1995-2011 Ford Ranger and Explorer: 4R44E/55E and 5R44E/55E Transmission Fluid and Filter Service 

These are the Tools and Parts I Recommend: Transmission Filter Kit- 1995-1998 2WD- amzn.to/3aYYHdy 4WD- amzn.to/3b2zmQ1 1999-2011 2WD- amzn.to/2xLnkMD 4WD- amzn.to/3b4ZRV5 Transmission Funnel- amzn.to/3b3HgbK Mercon V Transmission Fluid and Filter- amzn.to/38V6veU As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

I have a 2001 4.0L 4x4 and the engine is so quiet and smooth running it is amazing. Purchased it new and always changed the oil at 3,000 - 4,000 miles. Original spark plugs. Never been to the shop. This summer I will change the transmission fluid and filter. Thanks for the video!

A tip for you to minimize the mess, i run a vacuum line down the dipstick tube and extract as much oil as I can. You can pick up those fluid extractors all over the place now.

Those transmissions bring back memories. I used to rebuild the valve bodies for those transmissions. They started coming in for rebuilds about 1997. Lots of small springs and valves inside of those valve bodies, and no 2 parts were alike.

The quality of content on this channel is absolutely superb, really appreciate all you do my man 👍

Thanks for the awesome video! I just wish it would have been up a couple of weeks back when I did my 01 ranger, but I believe I read your post on a forum and followed that guide to get the job done. Thanks again!

Excellent tutorial! It felt like I was in transmission school. Your style of instruction is really helpful. So Many Tips you offer along the way. Thanks!

Great job very comprehensive especially for anyone that hasn't done this before.

Perfect timing !!! I have my 06 ranger and pops 96 ranger to do thanks for the video.

The repair manual I have says 120 inch pounds for the pan. I’ve always thought that was too tight. I’m glad I heard the 89 inch pound number from you. I recently changed the gasket and it’s leaking like hell because I crushed the gasket. Thanks for the info.

Thanks for the video...we need more Ranger videos.

Your the best ford tech barr none!!! Very precise work, awesome job!!!

Thanks again Brian for another Ford DIY 💪🏿

Thank you for the video! Wish it was as quick on 4WD models. On my '99 Eddie Bauer, the front driveshaft is in the way of the pan, and you have to wiggle it through to pull the pan out. Bit of a mess, but I cover up the exhaust to prevent ATF splashing on it and clean everything up in the process. Ended up getting an aftermarket pan with a drain plug to make the process just that wee bit easier. :-)

Great video! I appreciated noting common problems, too.

Very good explanation of the steps to take. Thank you.

Another great video Brian. Keep em coming.

Appreciate you posting working on older model Fords. Hope you get some OBS F-150s in some day. :)

Great content. Helps me immensely. SUBSCRIBED.

You already know reading this comment.. Perfect timing lmao.... T-oil change in a few weeks, and I gotta get the drive shaft off to replace the front/rear main seal+cover(crusty) for a Dif leak. Missing the bearing press so I'll have to eventually buy one or rent one. All on a 04" Ranger XLT. It's been shifting pretty hard in park hard.

Awesome video and advise as always. Thumbs up!

Great Video... You taught me a lot. Thank you.

This was very well presented, from a total novice I appreciate it. 🙏

I love your new intro btw

While the pan is off, NOW is a really good time to install a DRAIN PLUG!

Thanks for this Well detailed video, I appreciate it.

Alright, he got right to it! Great tutorial video.

Thanks for another great tech demonstration... I'm still blown away by the fix I got away with on my F150 trans. valve body because of you... Also, I found that a small, plastic cement mixing container from Home Depot works great for the mess of dropping a trans. pan.

I done mine last weekend thanks for the video I scratched a line on the front of the pan to make it simpler putting it back together

That is a Bad ass new intro.. nice!

Excellent video and information

Every Single car I own, FWD, RWD, 4WD, with an automatic has a drain plug installed AND a spin-on oil filter installed! Cheap and reliable insurance!

That was excellent! Many thanks.

Excellent information !

OH, the patina of midwestern rust. Nice video.

I've personally do this on the ground over ramps. The fluid will flow down the pan and now all across, less mess.

Great details! Thanks

Your video is gonna save me a few hundos thanks

Good time to put a drain plug in the trans pan.

New intro WOW !!!! Thumbs up...

I used to own 1996 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer Edition. It kept snapping the flexplates, the last one I put myself and I bench pressed the transmission into place while my dad put some of the bell housing bolts cross brace in.😅It left me stranded near Navajo Arizona, I abandonded it and and gifted the keys, and title to a Guy named Darryl that works for a towing company located at Sanders Arizona. It went through five flexplates! It shifted fine I think it is just to weak of flexplates.

Great video.

Thanks for that info. I wasn't aware that the two marks on the deepstick is the cold mark not hot. So tgat explains why my transmission is acting up. It's low on fluid.

