Derf00

For your weather conditions and the fact you have the aluminum high capacity PA pan, I wouldn't recommend the bypass valve fix (locking it in open). Here in AZ though, I plan on doing it. We only get a couple or three months a year where it's "cold" in the Phoenix area.

Anyways, I have the new solenoid pack, new filter, and I'm in the process of ordering the valve body. After that I'm diving in.

mtgldr

I am using the same tune and did not have this happening until it dropped down to below 40 degrees. Today it was warmer and the trans acted normal after 2 miles of driving. I'm betting (praying) the solenoid pack is the issue and not a worn bore. There is a different piston to increase OD pressure I saw on the PACT site. I called and they said they typically don't use the replacement OD piston unless someone has installed a high stall speed converter. I'll be replacing the solenoid pack this weekend, using Castrol Merc V fluid and will report back. Anyone know the drive ratio in 4th OD? I can find 4th (1.0) and 5th OD (.71) but not 4th in OD.

jpplaw

4th is 1.00 with some converter slip when unlocked (so it is actually higher than 1.00, dependent on your torque output - more torque=more converter slip), and still 1.00 but no slip when the converter is locked. With a high power motor and triple disk converter, the lock up can be a real neck snapper. LOL. Lock up is a direct connection between the engine and trans. There is always some converter slip present (in all gears) until it locks up in 4th. There is no OD in 4th.

OD is 5th gear (.71) and the converter is always locked unless you lift off the throttle or touch the brakes. At that point, the converter unlocks, and the trans either stays in 5th (coasting) or downshifts depending on the mph you are traveling at. When you get back on the gas, the converter will slip a little (rpm will flare up) and then lock again.

If there are no other shifting issues, I doubt there is anything wrong with your trans, what you are experiencing is normal - by design, the PCM delays converter lock-up and also delays the shift into 5th until things are warmed up.

mtgldr

Well that makes sense because I can count 2 additional "shifts" after I'm in 4th. If I hold 2000 rpm, 4th is 40mph, the next "shift" will bring me up to 50mph and the final "shift" brings me to 60mph. With the 373 gears it's 2.1 mph per 100 rpm in 4th and 3 mph per 100 in final drive. The "shift" between 4th and 5th is somewhere @ 2.5 mph per 100 rpms..

This started when temps dropped below 40, for 5 days it was under 40 in the morning, since then it's been over 40 and yesterday it was 55 degrees and I still had the lockup delay. Prior to it getting below 40 I never noticed the delay and it was in the upper 40's and 50's for a couple of weeks. My mileage has also dropped from a consistent 18 - 19 mpg to 16 and change. Plugs, fuel filter are < 5000 miles, trans pan dropped 5000 miles ago with 6 qts and filter replaced, checked the CAI and it's tight, tires are correctly inflated. I drive the same route every day and often if I drive easy I would get > 20 mpg. There are a lot of police and traffic and sometimes I just mosey down the road rarely getting over 2200 rpm. Since this started I can't get over 17mpg no matter what I do. Yesterday I reset the mileage after it warmed up and averaged over 18mpg and at a couple points over 19 mpg. I realize it's not very accurate but it's an indicator to me.

I sure don't want to replace the solenoids just for kicks, do you know what the magic trans or engine temp is that triggers the converter? I can log with tuner and see if it's reading the same / correct temps at the motor and trans. Maybe the sensor is not providing the correct temp.

jpplaw

PM sent

jpplaw

Just for general info - now that its cold outside, I noticed that every morning my converter would not lock up until I got to a certain spot a couple miles away from the house. I checked in my SCT pro racer tuning package and saw a transmission setting buried in there, among about a hundred others, that referenced "TOT" for locking up the converter - it said 100. I monitored my aeroforce gauge and lo and behold, I found that at that certain spot where she locked up, after a dead cold start, the transmission was hitting 100* for temperature - every single time.

Derf00

So I finally got all the parts and dove in. I dropped the pan, replaced the filter, valve body and solenoid pack. I also installed a Superior Transmission shift kit (5r55S/W/N) in the valve body to get improved shifting and cooler temps.

I picked up the Remaned Valve body (VBX brand) and the shift kit from Cascade Transmission Parts and the New Solenoid pack from Oregon Performance Transmission. The filter I picked up from a ford dealer on Ebay.

Why Remaned on the valve body? Because they are better than new or simply rebuilt. Remaned (at least the VBX brand) have some Sonnax brand upgrades to address the line pressure issues with our valve bodies. Other brands and new ones will typically still have the same issues.

The solenoid pack I bought new because there's nothing to rebuild on them and a new one is only a few bucks more. Rebuilt ones may still have issues. Why risk it?

The shift kit I added because even though the VBX valve body has some upgrades, I wanted the better lubrication/lower trans temps, and firmer shifting the kit offered. Plus, I'd never done one and wanted to challenge myself a bit.

After doing everything ...W O W!! Whole new car. The delayed entry and thunking into Reverse and Drive are gone. The 2-3, 3-2 shift delays when cornering are gone. The car now shifts with authority without being harsh or slamming into gear. With light to moderate throttle the shifting is almost imperceptible, on WOT it will kick you in the pants but not slam into gear. It's in the right gear all the time now, not a press the gas and hope it downshifts or upshifts when it's supposed to or it feels like doing so.

This is not a comprehensive How-to, it's a summary of my observations of the job and to help other MFers who are on the fence about this for fear of the unknown. It's harder than a brake job but easier than installing cams.

