2003 mountaineer, no gears. Torque converter failure?

[Nate]

Hey all. Looking for some opinions on what the potential failure is
2003 Mercury Mountaineer. Same as an Explorer. 4.6, AWD. 164k miles

SHORT VERSION
The vehicle was driving fine the day prior. Got in it to move it, loud wining noise upon startup (accepted this because it's -20 without the windchill). I put it in gear after a min or two, and the wirring noise got louder, and the vehicle would not move. Has no gears, none of the forward gears, and no reverse. If the vehicle is left to idle and reach opperating temp, no changes. No fluid leaks, but unable to check due to not being equipped with a dipstick. If left in gear for a min or so, the vehicle makes an attempt to lurch forwardish or reverseish, but only at idle. Applying throttle will make it not move. Kinda has a burning smell. I suspect the torque converter has failed?

Long version...
Trans was rebuilt 6k miles ago, 9 months ago. Has a 12/12 warranty. Not thrilled with the shop. 200 miles ago, the vehicle lost 4th gear and the check trans light was flashing. Had codes for pressure solenoid. Dropped it off. Shop owner befuddled when we implied it should be warranty. Bad experiances with time management. "We'll get it in today" "Should be done today" "Just about wrapped up with it" for 3 weeks. Called every other day, then at the end of the week... Picked up after 3.5 weeks. Payed for fluid and filter... Owner said he had the solenoid and 4th band replaced. Showed me the band, and solenoid. Band was broken, but had tool marks on it *may have been broken upon removal, owner insisted strongfully that it was broken when it was in the transmission* And showed me a soloenoid, which I immediatly called out as not the correct piece. Owner scoffed... Shop employee grabbed a box, with the correct solenoid in it, and said he changed it. The box had junkyard markings on it... Ok, fine. $140. Made it exactly 6 miles... Check transmission light came on. Brought it back. Owner scratched his head, said it could be a tail light out. I argued that, saying I'm not an idiot you're kidding me if u think I believe that. Ect ect ect. Eventually left the keys and truck there. Left on fair terms with the owner after I diffused him. He said he'd call an electrical specialist. 4 weeks later. Picked it up. No conversation. Solenoid was replaced. I suspect it was a new unit.

200 miles later, this... Not thrilled. Worried about him running the clock out of the warranty. Called the warranty underwriter, they say give him another shot with it...

Torqued off about this suspected torque converter failure... Havnt contacted the shop yet. Not exactly thrilled about it...
Any advise is useful.

Thank you!
~Nate

[TylerH860]

I doubt we'll see many tranny shops survive over the next 10-20 years. Transmissions are getting too complicated to effectively diagnose and repair economically.

[spdrun]

Depends. CVTs and hybrid power split devices are actually simpler than multi-speed limp-o-matics.

[kerry]

Could be a bad pump. Pull a cooler line and see if it's pumping fluid.

[Zulfiqar]

you have the 5R55S transmission and this is a video of the valve body,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRQmYZ8WopQ

you will notice that the thermostatic cooler port gets stuck and will prevent the torque converter from charging up, same problem like honda pressure control valve body (except the cooler part - it has no tstat in the valve body like this Ford) - it jams and the converter cooks itself (even blues)

[Nate]

I dont want to do anything that the shop owner could say caused the problem. Getting pretty frustrated at the situation...

Well, it's getting towed there tomorrow...
My aunt owns it, and we're going there together. We'll see what happens.

~Nate

[Zulfiqar]

the video is to show you how it works and what causes what failure - the guy tells it pretty nicely of what valve failure causes what shift problem.

This way you are armed with a bit information on when the mechanic pulls out job orders and tries to rectify it.

I did not post it asking you to tear into it.

[Nate]

Thank you. Yeah, that was a great video, sorry I didnt comment about it. Thanks for posting it. It's great to have knowledge of standard failures. The lack of recites and paperwork is frustrating regarding this. I think it's a preservation technique to avoid providing legal evidence, but I'm pretty cynical regarding it.