If the fluid hasn't been changed in 80k miles. And is slipping from 1st to 2nd and the fluid has a strong burnt smell. Don't bother changing any fluid. It will cause it to crap out on these 5r models. Especially the 5R44E with the gasket leak and servo wear. If the fluid has a burnt smell the trans needs a soft overhaul. No way around it. Fresh fluid will washout the burnt clutches. If the fluid is still red or light brown just dump a bottle of Lucas in and hope you can get another 50k out of it. Mine is a 5r55e and had a bottle dumped in at 90k in 2010. It's now 2021 and 130k miles. Fluid is still light brown and smells horrible. That Lucas saved it for 10 years. I'm still impressed. Got lucky and it softened up the gasket.

Love this channel

A trash can lid drilled with holes makes a great fluid collector, extension to yo waist oil bucket, pot.

Thanks for the video

Thank you this helps tons

Hey. I really like your Channel and been subscribed for a while now. You are one of those who like to give in depth information and instruction which is what I look for and appreciate. Am curious if you have any stickers or ever plan to have any?? Exterior grade vinyl and happy to pay for them as I need TWO stickers for my little project I'm working on. Keep up the great work and always happy to see content from you.

Hey thanks big guy great video

Awesome 👍 Thanks

I like the Intro.

Great video ford tech

I had the flexplates breaking problem on the 1996 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer Edition 4.0 liter V6 and once on a 2000 Ford Escort SE. The Ford Escort I heat tempered the flexplates for 450°f for a half an hour and then at 500°f for another half an hour. Then doubled converter seals up, added a steel spacer plate, and put lock washers and lock tight on the crank hub bolts that go through the flexplate. It never broke again or leaked. But the ignition switch or wiring in steering column or dash caught fire and burned the driver side dash and steering. I got $65 for the whole car.😟

😊thanks love you man

Nice!!

Follow the recommended time/mileage for the fluid change. I usually do my wife's vehicle every two years. So far so good.

Thanks for sharing this! Do you have one on valve body gasket replacements or dropping/replacing the valve body? @19:50 why Mercon if manufacturer says different? Thanks for helping us Ford owners who won't give up on keeping them roadworthy--

Thanks man much appreciated my 2007 U.S. E150 with 4.6 will rock n roll bevause if your expert advice!!!,😎😎😎🤗🤗

Great video, pretty straight forward! I have a 2003 Ranger Edge 4.0 with the 5R55E trans. It has a leak at the shift lever (on the trans) where that black module is located. I presume this is a seal or similar? Thanks in advance!

This was a great video on filter and fluid change but do you have a valve body and solenoid replacement video for ford Ranger ? Thx

Outstanding video sir! Question: how much does the torque converter hold and do i need to drain/change that as well? Thanks keep up the great work!

I was very intersting know about to my Ford Explorer Sport XLT 2003

I can't get over the rust on some of those vehicles you have over there. I'm from Australia, we don't get the winters that you guys get.

Anybody out there also change out the TCC, EPC and 4x shift solenoids while they had the pan down? Any recommendations or tricks for doing that job. I've scoured the internet forums and no one seems to discuss this in great detail.

What happens if your pan leaks / seeps? Do you retorque? Torque slightly more? BtwI love your videos been repairing my fords for over 10 years.

A bit of advice for the diy’r; put a small kiddie pool under the transmission pan. Or have a couple bags of oil dry on hand.

I wish I could do this on my Ford Flex. I hate how deep the filter is on the 6f50s.

There’s cross over exhaust pipe that goes under the pan blocking access to bolts on my 2003 Ranger 3.0 FFV. Any special techniques or tools for that issue?

Ahhh, I loved grenading my 2011 ranger lol

So how do you identify the valve body seal if it's blown up?

What are those two bolts on the driver side next to the shifter linkage with the 3/8s plug on the bolt head?? Can i pull that out and use it to fill the transmission??

