The Power Ranger, aka What Could Go Wrong?

[Jake]

I checked the transmission fluid last night after noticing the occasional firm 1-2 shift. The 5R55E is considered pretty reliable, but if anything is acting up, I wanted to catch it before letting it get worse, or grenading the trans. So, this fluid is what I found last night:



It didn't smell burnt, but was pretty dark. I hooked up the ol' Mityvac and pumped out ~4.5 quarts from the dipstick:



That let me drop the transmission's oil pan without getting quite as much fluid everywhere. Every bolt came out with zero hassle - the entire underside of this truck could pass for just a few years old. It's wild. The pan came down easily but the old gasket was pretty plastic-y.



I took the filter off (the big black plastic thing in that photo above) with one bolt and replaced it, including the o-rings that seal it to the uh... valve body? I swear I know cars. Then I cleaned up the pan - wasn't much goop or debris but there was some. I made sure to clean the magnet in the pan as well. In all, looked pretty good but the fluid was just old. With the new filter and pan gasket, I reinstalled the pan and poured new Mercon V down the dipstick tube.

This is what came out of the Mityvac after extraction:



I started the truck and shifted it through all gears but didn't drive it yet. The engagement between Reverse and Drive was smoother so that is at least one positive - it was thumping fairly hard before. I checked the fluid level but will have to let it warm up and go for a drive before considering it a 100% success. The transmission holds 10 quarts, so I got about 50% new fluid in there, which should help it out a bit.

Also gave it a quick oil change with fresh Castrol 5W-30. I've put a tick over 3,000 miles on it in a variety of conditions, and it was easy as a "while you're in there" job jacked up for the transmission. Ironically, the Mityvac's tube won't go all the way down the engine oil dipstick tube! It gets stuck, so I had to use the drain bolt like a plebe.

Oh, and I started the Ozium process of de-stanking the interior. Still plan to pull the seats and rent a Rug Doctor for the carpet, but this will be a good start.