Broke the trans yesterday - Ford Explorer Ranger Enthusiasts "Serious Explorations"®

hopelessexploder · 10-31-2009, 12:34 AM

Well...short story. I was out on some trails. I was driving through some waist high grass and ran over a steel rod...about 1 1/2in. in diameter and sticking about 2 1/2 ft out of the ground. And it felt like i t-boned someone. So i stopped, thought i hit a rock or a stump or something, i i tried backing up. started spinning the tires. Then i went to put it back in park to get out, and the shifter lever would move freely up and down, no resistance what-so-ever. So i turned the car off. Go out and looked. Saw the bar. Got pissed. So i tried to crank the explorer back up, nothing, said check the oil. I thought i had busted the oil pan or something. Checked it, it was fine thank god. Well it turned out i basically put the car in permanant park. lol. The bar hit the shift lever on the side of the transmission and bent it 180* from where it was supposed to be. I had to take the driveshaft off so my buddy could tow me home. Im going to drop the pan in the next few days. Ill try to get some pics of what i find up. Should be interesting

jg09 · 10-31-2009, 06:23 PM

Wow! You're very fortunate to get away with just that much damage!

*mikeinri* · 11-02-2009, 01:31 PM

Yikes! Hopefully, it's just external...

Mike

*JCat* · 11-02-2009, 02:26 PM

That happened to me ......only I was in a MUSTANG and it was a tree branch on a sandy trail. Good luck !

hopelessexploder · 11-03-2009, 05:01 PM

Yea, well i havent even been able to get to work on it yet. So im still not sure whats broken. But what im thinking is that it probably bent the parking lever and definatly the shifter lever. I just bought another 92 explorer 4X4. Ford $500 bucks. Transmission was bad. So ive been rebuilding the transmission. So ive been busy with that. Ill let everyone know what happened soon as possible.

92exp4x4 · 11-03-2009, 07:46 PM

According to your signature, you are hard on transmissions!

westfield · 11-03-2009, 07:49 PM

I ran over a concrete parking curb once...It had a piece of rebar sticking up about 6 inches and punctured my transmission pan...i was lucky all i needed was a new pan !

hopelessexploder · 11-03-2009, 07:50 PM

lol. Yea...ive broken two in my life. My mustangs and the one in my 2wd explorer. The one i just bought (4wd) came that way. Oh well...ive been rebuilding it at work. Why do it at home? I get paid to do it there. Gotta love govt work.

jg09 · 11-03-2009, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 92exp4x4

According to your signature, you are hard on transmissions!

lol, he sounds like me. My x has a blown up transmission and so does my GL-10. I think it's scaring my Accord to see them like that... it could be next!

hopelessexploder · 11-03-2009, 10:09 PM

Yea. My Fiancee's kIa is getting a little worried. But i dont even think it produces enough power to blow the tranny....My 94 5sp had to be rebuilt about 5 yrs ago. I let my bro-in-law drive it and he went to downshift on the highway from 5th to 4th. But put it in 2nd. Then let the clutch out. Locked the rear tires, it was hopping all over the place he said...he panicked...forgot to press the clutch in. Broke 2nd gear and a whole bunch-a stuff...

92exp4x4 · 11-04-2009, 07:02 PM

You are gonna have to get her in a Ford!

I can't imagine the screaming your 5 speed did on the highway before it's sudden death. In-Laws

hopelessexploder · 11-07-2009, 10:07 AM

*UPDATE*
Well i finally got out to work on the explorer this morning. Through the week ive been thinking about it. Mainly about the neutral safety switch and how it was spring loaded. Well, i have an empty A4LD case laying in my garage and i started looking at it. And how the shifter selection arm inter-acted with the neutral safety switch. And i started thinking that maybe the arm had been knocked past the switch, which allowed it to 'pop' out farther and not let the arm go back. So i just took the safety switch out of the transmission and viola, it moved fine. So i put it in park, attached the linkage and hauled ass. lol. So its fixed. Thank god! Not one red cent spent either. lol.

92exp4x4 · 11-07-2009, 01:32 PM

Those are the best repairs! I wish my manual coversion would just jump off the floor and install itself.

hopelessexploder · 11-08-2009, 07:58 PM

Yea, i know. I wish my brakes would bleed themselves. I ripped a brake line yesterday

, got some F250 lines....