I have a question about my 2011 Ford Ranger Transmission. It was supposed have been replaced about 2 1/2 years ago and was working fine until last year when a problem started occurring. when leaving to go somewhere the transmission would go into drive fine, however after going a short distance of a few blocks and usually when coming to a stoplight, when I go to accelerate from the stop the transmission lose drive gear, after stopping and shifting into park, or reverse it eventually will engage again and go on shifting normally. A couple times it did continue to slip. However it typically would return to normal operation without further problems. I found the problem seemed to be less frequent during the hot Phoenix summer. I checked the fluid level and it was ok. I found more increasingly lately I would lose drive when entering the freeway during acceleration and have avoided driving on the freeway completely. The problem has became very frequent when leaving for the past few months but typically goes away after the initial loss of drive which will "Engage' after a few seconds or longer and no longer slip or act up and operate normally. Today while driving close by after and during rain and cooler temps that Drive completely failed after stopping a couple places a block away and then refueling. Reverse also would not engage completely and slipped, but D1 and D2 worked ok and I did make it home. I tried several time to go and try it in Drive and Reverse, and drove around the mobile home park to see if things would return to normal, but it continues to slip badly. It did flash the O/D light during these tests which from my research indicated slippage after 3 attempts. I tried adding additional fluid but the problem continued. Tonight I let it run idling in park for about 20 minutes. When I tried it again it seemed to work as normal without slippage, however I did not take it out on the street, only at slower speed around the park where it did shift from 1st to 2nd fine and had no apparent slippage. Last year I did remove the equivalent of a bottle of Lucus Transmission Treatment worth of transmission fluid drawn from the Dipstick Tube, and added the Lucus treatment hoping to resolve the issues, which did seem to help, but may have been due to operating at hotter temps during the summer. Do you have any suggestions? Would a fluid & filter change be advised? I would guess I have about 30K miles on the "Replaced Transmission" and everything operated normal for over a year until the problems stated occurring. The fluid I removed looked good, not dark or contaminated. Do these symptoms indicate a problem with transmission electronic controls/computer module or shift solenoids? Any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated. I have tried finding videos on this ford automatic transmission with similar issues with no luck. It's odd that the transmission fails like this after just driving less than a block or a few blocks and stopping, not able to engage in drive when starting forward acceleration again, then within a few seconds or sometime after rolling to place to pull over then stopping, trying shifting to park, reverse etc.. then it will engage and operate normally with no slippage. I just found today that D1& D2 worked when Drive and Reverse would slip badly with almost no engagement, just slight forward and backward movement respectively. I did not rev the motor excessively as to not do damage, or have a "Hard Engagement" and break something.

What do I have to do if coolant got into transmission?

I sure hope my change is this simple lol

What about the fluid in the torque converter ? Why you didn’t drain it also ?

Show the drain collection bucket please

Mystery for you. 02 Mountaineer 4.6 246k change filter and fluid front and read diff. 3rd change since on trans since 95k now when the truck is on a incline slope with the brake pedal depressed in 1st gear and when the fluid is below 120 degree in drive it looses gear and rolls back. Need to rev engine to about 1500 and it locks in. Didnt have the problem before fluid change. After the fluid is up to temp its ok.

Have a video or advice on troubleshooting limp mode on a 5R55E? My 2004 Ranger is in limp mode with check engine light, reverse works but put it in drive it slams hard and acts like it is stuck in 3rd or 4th gear and runs rough and has no power. Had no issues prior, it just started out of nowhere. Thanks

I have an 2011 4x4 ranger, no shield for the trains. fail the first time at 50K miles, now at 182K miles, could this being because no shield on the trains? any links to check the solenoids?

When changing a shift tube on a Windstar, Does the van need to be in park, When it broke, It was in drive..

I tried to do the bulk sleeve conector replacement and broke one of the pin from the harness and now truck don’t start

Anyone have a link to the upgraded valve body and gasket??

Hi, I've notice that there are two types of filters, one is entirely flat but the other has the spout or opening that protrudes, how do i know which one to use and what is the purpose for this?

My ranger came with a trans cooler by the radiator. Is the process still the same?

Hi I have a 2006 ford courier here in Australia, it has the 4.0 v6 sohc with a 4r55e and it has issues with over heating, I drive it then the transmission goes into limp mode (o/d light flashes) and then it goes into the gears a lot harsher, I’ve serviced the transmission and it still does the same thing, any recommendations on where to look or what could be the issue ?

The only problem I see is that aftermarket kit has a different bolt size, what happens down the road if you go back to the oem filter and don't have the right size bolt.

Hi, please help me out. I have a 2012 f150 EcoBoost that have no compression on all cylinders. I took off the intake and the vavle carbon is pretty bad. Clean it out and the vavle seem like wont close complete. If my timing jumps? Does it bent the vavle, I'm taking off the front cover tomorrow to confirm the timing. Any tip would gladly appreciate. Aloha

I have a question about my f150 it's a 1990 year model and the transmission slams into reverse and sometimes it will slam when going into 2nd gear

Can you install a drain plug for the transmission on the Ranger?

I have a 2004 ford ranger 4 cylinders, how much transmission fluid do I need after a transmission service?

Is the 2016 ford explorer transmission filter is not exchangeable? Was told that at ford dealer.

I have a 2002 ranger with code p0715 for the turbine speed sensor. I checked the ohm readings at the connector and it is good. Not sure when the fluid was changed last. Any chance a fluid change could solve the issue? That's something I could do before having to take to a trans shop?

My kit came with a new bolt but I actually ended up using the old one, would that cause the transmission to slip?

It’s all good but on the SOHC motor the y pipe is right under the pan. Some say they have to remove the pipe and or remove the front drive shaft

What size are the bolts, what size of pan do i need , how much fluid comes out

I bought Valvoline in the blue container. It says mercon on it but no numbers can I use this?

Any idea why a 2000 ranger will not drop into passing gear? Otherwise shifts normally.

How do i know which transmission is in my '03 Explorer 4.0L?

What is the filter media in the transmission filter?