Before you get started tearing everything apart, make sure you can remove the 10mm bolt that secures the solenoid harness to the outside of the tranny. If you can't get this out, the most you'll be able to do is drop the pan and replace the filter. The bolt is in a tight place and you'll need a 10 mm ratcheting box end with flex head. Don't be surprised if you have to remove two 13mm bolts holding the trans position cable, and the O2 sensor in the area as well as loosen the heat shield so you don't shred your gloved hand. It took me an hour (one click at a time) on the wrench to get it out. Only 15 minutes to put it back. The first issue was figuring out it was a 10 mm and not an 8mm

The rest is cake walk with regular hand tools.

Tools:
- small flat blade screwdriver (O2 connectors and harness that connects to pan)
- 1/4"drive in/lbs torque wrench, Not ft lbs
- 1/4" drive ratchet
8 and 10 mm sockets
4-6" extension
10 mm ratcheting box end wrench with flex head preferred.
13 mm socket or box end wrench (ratcheting optional)
6 mm allen bit with drive adapter (for fill plug)
20 torx bit (iirc the size) with drive adapter (for solenoid pack)
- 7/8" socket or box end wrench (for drain plug)
- adjustable wrench or crow foot style O2 sensor socket
- 8 qts of Mercon V tranny fluid (not Mercon but Mercon V) 4-5 qts for the pan/filter. Another 2-3 for when you remove the other parts.

- Fluid transfer pump or oil suction gun
- OTC 6604 5r55S fill tool or make your own with a 1/8" MPT fitting and appropriate sized nipple. I only finger tightened my adaptor to avoid loosening the drain plug as I screwed and unscrewed the adapter. It didn't leak around the threads and it worked great!

Optional if you opt to install a shift kit into the Valve body:
- Needle nose pliers
- Pick set
- (1) 2" 4mm bolt
- Drill
- Hammer
- Punch tool

When you first drop the pan, carefully inspect for brass or metal chunks or shards in the pan, on the magnet, and in the filter media.. Gray material/sludge is regular wear-and-tear friction material and is fine (like brake dust). Any brass colored sand, metal chunks or shards are reflective of a hard part failure inside tranny.

If you have any brass sand, metal shards or chunks, I wouldn't bother replacing the valve body or solenoid pack because you are in need of a tranny rebuild. Those chunks will just tear apart the replacement parts and you'll have the same issues in a short time. Just put a new filter in, put it back together and start saving.

IIRC there are (15) 8mm bolts on the pan (gasket is reusable)
(4) 8 mm bolts on the reverse servo
(8-10) 20 Torx bolts on the solenoid pack (plus the 10 mm bolt holding the electrical connector)
(20) 8 mm and (1) 10mm bolts on the valve body

I won't go into detail about refilling, plenty of videos on y o u tube. If you want a video on replacing a 5r55s valve body, they are there too. Most are for explorers but it's pretty much the exact same process. Just be warned that the 10 mm solenoid harness nut is not as easy to get to on the stang.

Based on a lot of people's attitudes on here about certain things, I feel I should point this out specifically...

It is CRITICAL/VITAL to torque the Valve body, solenoid pack, reverse servo and tranny pan down to spec and in sequence! All of the parts are aluminum, or plastic, or thin steel (pan, pan gasket) so any over torqueing or out of sequence could/will warp it and create problems or leaks. By problems I mean grenading your tranny. This is not a job I would recommend using your 'calibrated' hands or good-n-tight mentality. 89 in/lbs is not that much and even feels like it's not enough when you actually torque to it but, it's the spec!

After I got it all back together and got the fluid level correct, I took it out for a couple of miles. I babied it for the first mile manually shifting at low revs to get the fluid pushed through everything, then I put it in drive and whomped on it It's been nearly two weeks now and I cannot be any happier

BrianK

Great idea to do this valve body change. I have a question about fluid level. I installed a dipstick in my stock tranny so refilling would be easier and I can check the level or fluid condition if I want to. Refill instructions say to have the fluid level to the top of the 'snorkel' in the drain assembly. When I first removed the pan (to install the dipstick), I measured the fluid that came out. To my surprize, when I pulled the plug out of the snorkel, 1.25 liters drained out ( 1 quart= .946 liter). Then I removed the drain itself and 1.6 liters came out. When I removed the pan, there was 1.65 liters still there. The residue in the pan was the normal grey/black sludge with no grit. So when I refilled, I added (1.6+1.25+1.65) 4.5 liters. I didn't account for the fluid that was still in the filter because I was surprized that the initial 1.6 liters drained from the snorkel. I expected nothing or perhaps a couple of drips. I don't have any issues with shifting or foaming in the tranny (I pull the dipstick to check). Now every year I just pull the drain plug, measure the volume of fluid and refill with the same amount of fluid that comes out and verify on the dipstick.
The initial posts sounded like shifting problems related to low fluid levels similar to what I have experienced in other cars with low tranny fluid - and perhaps a tune setting too - so I wonder about just having the level to the top of the snorkel and perhaps that being a bit too low or right on the edge of OK - thus temperature could have an effect on shifting. I believe the initial fill was from the factory (I bought the car used). I don't mind having more fluid in the tranny and have no problems with it shifting. Does anyone know if a higher level than recommended will cause any problems?

Derf00

Having a bit higher level shouldn't pose a problem. Having too much and you may cause leaks around the input/output shaft or you may see fluid coming from the overflow tube. That tube runs along the top of the tranny and drops the fluid off into the bell housing which can make it look like an input seal or torque converter leak.

I've thought about installing a pan with a dipstick or a dipstick in my stock pan. I may do that when I change the filter again in 15K miles.

For me, I would rather have a bit overfilled than a bit under filled.

BrianK

No sign of drips ( I hate drips) so all is good. I prefer to have it slightly overfilled if it won't cause any issues. Thanks for the comment.