10-31-2009, 12:34 AM	#1
hopelessexploder Wannabe Elite Explorer 1992 Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 22 Vehicle Specs	Broke the trans yesterday Well...short story. I was out on some trails. I was driving through some waist high grass and ran over a steel rod...about 1 1/2in. in diameter and sticking about 2 1/2 ft out of the ground. And it felt like i t-boned someone. So i stopped, thought i hit a rock or a stump or something, i i tried backing up. started spinning the tires. Then i went to put it back in park to get out, and the shifter lever would move freely up and down, no resistance what-so-ever. So i turned the car off. Go out and looked. Saw the bar. Got pissed. So i tried to crank the explorer back up, nothing, said check the oil. I thought i had busted the oil pan or something. Checked it, it was fine thank god. Well it turned out i basically put the car in permanant park. lol. The bar hit the shift lever on the side of the transmission and bent it 180* from where it was supposed to be. I had to take the driveshaft off so my buddy could tow me home. Im going to drop the pan in the next few days. Ill try to get some pics of what i find up. Should be interesting __________________ 1992 Ford explorer 2wd, auto. FIXED TRANS 1992 Ford explorer 4X4, F150 spacers, F250 brake lines, longer shackles, 31in Liberator A/T's. (broken Trans) 1994 Ford Explorer 2wd, 5spd. Rode-hard...put up wet, has never let me down.

10-31-2009, 06:23 PM	#2
jg09 Wannabe Elite Explorer Everson, WA '92 Explorer XL Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 269 Vehicle Specs	Wow! You're very fortunate to get away with just that much damage! __________________ 2003 Ford Explorer V8- stock grocery getter 1992 Ford Explorer 4x4- trail rig, anti-sway bars removed 1988 Honda Accord- the POS, fuel efficient daily driver

11-02-2009, 02:26 PM	#4
JCat Almighty Mountaineer Atlanta 98 Mountaineer Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 30 Vehicle Specs	That happened to me ......only I was in a MUSTANG and it was a tree branch on a sandy trail. Good luck ! __________________ 1998 Mountaineer 1978 Ford F150 4x4 and 1998 Mountaineer 5.0 4x4 Chrysler Hemi Nissan 350Z

11-03-2009, 05:01 PM	#5
hopelessexploder Wannabe Elite Explorer 1992 Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 22 Vehicle Specs	Yea, well i havent even been able to get to work on it yet. So im still not sure whats broken. But what im thinking is that it probably bent the parking lever and definatly the shifter lever. I just bought another 92 explorer 4X4. Ford $500 bucks. Transmission was bad. So ive been rebuilding the transmission. So ive been busy with that. Ill let everyone know what happened soon as possible. __________________ 1992 Ford explorer 2wd, auto. FIXED TRANS 1992 Ford explorer 4X4, F150 spacers, F250 brake lines, longer shackles, 31in Liberator A/T's. (broken Trans) 1994 Ford Explorer 2wd, 5spd. Rode-hard...put up wet, has never let me down.

11-03-2009, 07:46 PM	#6
92exp4x4 Wannabe Elite Explorer Covington, Kentucky 92 XL 2-door Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 141 Vehicle Specs	According to your signature, you are hard on transmissions! __________________ My stable: '22 Ford Model T resto project, '84 Cushman Executive 36 volt industrial cart with hard cab, '85 Lincoln Mark VII, '89 Bronco F/S 3" body lift 33s, '90 Bronco F/S soon to be Diesel, '92 Explorer XL 2-door 5 speed, 6" lift 33"s roof rack and deer killer tube winch bumper, '93 Explorer XLT 4-door 2WD, stock, '94 Explorer Eddie Bauer 4-door 4WD 5 speed, '94 Mustang GT 5 speed

11-02-2009, 01:31 PM	#3
mikeinri Elite Explorer 94 XLT, 04 Explorer Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 878 Vehicle Specs	Yikes! Hopefully, it's just external... Mike

11-03-2009, 07:49 PM	#7
westfield Wannabe Elite Explorer San Antonio, TX 94 Eddie Bauer Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 17 Vehicle Specs	I ran over a concrete parking curb once...It had a piece of rebar sticking up about 6 inches and punctured my transmission pan...i was lucky all i needed was a new pan !

11-03-2009, 07:50 PM	#8
hopelessexploder Wannabe Elite Explorer 1992 Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 22 Vehicle Specs	lol. Yea...ive broken two in my life. My mustangs and the one in my 2wd explorer. The one i just bought (4wd) came that way. Oh well...ive been rebuilding it at work. Why do it at home? I get paid to do it there. Gotta love govt work. __________________ 1992 Ford explorer 2wd, auto. FIXED TRANS 1992 Ford explorer 4X4, F150 spacers, F250 brake lines, longer shackles, 31in Liberator A/T's. (broken Trans) 1994 Ford Explorer 2wd, 5spd. Rode-hard...put up wet, has never let me down.

