transmission help

hi guys and girls, some input if you can.
The o/d light on my explorer 98 xlt has been flashing for a while,
when it flashes it changes gears hard with a clunk, the o/d light
stops flashing and the car drives well again. Was driving it 2 days
ago and the od light began to flash and a whinding noise started, 2-3
km down the road the car started to rev up and not go anywhere, i
limped it home slowly with the car engaging drive and then lossing it.
I would have to turn the car off and on to get it to re engage
drive. HOW BAD IS IT?? any clues. cheers
PS as i live in australia can it be fixed with a rebuild kit from the
states as parts for the tranny are pretty much non exsistant here.

Jim Warman wrote:
> The flashing OD light is a sign that something is wrong.... left unattended,
> transmission problems have a way of snowballing.... At the time that the
> light is flashing, the transmission goes into what might be considered a
> "fail safe" mode. Line pressure maxes out in an attempt to keep clutches
> from slipping (hence the harsh shift feel) and the PCM (bless it's niave
> little heart) firmly believes that the owner is going to say "Uh-oh...
> better get that checked".

Jim -

Not meaning to hijack this thread, but I have a related question. I own
a 2002 Explorer V-8 with 5R55W transmission and 135K miles. Last year,
on two separate occasions, the "OD OFF" light (the orange one on the
right of the instrument panel) began to flash very rapidly. Both times,
this occurred after pulling a lightweight (3500 pounds) camper trailer
on level roads at turnpike speeds for more than two hours with the OD
OFF switch activated, and it started not during towing, but as I slowed
down at an exit ramp. After a few minutes of slow-speed driving, the
light went off. Other than the fluttering light, nothing else seemed to
be amiss.

A couple weeks later I took the vehicle to a Ford dealer, and they told
me that an error code had indeed been set. They didn't tell me the code
number, but said that the name of the code was something like "Improper
second gear ratio". I don't think he did anything about it, and it never
happened again.

My questions are 1) I can't find any reference anywhere to
transmission-generated codes (as opposed to engine or emissions system
codes). Can you point me to a list of these codes? I'm not nearly a good
enough mechanic to screw with my transmission, but I am a curious type.
And 2) what would/could an "improper second gear ratio" refer to, and
why would it show up only after extended towing in 4th gear?

Many thanks for any answers you care to offer.

Bill Jeffrey