Last summer, I bought a beautiful black 2001 S-Type with a 4.0 V8. Drove it for three weeks, and the transmission went out.


The plan was to get a friend who (claimed) he was good with transmissions to help me rebuild it, as the last two times I've taken a car to a transmission shop, I've gotten burned. (One was a 2003 X-Type, the other a 1978 Grand Marquis).


Well, between a trip overseas, working 50 hours a week, my friend not being the hotshot he thought he was, and then having him move away, I have a partially assembled 5R55N sitting in my workshop, and my car having mass and taking up space in my grandma's back yard. I'm not too upset at its current state, because it didn't run before we took it apart, so we really haven't screwed anything up any worse than it already was.


But I am tired of fooling with it, and tired of paying for a car I can't drive. I just want a gearbox I can stab back in the car and get her back on the road.


My income tax refund just came in, so I'm going to buy a professionally rebuilt box.


Can anyone recommend an HONEST shop in the Houston area familiar with the 5R55 family?


I found this guy on eBay:
00 02 Lincoln LS Transmission rwd 3 9L 5R55N | eBay


I sent him an email and he said he had one for a 2001 S-Type for the same price, and the ad says the servo bores have been updated. The price looks good, but shipping is to a freight yard, which means I'd have to drive to Houston to pick it up. Not a big deal, I've done it before. I'm a little leery about buying from a random ad on eBay, but he does have a 97% positive feedback.


Before I pull the trigger, I figured I'd ask the Jaguar gurus for their recommendations.


Also, I'm 99.9% sure the battery will be completely flat, but are there any other issues I need to worry about on a car that hasn't been started since June?


Thanks.

 

**Just my opinion**

The seller seems to be a legitimate shop by just looking at their other available items.

As far as the price, I'm not sure if it's good or not. Hopefully someone with more experience with these trannys will jump in.

Also hopefully someone from the High Point area has had dealings with them or has heard of them and can give some input.

Give it time. Someone will chime in shortly.

 

Once the gearbox is installed, the battery should be charged overnight and then tested to determine its condition.

Be sure to follow the procedure for filling the gearbox as outlined in JTIS, or have the vehicle taken to a reputable shop. If you are unsure about the shop, look on Yelp or check with the local Better Business Bureau.

 

I commend your bravery on taking on an automatic transmission rebuild!

That eBay deal looks good, very important that you asked about the servo bores, seems to be a big issue with these 5R55x transmission series.

I have a 2006 Mustang GT, and it has the 5R55S trans in it, 104k miles, So far so good, knock wood!

Good luck with the purchase and install.

 

Does "Brutal" live/work in this area? Very highly recommend you contact him for info before doing anything else.

 

Looks good. They mention the right things and the price is also in the ball park.

I would buy it.

If you do get it let us know how it went. Might help the next guy too!
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Well, I went ahead and ordered it. It should be here in a week or so. Once I get the car put back together again, I'll post back and let you guys know how it works.

 

The transmission came in today. I had it shipped to my work, so right now it's resting quietly in the back seat of my Ford Thunderchicken. Unfortunately, I have a road trip planned for this weekend, so I don't know if I'll have time to get humpty put back together. But I am really wanting my Jag back!

 

I realize the answer to this question is most likely contained within the JTI software, but my home computer is on the blitz and I don't have access to JTIS at the moment so...


When it comes to re-installing the transmission, I'm going to assume it's the reverse of disassembly.


As far as filling it goes, I'm working under the impression that one has to add fluid to the torque converter, install TC on front of trans, then reinstall trans in car.


Add fluid thru port in the tail shaft housing.


Pull out the tiny plug in the middle of the drain plug, add more fluid til it drips out.


Start car, get it up to operating temperature.


Keep adding fluid until it dribbles out the hole.


Reinstall tiny plug, and enjoy a Jaguar that moves under its own power.


Is there anything I'm missing?

 

You can prefill the converter if you want. It will need fluid anyway.

Is the unit you purchased been run in after rebuilding? If so it probably has a good bit of fluid already inside. The EBay listing did not say one way or the other.
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Well, we are one step closer to having Fifinella put back together.


It took a floor jack, two scissor jacks, and a motorcycle jack, but I got the new transmission under the car, bolted to the engine block, and the transmission crossmember reinstalled.


I also got all of the sundry & miscellaneous wires, hoses, cables and sensors reinstalled, with the exception of the two trans cooler lines. (I left these unhooked on purpose. I'm gonna flush out the cooler before I reconnect them).


I'm not the one who took this car apart, and I've found evidence that a previous owner had transmission work done in the past, so naturally, I've come up short a few parts. Namely, the bolts that hold the torque converter to the flywheel.


Also, I took a couple of scientific wild a**ed guesses as to where a few bolts originally came from. What could possibly go wrong?


So now my to-do list looks like this:


Find torque converter bolts.


Bolt TC to flywheel.


Reinstall rubber plugs on bottom of engine and transmission.


Reinstall driveshaft.


Reinstall exhaust, hook up O2 sensors.


Flush cooler.


Fill transmission with fluid.


ROAD TRIP TO CORPUS CHRISTI!


If I can find the TC bolts this week, Then hopefully next Saturday I can get all that knocked out and have Fifinella running again.

 

Go to a junk yard and look for a 2001 Lincoln LS with the V-8. Really any V-8 LS from 2000-2002 should have what you are looking for.

You should have no trouble finding one to rob the parts from.

Since they are important bolts you might just stop at any Ford dealer and pick up a set for the LS. Don't think they will be expensive?
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