11-03-2009, 10:09 PM	#10
hopelessexploder Wannabe Elite Explorer 1992 Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 22 Vehicle Specs	Yea. My Fiancee's kIa is getting a little worried. But i dont even think it produces enough power to blow the tranny....My 94 5sp had to be rebuilt about 5 yrs ago. I let my bro-in-law drive it and he went to downshift on the highway from 5th to 4th. But put it in 2nd. Then let the clutch out. Locked the rear tires, it was hopping all over the place he said...he panicked...forgot to press the clutch in. Broke 2nd gear and a whole bunch-a stuff... __________________ 1992 Ford explorer 2wd, auto. FIXED TRANS 1992 Ford explorer 4X4, F150 spacers, F250 brake lines, longer shackles, 31in Liberator A/T's. (broken Trans) 1994 Ford Explorer 2wd, 5spd. Rode-hard...put up wet, has never let me down.

11-04-2009, 07:02 PM	#11
92exp4x4 Wannabe Elite Explorer Covington, Kentucky 92 XL 2-door Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 141 Vehicle Specs	You are gonna have to get her in a Ford! I can't imagine the screaming your 5 speed did on the highway before it's sudden death. In-Laws __________________ My stable: '22 Ford Model T resto project, '84 Cushman Executive 36 volt industrial cart with hard cab, '85 Lincoln Mark VII, '89 Bronco F/S 3" body lift 33s, '90 Bronco F/S soon to be Diesel, '92 Explorer XL 2-door 5 speed, 6" lift 33"s roof rack and deer killer tube winch bumper, '93 Explorer XLT 4-door 2WD, stock, '94 Explorer Eddie Bauer 4-door 4WD 5 speed, '94 Mustang GT 5 speed

11-07-2009, 10:07 AM	#12
hopelessexploder Wannabe Elite Explorer 1992 Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 22 Vehicle Specs	UPDATE Well i finally got out to work on the explorer this morning. Through the week ive been thinking about it. Mainly about the neutral safety switch and how it was spring loaded. Well, i have an empty A4LD case laying in my garage and i started looking at it. And how the shifter selection arm inter-acted with the neutral safety switch. And i started thinking that maybe the arm had been knocked past the switch, which allowed it to 'pop' out farther and not let the arm go back. So i just took the safety switch out of the transmission and viola, it moved fine. So i put it in park, attached the linkage and hauled ass. lol. So its fixed. Thank god! Not one red cent spent either. lol. __________________ 1992 Ford explorer 2wd, auto. FIXED TRANS 1992 Ford explorer 4X4, F150 spacers, F250 brake lines, longer shackles, 31in Liberator A/T's. (broken Trans) 1994 Ford Explorer 2wd, 5spd. Rode-hard...put up wet, has never let me down.

11-07-2009, 01:32 PM	#13
92exp4x4 Wannabe Elite Explorer Covington, Kentucky 92 XL 2-door Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 141 Vehicle Specs	Those are the best repairs! I wish my manual coversion would just jump off the floor and install itself. __________________ My stable: '22 Ford Model T resto project, '84 Cushman Executive 36 volt industrial cart with hard cab, '85 Lincoln Mark VII, '89 Bronco F/S 3" body lift 33s, '90 Bronco F/S soon to be Diesel, '92 Explorer XL 2-door 5 speed, 6" lift 33"s roof rack and deer killer tube winch bumper, '93 Explorer XLT 4-door 2WD, stock, '94 Explorer Eddie Bauer 4-door 4WD 5 speed, '94 Mustang GT 5 speed

11-08-2009, 07:58 PM	#14
hopelessexploder Wannabe Elite Explorer 1992 Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 22 Vehicle Specs	Yea, i know. I wish my brakes would bleed themselves. I ripped a brake line yesterday , got some F250 lines.... __________________ 1992 Ford explorer 2wd, auto. FIXED TRANS 1992 Ford explorer 4X4, F150 spacers, F250 brake lines, longer shackles, 31in Liberator A/T's. (broken Trans) 1994 Ford Explorer 2wd, 5spd. Rode-hard...put up wet, has never let me down. Last edited by hopelessexploder; 11-08-2009 at 07:59 PM. Reason: i suck at spelling..