

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What transmission does the Explorer have? The E4OD that came in the trucks at that time have a mixed reputation. The early ones - first half of 1990s - were very unreliable while the 95+ ones were only somewhat reliable.

The usual AT precautions apply here as always: keep the coolant cool and fresh. If you don't already have an air-atf cooler in addition to the coolant-atf one I would get one. If you don't know how old the fluid is I would drop the pan and top off with Max Life or some other well regarded M5.

Can someone think of a Ford AT since the C6 that has a good reputation?

Calvin

 

[01rangerxl]

This truck has a 4R55E. Basically an A4LD on steroids. They are reasonably reliable. I think most die from a complete lack of maintenance because Sally Soccer Mom doesn't understand why the transmission fluid should be changed, or even what the transmission is. The previous owner was an old military guy though, and he seemed to know the ins and outs of the truck pretty well. He did care for it, but he also used it harder than most (towing).

 

[calvin1]

One thing to keep in mind is that a stock A/T can almost always be beefed up with the addition of aftermarket parts. The starting point would be a bigger pan, inline filter and aftermarket cooler. Next would be valve-body swap or modifications to give the shift logic some improved hydraulic smarts. At the same time you may also have improved electronic modules that improve the transmission's shift smarts from a programming standpoint. After that your are talking build improvements like taller and more durable clutch packs, stronger gears and carriers and beefier TCs.

Ford has done this in some sense already as their A/T line progress has been very evolutionary. At least with the truck A/Ts if you look at the timeline they made small tweaks over the years, every so often making a model name change when they thought the old name was too maligned

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This probably won't help you now, but it might be useful if you plan to keep the Explorer on the road indefinitely.

Calvin

 

[01rangerxl]

I plan to keep this thing for a while. It is ugly as sin, but mechanically very sound and a lot of fun. I have looked into deep pans, but there may be some fitment issues since Ford decided to have the exhaust right next to the transmission pan. I do plan on getting a Trans Go shift kit and an additional cooler. This is a "55" series transmission, so it does have some advantages over "44" series transmissions already.

 

[The_Jeff]

It's not the electronics, it's the 5th and 6th speeds that I consider failure points. More parts crammed in the same size case means smaller gears, clutches, bearings, etc. And more speeds mean more shifting, which causes wear when between gears.

GM makes some pretty good 4 speed, electronically controlled autos, and has been making them since the very early 90's. Have personally seen one in my old intrigue shift marvelously at nearly 200k.

Chrysler lets one see, with a scan tool, how "worn" the clutch packs are, somehow.

 

[JTK]

I agree. It's not the electronics, it's putting way more power and heat through a smaller, lighter package like pretty much all vehicles do today.

Joel

 

[andyd]

This is almost ancient history, but the Getrag 4 HP22 in my 88 528e has 346 trouble free miles. Only 2 filter changes in the last 150k. The E model with a brain barely lasts 150k. Only difference is the ECU controlled valve body.

 

[BuickGN]

I miss the days of the old Turbo 400s. $600 for a rebuild and could be abused for 100K miles behind a 600hp motor in a 4,500lb car.

Out of curiosity, what transmission do the CL65 Mercedes run? My friend had one with the Brabus T-12 package making 704hp at the motor and it shifted surprisingly well at that level. No head jerking shifts but very crisp.

 

[JHZR2]

My father has 210k on his toyota previa, and its electronically controlled AT still operates like brand new, never rebuilt, fluid and filter serviced regularly. Ditto for his 96 MB diesel, which has 196k and still shifts great and operates like new.

If you treat it gently and service it rigorously, there re no real worries...

JMH

 

[The Critic]

Quite a few ZF and GM 5-speed RWD units on BMW forums with over 150k miles on the original fluid fill.

 

[Russell]

THe Critic, They are lucky. I have heard many of the late model 5-speeds fail early. Even more so with the 4-speed GM transmissions in earlier BMWs. Even though BMW said to service them every 30,000 miles many owners did not and they tended to fail around 100,000 plus miles. IMO, all transmissions should be serviced on regular basis.

 

[Schmoe]

The only thing I can recommend based on experience is to keep the fluid changed and maybe put in a shift plate. Fords are notorious for slipping, that's why they feel so smooth. I put one in my truck and it wasn't very expensive.

 

[calvin1]

I've never heard of a shift plate before. What is it, where does it go, what does it do and most importantly how much does it cost?

Thanks,
Calvin

 

[01rangerxl]

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The only thing I can recommend based on experience is to keep the fluid changed and maybe put in a shift plate. Fords are notorious for slipping, that's why they feel so smooth. I put one in my truck and it wasn't very expensive.

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I do plan on having a TransGo shift kit installed to firm things up. The Explorer has buttery smooth shifts when you are just cruising around, which I am sure Sally Soccer Mom loves, but I don't. When I get on it, the trans wakes up, and actually seems to shift at just the right time (I can't say that about most autos I have driven).

 

[raaizin]

01rangerxl,

I have a '96 explorer XLT which I believe has the same transmission. Not to scare you but I changed the fluid/filter every 30k miles. At @133k theO/D light starting flashing. The manual says to seek service immediately. I tried to drive it home and heard a big bang after 20 miles or so. It sounded like a bad or something popped. I pulled over cause I letterally felt like I dropped half transmission on the floor. When I saw nothing leaking, I figured I did whatever damage that was going to happen and drove home the rest of the way another 10 miles. The next day I drove it to the trans shop and trans needed a rebuild. I dont know if this could have prevented if I would have shut it off as soon as O/D light began flashing. I never towed or even used the 4wheel drive other than a few times when there was alot of snow( I live in NJ so that isnt much) I have owned it since new.

I I were you and O/D light starts flashing DONT drive it any further

Ray