For anyone watching this in 2023. Instead of trying to loosen the bolts on the crossmember and risk breaking them. Put a wrench on the bolt side and take the nut off of the other side. Once you get the nut off hit the bolt with a hammer and it will back out easily. Also pro tip if you take the intake off the top of the engine you can easily reach the top 4 housing bolts from the engine bay then you just gotta do the sides and bottom housing bolts. Don't unplug your starter unless you plan on un hooking your battery first just take two bolts out and hang it to the side and you can get to your torque converter nuts there should be 4 nuts. Youll have to get a good sized ratchet or breaker bar and i believe the crank pulley bolt is a 18mm.

Wow, that's a lot of work and God bless you for actually taking the time to videotape the process and also for being so thorough. I cannot see how anyone in the world could actually give your video a thumbs down, I'm baffled... people.

I am replacing flywheel on 2000 Expedition 5.4L this weekend , great video, most bolts same sizes and this video was really helpful, thanks for posting it.

i found your video very helpful. you're right that it is hard for one person. i fell back on your video while taking mine out. Thank you for making it

Yep, good effort mate. Thanks a lot. Another garage legend. No BS. Just how to get it out.

This video may be old but it still helped me alot I just wanted to say thank you...

really great job with the video and the content. Not professional camera work but seriously helpful. You showed everything that needed to be shown Great job! 5 years ago you made it and its still helping people. I will be looking through all your videos thanks!

Thanks for helping me. This drivetrain is on the s197 mustang. No one else was able to describe like you did

I have the same problem but with a 2,000 Ford Ranger I'm going to go ahead and pull it out thank you for all the information you are a big help

Thank you TVWXMAN32 ; your video was incredibly informative and helpful to our own project of removing a couple 4.0L and 5R transmission combos. Kudos to you for doing this on your own as well; it is hard enough with help!

Great video and information. This video shows you exactly what you deal with doing this work, also some of the things that can go wrong.

I take my hat off to you. This has to be the toughest job to do on the floor. I have done a few with a regulator floor jack at first then I brought a transmission jack. Much,much better with the trans jack. I think the reason I stop doing them is because I got tired of smelling like transmission fluid. Anyone who has worked on auto transmissions knows what I mean.

Thanks, I'm going to do one this summer when the weather gets a little better. Great video, I'm familiar with it now. I was wondering about the transfer case and how it all came apart.

Never have changed a transmission in my life u made it easy brotha thanks

Well, I have been able to take everything off so far. Tomorrow the bell housing and torque converter. One small bit of advice, taking the drivers side wheel off made taking the starter and exhaust so much easier. Thanks for your video, it was some great tips.

Thanks brother for filming this!!! I'm working my way up to popping out a transmission

Really enjoyed the video. Soon, I will have to replace the rear main crankshaft seal in my 2005 4x4 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The steps and effort shown in the video were valuable to realize the endurance needed for the work. I am sure my task will be similar although I do not think I have any 12 point drive shaft bolts but I will check beforehand as I have very few 12 point sockets.

thanks for sharing.. just got an 03 explorer with 180km on it and this weekend the transmission started grinding, and slipping, etc. Haven't decided what to do as yet but this give good idea what is involved in taking the busted one out

Thanks for the video. Now I see for sure what I’m getting into.

Great video! Thanks for taking the time to make it!

Exelente video. Llevo mucho tiempo buscando una transmisión automática de una Ford Explorer año 1996 4x4 de 4000 cc. Felicitaciones nuevamente por su video.

FANTASTIC VIDEO.

Hey bud, great video! I had a good idea to what I was getting into but definitely helped me prepare myself! Mostly mentally cause I just put a motor in 3 months prior! Lol

Good video sir. Videos like this are the best part about KZfaq. Subbed.

Thank you for the video!

I put a front axle in mine recently, it was Hell of a job,I did myself

Anyone doing this repair in the rust belt ( North East ) be prepared for transmission crossmember bolts to break off inside the frame rails. Its extremely common and a wicked PITA.

You missed the most important article to your operation. Cxc51a ford spray, penetration spray, I am in the process of what you did here.I have a 2002 explorer with a 4.6 . I using all Ford gear putting her back together soon as my used tranny arrives. God bless from Nova Scotia 🇨🇦🙏 Great video, thanks for the imfo bud,thanks.

