Hi, I am new here and thank you for having me.

Down to business, I have an 02 explorer xlt 4.0 with 143k miles on it. The other day it was not shifting right like to get it to shift from 2-3 you had to take your foot off the gas and it would shift then the problem got worse on the way home. The second chapter of this episode is when it shifted either from 1-2 or 2-3 not sure which one it would not catch in the higher gear from no throttle to 1/4 throttle but after 1/4 throttle it would finally catch and shift. So after doing my research on the 5r55w wonderful transmission I checked the fluid everything seemed fine so i drained a little out and added some lucas in it. After adding the lucas in it it just shifts hard and lunges forward no more slipping or hesitant shifts. I figured I would change the filter since it seems like a clogged filter and if it does start slipping with the new fluid either way it was worth a shot. When I dropped the pan I found this piece stuck to the magnet, i'm not sure what it is but if someone knows please share. The tranny does have a P0745 code also. If anyone has had the same issue did you find a way to fix it??? Thanks in advance!!

 

It looks like an anchor piece for a band, from the symptoms you describe you possibly have a broken intermediate band.

 

Thats what i'm afraid of. What has me wondering is that the TSB for band adjustment says to put the screw in all the way then back it out I cannot remember if its two threads or turns but when I looked under there at the screw it was backed out almost all the way.

Is there a possibility that the screw backed out over time and then that piece fell down? causing the bands to become completely loose?

Here is a diagram I found of the adjustment and the band its for a C4 but in theory it should be about the same

 

Also the wedge piece is missing off the screw so im assuming thats where it fell of at