Pop goes the tranny!

[ifixairplanes]

Hi all. Recently I lost 2nd gear in my explorer On saturday the boss (I'm a mechanic) let me take over the shop for a day to yank it out.

Gotta say it wasnt too bad of a job. Biggest PITA was getting the exhaust out of the way.
I am very happy ford had the insight to put the trans wiring harness on two main elec. connectors.
I was kind of suprised to see only 4 studs on the torque converter that attached it to the flex-plate. But I guess it works.
When I dropped the pan, I found some parts in there. One part looked like a band clamp, dont know what the other 2 parts where. The tranny guy will fill me in.
Next weekend: The install.

What is everyone running for fluid in their trannys? I was going to use some of that Pennzoil multi-vehicle synthetic. Either that or Amsoil synth.

I miss my truck so much. I have been driving my moms hyundai accent. oh man, what a POS.

BTW: My truck made it passed 155K with the original tranny...

Sean

 

[dogfriend]

I'm using AMSOil syn. I'm at 105K.

 

[Glacier991]

What you most likely found were pieces of the intermediate band. Keep us posted.

 

[ifixairplanes]

Yes I'll keep you posted. Hopefully the tranny dosnt cost too much. Christmas is coming soon......

sean

 

[ifixairplanes]

OK. So the tranny guy called me today. He said I broke an intermediate band, had worn clutch plates, and some other various worn out parts. Total will be about $1200 for the rebuild. Not as bad as I originally thought it would have been. wish me luck on the install next weekend...

 

[Sarge_AF]

Welcome to my world. My A4ld puked this past weekend on a winter run. temps well below 0 (was -8 when I got home) Talk about a long 75 miles home in a non running truck, watching the a$$ end of another rig. It had to die at the furthest point. Right when we were turning back. It caught fire, too. At least it was exciting.

 

[Glacier991]

That looks like a front seal.... assuming those are the front tires.

 

[Sarge_AF]

Yep, front tires. wierd thing is though, It hasn't let a drop out since I got it home. I went out about an hour ago, and figured I'd make it give up the ghost, so I engaged the locker, power braked, and ran the RPMs way up, boiling the rear tires, through the ice down to the pavement, waiting for the fluid to blow all over, but it never happened.

Maybe it just overheated?

It has fluid in it, maybe it's OK? I think I'm going to drive it to work tomorrow, about 2 miles, and it's all on base, and see what happens.

 

[Glacier991]

With that info.... it may just have overvented... the overflow tube comes out about that same area.

Overvent will occur with a "boiled" trannie. You should replace the fluid.....

Let's examine the potential causes.... but before we do.. let me say I am over a year into running an A4LD that did this to me... and I now have 215,000 miles on mine. I adjusted the OD band and Intermediate band and replaced the fluid.

WHY did it overheat?

Lotsa possibles here. I'd recommend you adjust the bands and stay away from heavy usage if you want to nurse it long a while longer. If you want to do serious Offroad or HD stuff, it probably is on it's last legs. You CAN get more out of it I am guessing. My 2 cents.

 

[Sarge_AF]

Here's the story, as I popsted it else where, with a few more pics, too add ambience:

Here's a synopsis. A group of us, about 10 rigs, headed out on a 20 or so mile excursion to KNIK glacier. The snow was deeper than anyone had ever experienced out there. Anyway, we headed all the way in, and made it without any issues, save for one Jeep who's electric fan fell off, and left the Rubicon overheated. Once we got to the riverbank by the glacier, we came to a REALLY deep snowy area. The XJ in front of me got stuck pretty bad, and he didn't have any tow points in the back, so, I decided to drive around him. Well, I got stuck, too. This is where things started to go bad. Ford pride kicked in. I engaged the locker, and dropped it in 4lo. Nailed the gas, and plowed myself right out. All is well, The X showed up the XJ!!!

.....not exactly.....

As I cleared the deep snow, I heard someone yell that there is a glow under my truck. I grabbed my extinguisher, popped the hood, and was under my truck within about 5 seconds. I saw the flames, and was able to put the fire out by throwing snow up on the fire before anything else caught. Turns out it was the trans fluid dumping on the exhaust pipe.

Luckily there was a big F250 with 44" boggers there that drug me all the way back to the trail head. Time for the C5.....

Anyway, some pics for ya'll.

 

[Glacier991]

awesome pix.I think you can do what I suggested and get more out of er. Just remember you are asking a lot on an aging A4LD!

 

[Sarge_AF]

Actually, those pics suck compared to most the scenery up here.

I have a C5 ready for swapping in, I just need the 2.8 flexplate, and spacer, and the $$ to get the D-shafts setup.

 

[Glacier991]

Actually, those pics suck compared to most the scenery up here.

Yeah I know. I grew up in NW Montana in the Rockies.... and a few years ago rode a bicycle from Skagway up thru the Yukon to Anchorage....750 miles over a couple weeks.

I'd come back up there in a heartbeat... I especially loved parts of the Yukon.

 

[Sarge_AF]

Yep, the Yukon is beautiful.