I don’t know why people don’t like the video... thanks for sharing your experience.! I’m sure it helped a lot of people

Im currently doing one on a friend's 2004, and I have to say them subframe bolts won't budge

Who cares if your video is shaky if you are helping us out? Anyone who says otherwise can piss off.

great video !!!!

Nice video

FANTASTIC VIDEO...!!! THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO MAKE AND POST THIS...!!!

Enjoying the video it was helpful

Now I Know, a lot of thanks, it was good video

You are a great man

Thanks man

like it cause not only are you a expert you a master teacher to.. thankZ!!!

thanks for that it's gonna help me a lot getting mine done how did you go about getting the servo's out

Hey..thanks for the video..was way more informative the the others..was able to follow the steps without wondering what i would have to do before...lol...anyway...Thanks

My 05 explorer was 209,000 miles on it. Yesterday the check transmission & the o/d light come on as I was pulling into my drive way. It wasn’t making any grinding noise, but I noticed when I got to 5,000 rpm I could feel it lag.

Thank sir fo showing me that I need to just pay somebody 😂,,bless you, I don't have time to do all that,,I tip my hat to you

Was it necessary to remove the manifolds to replace the transmission?

porque truena mi camioneta ford explorer 2002 4.0 v6 le puse la transmission todo quedo vien pero aldar buelta truena del lado isquierdo sera que el transfer case esta mal o sera otra falla

There is nothing more important when installing a auto tranny than to really pay attention to whats going on with the converter and the spacing and all that stuff, you can really mess things up in a hurry,i have installed a few motors in my time and as ive gotten older i realized how lucky i have been, i got a brand new motor siting here at home i will be installing in October (too hot right now) and i decided to do a lot of studying on how to go about it and all that, i dont wanna be that guy thats on his fifth installation and hoping and praying "it will work this time" lol Im doing a custom thing thats why im adamant about being careful, you know your stuff well but i put this up for other people as i am learning all this myself. I used to think that all you had to do with any motor was put that tranny bellhousing to the engine, tighten everything up and you were done when in reality you need to make sure that converter is "seated" properly on the pump or you will have major problems, you gotta make sure if you are doing a custom project you have the correct flexplate (this is a really common mistake people make with disastrous consequences), gotta make sure you put sealer on your flexplate bolts and a few other things, not trying to scare anyone but you just have to be careful and pay attention and not be on your 8th beer when you do this,preferable sober ha ha ha ha Great video man,very detailed,interesting how the access point is thru the starter, most trannys ive seen have a inspection plate on bottom where you would conduct all that business but every model is different,whatever works is my motto,you are pretty brave to do this all by yourself but Ive done it too, sometimes there is no help available.

I have overdrive light flashing on 2002 Ford Explorer 190000 miles. Transmission shift smooth but I think torque converter is bad . I check seat belt connector change fluid in transfer case and transmission clean tps sensor check ohm on front speed wheel sensor 4500 ohm not open. I’m going until she blow. I also add additive to rear axle ford recommend for locking up fix.

Want to know once you installed the trans how do you get the convertor up against the flexplate? There's no removable plate on the bell housing.

Have you ever swapped the 4.6 Romeo with a 4.6 Romeo? If so do you have any tips.

Can you list the material you used to finish this job and from where do we buy them

Where did you get the transmission for 4.6 explore and how much was it. Thanks

Very informative video! I do have a question about your engine that moved... What did you have to do to straighten your engine back out from the drop of transmission and transfer case?

good job question what was the problem what did find out after open it up. thanks for the video

Can you access all the housing bolts from underneath with exhaust out of the way

Good idea on paint on bolts I have a 96 for same engin

Does the exhaust have to come down even if you get all the cross member and trans mount bolts out? 2003 4.0

ok thanks

Just curious how many days did it take to pull this transmission

hello, your video helped me to change my transmission, I put a new one, my question is after changing it, I have to do a type of reset so that it works well and does not show me the same codes again, I have to take it to an agency to do it or is there some way to do it

I’ve had mine since buying it in 2010, first time ever I’ve seen “check transmission” msg appear today 😔 I’m not mechanically savvy with cars and I’m scared this is gonna be an expensive repair without even knowing what’s actually wrong, today I was driving and noticed that my Explorer will just rev continuously when trying to shift from 2nd to 3rd gear, Is this an indication that maybe the transmission is not entirely broken but has a minor problem? Or am I now looking at buying a whole new gearbox? Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

DAMMIT WHY DIDNT YOU SHOW THE REAR MAIN SEAL!!!! thanks for the video brother!

