STREET SMART

4R44E/55E, 5R44E/55E
Wrong Gear Starts and
4R70W/4R75EE Front
4R70W/4R75
Seal Blowout

rong gear starts can sometimes send you wandering

in the wrong direction, if
you dont look at the right things.
First thing you need to check is
what gear the TCM (Transmission
Control Module) is commanding. You
can check the range commands with
your scan tool, or by using a signal
monitor.
There are a few things that can
cause the (TCM) to command the
wrong gear:
1. Diagnostic trouble codes
(DTCs) in memory, putting the
transmission in
failsafe.
2. Manual Lever
Position Sensor
(MLPS) out of
adjustment.
3. Vehicle speed
sensor picking
up a stray signal
from the charging
system or ignition
system.
Once youve checked
these inputs and verified
that the TCM is commanding the correct gear range,
you can move on to the
transmission.
Usually this is where
the call comes in to the
ATRA HotLine: Ive just
overhauled this transmission. It has all new solenoids and all the valves are
free. But its starting in the
10

10mikeB-wrG.indd 10

wrong gear. What do I need to check?

One area thats easy to miss is the
shift valve end plugs; especially the one
behind the EPC solenoid.
We all have little tricks to make our
rebuilds shift better. Some do this by
turning in the screw on the EPC, raising
pressure. This can be the beginning of
the wrong gear start problem.
What happens is the shift valve plug
becomes very loose due to opposing
forces. This allows EPC pressure to
flow past the end plug and stroke
the shift valve, causing the wrong

Sp
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by Mike Brown

gear start.
If youre working on a 4R44E/
55E, the culprit will usually be
the 1-2 shift valve end plug,
and itll cause 2nd gear starts.
If youre working on a 5R44E/
55E, look for a problem with
the 2-3 shift valve end plug;
itll cause 3rd gear starts.
Before throwing a new valve body
at the problem, check with your parts
dealer for an end plug repair kit.
(See Valve Body Below)

End Plug

Valve Body

GEARS September 2007

8/7/07 4:29:10 PM

life907.indd 11

8/7/07 9:35:17 AM

4R70W/
4R75EE
4R75
Front Seal
Blowout
An old problem returns from the
grave: front seal blowout on a 4R70W/
4R75E.
We thought these problems had
gone the way of the dodo, but lately
more and more calls have been coming
in about the front seal popping out of
the front pump. It all comes back to one
problem: backpressure.
Most of the calls about front seal
blowout are after a rebuild, which leads
us to question converter hub size, pump
bushing-to-converter hub clearance,
and pump gear clearance.
Any oil that passes by the front
pump bushing or pump gears has to go
back through the drainback hole. If too
much oil gets behind the seal, the drainback hole cant handle the flow, so the
seal pops out.
Start by checking pump gear
clearance; you want to see
0.001 to 0.003.
Then check pump bushing-toconverter hub clearance; once
again, you want to see 0.001
to 0.003.
Another possibility is the drainback hole is too small. If its too small
or restricted, oil pressure builds up
behind the seal, and POP! goes
the seal.
Here are a few things you can do to
help prevent this:
Enlarge the drainback hole
in the pump body and stator
support from 15/64 to 9/32
(figures 1 and 2).
When you replace the pump
bushing, make sure it isnt
restricting the drainback hole.
Many aftermarket bushings
are wider than the OEM bushing, and can block off part
of the drainback hole if you
12

10mikeB-wrG.indd 12

Figure 1

Figure 2

arent careful. In most cases

you can cut the wider bushing
back a little to clear the drainback hole.
Dont forget to check cooler
flow. If the cooler is restricted
or blocked, itll add to the
problem.

Now for the front seal; we have

seen and measured many different
seals. This is where it gets tricky, there

were several different sizes ranging

from 2.751 2.758.
Try to use the larger seal if you can.
It should fit tighter in the pump body,
and will be less likely to pop out.
So if you keep pump gear and
bushing clearances down, open up the
drainback hole, and use a pump seal
that fits tight, you should be able to
send front seal blowout back to the
grave, to rest in peace.
GEARS September 2007

8/7/07 4:29:24 PM

Weve moved to larger headquarters

to serve you better.

Greater inventory space. New R&D facilities.

The latest testing equipment. Enhanced customer service.
At Precision International, getting bigger is all about getting better
especially for you our loyal customers.
Moving to new headquarters means we have more room for
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down the road. So we can stay ahead of the curve and help you
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kits that professionals like you have come to rely on over the last
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cross-checked against the latest OEM
specs.
Precision already has the highest ontime delivery rate in the industry and our
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that youll get what you want, when you
want it.

precision707.indd 7

Of course, customer service is still our first priority. Yeah, weve

gotten bigger, but we havent forgotten what helped get us here
your patronage. Thats why well continue to treat you like the
biggest fish in our pond, no matter how big it grows.

www.transmissionkits.com
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6/5/07 5:12:08 PM