5R55S Solenoid/Bulkhead Connector

[BoofKing]

Well I've had my 04 LS8 on jackstands for the past 6 months due to the harshness of gear shifts (P->R , 3->4 mainly) and am finally getting around to fixing it up. Picked up a remanned solenoid block from THIS store on ebay. I know it's less ideal than OEM, but am trying to skim by on spending with my wedding on the horizon. Anywho, I dropped the pan, pulled the old solenoid (cut-down 10mm swiveling ratchet is a lifesaver), and popped the remanned one in. Pumped in around 4 quarts of Merc while the vehicle was *off*, which I now know is wrong, and let it drain for a little. Plugged it back up and fired up the motor but am getting the "check transmission" error, E on the instrument cluster, and a yellow check engine icon. Also pulling codes very similar to the post HERE. Indicating to me that somehow the bulkhead connector/wiring harness is not seated properly. All 4 solenoids are throwing codes which I find highly unlikely even though it is re-manufactured..

Went on today with pulling the bulkhead back off, inspecting it, and plugging it back in making sure to torque down the nut pretty good to ensure a connection. Same results minus the yellow CE icon. I've pulled the battery after each attempt so I believe the PCM should have been cleared. The tranny doesn't throw these codes if the fluid level is off, does it? Perhaps the bulkhead connector is bad somehow? Possible even after the solenoid bolts were torqued to spec that it still isn't seated close enough to the bulkhead? I plan to pull off the bulkhead again tonight and check the pins on the solenoid with an inspection mirror. Hoping to get this fixed without dropping the pan once again. Any input is greatly appreciated!

 

[BoofKing]

Figured it out. After a second pack pull and refitting, then a third pull, we noticed that the pack I purchased from Ebay was missing one of the electrical pins that connect to the harness... Doh! Ended up sending back the pack, heading to the dealer, and getting bent over for $600 for a new OEM pack. Works! Still having some harsh 3-->4 engagement once it warms and sometimes reverse. My research at this junction would lead me to assume that a valve body replacement is in my future as well. Just wanted to pop in and leave my experience in case anyone else happens to find themselves in my situation. Feel free to drop me any input or thoughts!

 

[joegr]

Could be the PCM...

 

[BoofKing]

Could be the PCM...

I was hoping to avoid anything PCM related as I'd rather not visit the dealer anymore than I have to from here on out. How bad's the damage on a reflash you think? That's assuming I don't have to straight up replace it..

 

[joegr]

I was hoping to avoid anything PCM related as I'd rather not visit the dealer anymore than I have to from here on out. How bad's the damage on a reflash you think? That's assuming I don't have to straight up replace it..

If it's the PCM, the reFLASHing wouldn't help. FETs in the pcm fail. They must be replaced. There is a mail order outfit that will test and repair it. Of course, this might not be your problem at all, just keep in mind that it is a possibility. There is a current test that the better shops can do to confirm or deny it, or you can send the PCM in for testing.
Lincoln ECM Repair & Return | SIA Electronics

 

[BoofKing]

If it's the PCM, the reFLASHing wouldn't help. FETs in the pcm fail. They must be replaced. There is a mail order outfit that will test and repair it. Of course, this might not be your problem at all, just keep in mind that it is a possibility. There is a current test that the better shops can do to confirm or deny it, or you can send the PCM in for testing.
Lincoln ECM Repair & Return | SIA Electronics

Sounds good, thanks for the advice. I'll pop back in about that if and when I end up getting it checked out.

 

[jberbrich]

Did you ever get any resolution to your tranny troubles? My '03 is doing the exact same harsh shifting from 3-4 and a hard reverse engagement. I had the pcm reflashed and after driving about 250 miles, the 3-4 shift improved but not perfect, and the shift to reverse was only slightly improved...still too harsh. Then I disconnected the battery while changing my coils, plugs and a downstream O2 sensor, only to find the transmission is back to square one with harsher shifting, maybe worse than before.

Hey Joe, am I wasting my time by simply replacing my solenoid pack, hoping for the best? Not sure how much more money I want to put into this 175K vehicle.

Thanks.

 

[joegr]

...harsh shifting from 3-4 and a hard reverse engagement. ...

Those are the classic symptoms of a bad solenoid assembly. No one can promise that a new solenoid assembly will fix it, but the odds are fairly good that it will.

 

[BoofKing]

Did you ever get any resolution to your tranny troubles? My '03 is doing the exact same harsh shifting from 3-4 and a hard reverse engagement. I had the pcm reflashed and after driving about 250 miles, the 3-4 shift improved but not perfect, and the shift to reverse was only slightly improved...still too harsh. Then I disconnected the battery while changing my coils, plugs and a downstream O2 sensor, only to find the transmission is back to square one with harsher shifting, maybe worse than before.