I can believe you had to take the exhaust off? I pulled the transmission on my 2001 explore sport trac and never touch the exhaust only troubles I had was the bolts on the frame but I did WD40 everything for 2 days before I started taking it apart.

Is procedure much different without a transfer case?

23:30 removal of torque converter bolts from fly wheel. 26:00 removal of transmission.

I got a question, so I’m getting my transmission rebuilt and I will be putting it back in, I made sure that transmission was fully seated and then I got it flush with motor. No binding or nothing, I’m trying to figure out if I need to space torque converter from flex plate or pull it all the way against it. I also did my rear main seal and there was a 1-1/4 spacer to 1-1/2 maybe not to sure, between crank and flex plate. Sorry it’s a 97 ford ranger 4.0l. It been a year since it has been in but I believe it was all the way against the flex plate with no spacers. If you can please help me

i have a rear main seal leak on my 99 explorer, and this video just confirms that i will not be removing my trans to replace it. Still trying to make bars stop leak work. Or if it gets too bad ill pay firestone the 700 something dollars they quoted me to replace the rear main seal. you seem calm in the video, but i dont know how you have patience for all that.

Is this the same transmission that’s in a 96 Ford Explorer? Pretty sure mine needs replaced. It’s gonna cost so I don’t know if it’s worth it.

Thanks man, how long did it take you to do?

Great video. One question. When reinstalling the trans how hard is to re align the torque converter bolts to the flex plate. Not much room to spin the torque converter.

Would a gearbox out of a 4.0l go onto a 4.6l explorer?

Great video !!! I got a solenoid pack at the junk yard for my 04 explorer. a mechanic ( not transmission guy ) told me it'd have to be reprogrammed. Does that sound right ? thanks

Fun fun man you'd have it out in 2 hrs with a lift I've done a Buick lacrosse with no lift It was a lot of fun

Is the transmission pan flat

Great video! No idea how you manage to stay productive under there and still get the good shots. Question for you, I'm in the middle of an engine swap on a 5.4l F150 and I'm struggling with the top 2 bolts on the engine to bell housing. Planning on getting some clearance and coming at it with the extension, but I'm wondering if I should plan on both cross members coming off or if I can get enough wiggle with one or the other. Any advice from your experience?

I was going to do mine but not now.

Many thanks sir! Question - did you replace the transmission cooler/radiator, or did you just flush it? I'm ready to pull and fix or rebuild my 2004 5R55S from an Eddie Bauer with 111K miles. It's leaking at the front of the case. All was working fine, saw smoke from the engine bay, saw oil leaking from around the valve covers, but that was a head-fake because the trannie started slipping and saw red fluid (foamy-grey) puddling under the vehicle. Ugh... Now reverse is gone. I'd like to know how low the fluid is - but no - no dipstick! This thing has more sensors than a space shuttle, but no dipstick.I have a Ford Shop Manual - best $35 ever spent on eBay. I've pulled a transmission before - like a 100 years ago (well, in '82). My '72 Nova needed a new trannie. By myself in 1/2 day, I dropped it, took it to the local salvage, gave them $75 and my old one for one from the yard, bolted it in and all was well... I have a feeling this won't be the same experience.

DID YA MAKE THE MANIFOLD VID? I LOOKED,NEVER FOUND IT. WHAT ABOUT TRANNY REBUILD?? THX FOR POSTING

4.0L with 120 somethin' thousand miles, Probably should rebuild that engine Next ! (Timing Chain !)

I need to repair my transmission wiring harness. The wire broke at speed sensor. Can not get hands up there to repair so I think i need to remove harness to splice broken wire. How can you remove harness without removing transmission? It looked like harness was bolted to trans at top. Any ideas?

nice video

any tips for reinstalling? did you use any sort of loctite on re assembly? did you install a aftermarket transmission cooler as not to suck in all the old nasty fluid?

Would it be easier or would you run into clearance problems if you left the Transfer Case bolted to the Transmission while using a transmission jack? Your video show dropping the Transfer Case first.

Hey man GREAT VIDEO, I just pulled my trans5R55s on my 2002 explorer 4x4 (came out great thanks to your video) got a rebuilt trans but I'm having problems with the linkage nut to make the transfer, broke whatever's inside the old transmission and now It just spins. Did you have the same problem? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Nice job. 8 hrs. I would assume a lot of that time was consumed by video production.

I hope you changed the real seal while you were in there

Old? I traded my 2003 Sport Trac 4.0 when it had 249,000 miles on it. It ran perfect, never leaked a drop of fluid, and the transmission certainly didn't have a problem either even though I'd haulded heavy trailers (3,000 lbs) thousands of miles. I only traded it because I had moved to a location where it snowed, and I needed 4WD or AWD, and my Sport Trac was only 2 WD.

on taking out the transmission , you may save yourself some work leaving the torque convertor bolted fast, just take the bolts out of the bell housing and pull it off, the trans. the torque convertor fits into the shaft on the trans. when you reinstall it you can shift it to drive and turn the out put shaft of the trans to click it into the torque convertor, unless you are going to replace it too, but good video , also when you reinstall the bolts you may want to put on some what they call "antiseize", a graphite compound, in case you needed to know. Dont feel bad , i am in the process of pulling out my 4R55E from my explorer, when i seen your metal in your pan, , wow, i can put mine in gear , but it won't move unless i rev it up but , it doesn't do that anymore, i'm figuring as i talked with the AAMOCO guy today, the bands are possibly burnt up , mercy knows about yours!! He said will if you can get it shifted then thats a mechanical issue, since the components need fluid pressure to operate, the bands needs pressure, who knows, maybe there is trash in the valve body keeping the pressure from building, its a thought. I hope you are aware of the servo valve shafts where Ford had made the shafts of the servos hard steel that wear out the ports they slide in , they have a special replacement for these, mine seem to be ok.

Maybe in your next video you should tell what size motor you have..I was looking for videos for a 97 explorer..4.0 liter..yes I am aware procedure is same v8 or v6...BUT....trying to look for something SPECIFIC...LIKE TORQUE CONVERTOR NUTS..OLD C4 AMD C6 TRANNIES DIDNT ALLOW YOU TO GO THRU THE STARTER HOLE TO ACCESS THE CONVERTOR NUTS..

My 04 trans went out at 165k miles. Rebuilt. Original Motor went at 220k

Your video was a great help . Thank you for your efforts. Just one question though. I pulled the motor and transmission out in one piece as i had to do the timing chains on my 98 4.0lt Explorer. Reconnected trani to motor outside the car and now have re- install all items back in the car. The motor is running well and quiet with the new timing chains , but the transmission dose not engage in drive or reverse. I have not done any work to the trani other than disconnect and reconnect it from the motor. Have i missed something ???? Your comments would be greatly appreciated. Regards George

Maybe you are still watching this video,,, my wife’s 2005 transmission had a problem recently, something about solenoid inside the transmission. Is it a good choice to change that and will it be reliable.

hair off topic but i'm stuck with a 4.0L auto mustang torn apart and cant find an answer anywhere, hope you can help. pulled engine and trans for timing chain replacement, converter, flex plate and engine have all been turned and weren't marked properly (no idea exact location of direction when removed). does it matter how the converter/plex plate and crank are turned when put together (will it shake if exact bolt holes aren't reused)? balance question really. thanks in advance. -jeremy

Can’t seem to find your are videos on 03 explorer

I've got all the bolts out from the bell housing and the nuts on the flywheel/flexplate but the transmission still won't budge do I need to just pry it harder towards the rear???

I got a good one for you. after I took the pump out, I only found one servo strut from the servo side from the od band. the adjuster side strut was gone. got any ideas of where it might be?

*Hey Nathan R. - when you're installing/replacing the entire transmission/torque converter exactly how much transmission fluid is needed for this vehicle?*

did you take the top bolts out through the back or the side?

Do you remove complete the drive line?

Would a 2005 Explorer have the same transmission problems? The one we have has been well maintained.

HOW do you get the top two bolts OUT?