Hey Joe, am I wasting my time by simply replacing my solenoid pack, hoping for the best? Not sure how much more money I want to put into this 175K vehicle.

Thanks.

No real improvement in those areas and I've driven around 1k miles on the new solenoid block. 3-->4 is hit or miss and lately I've been running it in SS mode to try and avoid it if possible. Thinking I might try the valve body next and see if it doesn't help. If the diagram I saw was correct, there may be some sticky springs in the valve body causing these issues. Let me know how it goes for you. Sorry to hear your efforts haven't paid off yet.

 

[jberbrich]

Those are the classic symptoms of a bad solenoid assembly. No one can promise that a new solenoid assembly will fix it, but the odds are fairly good that it will.

Thanks Joe. I guess I will spend a day swapping in a new solenoid block and hope for the best. Seemed to work when I kept getting the dreaded P0430 code and got lucky that the downstream O2 sensor was bad.

 

[jberbrich]

No real improvement in those areas and I've driven around 1k miles on the new solenoid block. 3-->4 is hit or miss and lately I've been running it in SS mode to try and avoid it if possible. Thinking I might try the valve body next and see if it doesn't help. If the diagram I saw was correct, there may be some sticky springs in the valve body causing these issues. Let me know how it goes for you. Sorry to hear your efforts haven't paid off yet.

You and I seem to think alike. Accelerating slowly and backing off a tad when I predict the 3-4 shift seems to ease the bang. SS shifting doesn't help except to keep it in 4th instead of the downshift. Sure wish I hadn't had to disconnect the battery after the reflash. It was actually doing better up to that point.

 

[BoofKing]

Well, got an update for anyone interested! Ended up ordering a remanned and updated valve body for it. Spent a weekend getting it all apart and put back together. Today, after filling up the pan and leveling out the fluid, I got it back off the jackstands. Put the shifter through every gear and was overjoyed to feel a smooth transition with no jerking. However that was short lived and quickly followed by horror when I realised that the car wouldn't move...

Put it into R, took my foot off the brake and no go. Gave it some gas, no go. Put it into D5, no go. What I did notice, although I forget which gears exactly, is that when giving it some good gas and hitting the 3k RPM range in certain gears is that it would lurch forward ever so gently. I think this even happened in R.. So now I could use some input.

What I am really hoping is going on is that I messed up something fairly simple along the way. Whether that was the shift cable, the gear select/manual detent spring, or maybe the low/reverse servo. I'll say why I suspect these:

1. Shift cable because of moving it around when getting the harness off the solenoid block.

2. Manual detent/gear select. After I had moved the manual arm (2 bolts, is that correct?) on the side of the transmission to help with the harness removal, I had hopped in thr car to put it in N for whatever reason and it threw the PCM off as to which gear it was actually in. So I put it back into P where it originally was when i jacked it up. Possibly not in the right position or something?

3. Low/Reverse Servo. When I went to put the reverse servo back in, I had twisted the cap to line the arrow up on it with where it was recommended to be based on a service guide I was browsing. I didn't have a good enough grip and the spring shot out and brought the plunger with it. Inspected it put it back together and thought nothing more of it. Also, people had mentioned priming the servo with fluid prior to installing it, which I did not.

Or could this simply be a case of an air pocket or tranny fluid level?

 

[BoofKing]

I should add that I will be getting my OBD2 scanner back Sunday or Monday and will be taking a peek at codes before I drain and remove the pan once more.

 

[BoofKing]

Update. Things were simpler than expected. Just needed to put more fluid in.. Apparently the air pockets pushed out a lot of what I put in as I leveled it. However it appears I forgot to set the gear select pin correctly on the select valve and now can't actually shift into gears. It would seem the pin needs to be in the groove on the head of the valve instead of behind it as it is now.. Is this possible to get in place without removing the valve body again or do I suck it up and try again? All signs point to try again. Will update for science.

 

[AmsterDutch]

Update. Things were simpler than expected. Just needed to put more fluid in.. Apparently the air pockets pushed out a lot of what I put in as I leveled it. However it appears I forgot to set the gear select pin correctly on the select valve and now can't actually shift into gears. It would seem the pin needs to be in the groove on the head of the valve instead of behind it as it is now.. Is this possible to get in place without removing the valve body again or do I suck it up and try again? All signs point to try again. Will update for science.

I have a
OBD II fault code P0741 which is most commonly defined as “Torque Converter Clutch Circuit Performance” or sometimes as “Torque Converter Clutch- Stuck Off”, and is set when the PCM (Powertrain Control Module) detects an abnormal electrical value in the torque converter clutch control circuit. The words “Stuck Off” in a definition of this code refers to the fact that the torque converter clutch control solenoid is stuck in the “OFF” position, and can therefore not engage the torque converter clutch or lock-up mechanism. I'm leaning towards needing a new solenoid but unfortunately this could be multiple things...I even found that putting in a universal fluid could make this Transmission problematic ...You said you needed more fluid? That would be the best possible outcome for the code I detected due to being the first thing I should check? I did a road test that CrownVic55 told me to check out and it sounds like the ttc is working ...I guess my question is this ...is it common to a have air pocket?

 

[BoofKing]

I have a
OBD II fault code P0741 which is most commonly defined as “Torque Converter Clutch Circuit Performance” or sometimes as “Torque Converter Clutch- Stuck Off”, and is set when the PCM (Powertrain Control Module) detects an abnormal electrical value in the torque converter clutch control circuit. The words “Stuck Off” in a definition of this code refers to the fact that the torque converter clutch control solenoid is stuck in the “OFF” position, and can therefore not engage the torque converter clutch or lock-up mechanism. I'm leaning towards needing a new solenoid but unfortunately this could be multiple things...I even found that putting in a universal fluid could make this Transmission problematic ...You said you needed more fluid? That would be the best possible outcome for the code I detected due to being the first thing I should check? I did a road test that CrownVic55 told me to check out and it sounds like the ttc is working ...I guess my question is this ...is it common to a have air pocket?

Obviously a novice here so take it with a grain of salt but I highly doubt an air pocket would be a possibility if you aren't dropping the pan and mucking around with the internals.

 

[AmsterDutch]

Obviously a novice here so take it with a grain of salt but I highly doubt an air pocket would be a possibility if you aren't dropping the pan and mucking around with the internals.

No I didn't drop the pan but it was flushed and I guess I'm wondering if a Transmission Flush can produce a air pocket?

 

[BoofKing]

I guess possibly.. But I highly highly doubt it. Especially if it was done by a dealer with the proper equipment.

 

[joegr]

No I didn't drop the pan but it was flushed and I guess I'm wondering if a Transmission Flush can produce a air pocket?

Sure, if they do it wrong. However, it would be eliminated long before you have driven a mile. (been there, done that).

 

[Andrizzle]

Following this thread, thanks for the good information everyone. I have been driving around needing this solenoid or valve body maintenance or PCM fix for a while now. I hardly drive my LS, so it hasn't been a priority.

Just an FYI, I know you spent $120 for the re-manufactured solenoid off ebay, but you can get new OEM one for $200 from another ebay seller.

 

[AmsterDutch]

Obviously a novice here so take it with a grain of salt but I highly doubt an air pocket would be a possibility if you aren't dropping the pan and mucking around with the internals.

So after doing some research this weekend and from what Joe was telling me this Transmission has a transmission Solenoid Body/Block 4L2Z-7G391-AA inside the trans. Looks like you can find hem on average for around $270.00....Correct me if I'm wrong but I have to remove the trans pan and about 7 screws holding it. It has 4 shift solenoids and 3 pressure control solenoids and 1 converter lock-up solenoid in it. Does this sound right?

 

[AmsterDutch]

I guess possibly.. But I highly highly doubt it. Especially if it was done by a dealer with the proper equipment.

I just realized that our transmissions might be different I believe I have the 5R55N your thread title says 5R55S

 

[BoofKing]

The N and S are not as similar as the S and W are. However, the solenoid blocks throughout all have multiple solenoids contained in them and replacing the block is as simple as dropping the pan, removing the filter, and I think for the N, there's a overdrive or reverse switch connected to the solenoid which needs unbolted, and undoing the solenoid screws. If you are planning on doing that, be sure to loosen the 10mm bolt holding the solenoid block's electrical (bulkhead) connector down on the top of the transmission first. It's a pain if you haven't done it before and a cheap 10mm ratcheting wrench which you can cut down is a must. Smarter to do it before dropping the pan so you don't get rained on while fiddling with it.

 

[rollingsolo]

Mine has 55k original miles and it has those symptoms at times. Not often but when it does I see $$ signs down the road.

 

[AmsterDutch]

Mine has 55k original miles and it has those symptoms at times. Not often but when it does I see $$ signs down the road.

Maybe drop the pan and replace filter first or get a flush and see if it's a pressure issue first.... with that many miles you shouldn't be Have to change out solenoid ...my car had 5 owners before me and fluid was black as coal...check out what color your fluid is...it's easy as opening your hydrolic fan reservoir in the engine compartment passenger side ...should be light red or red ....mine was black as coal and wasn't flushed once its entire life 2001 Lincoln LS V8 17 years without a flush and now it's probably shot needing a rebuild...I suggest doing some maintenance now at lower miles and seeing if you can kill the virus before its to late ....