doing the tranny

[MountainMonkey]

Hello everyone. First post in like a year and I'm happy to be back. I burned out my nasty a4ld in the snow using my ttb as a snow plow back in the woods last winter and just parked the truck and started other projects. Anyways I was worken on a 86 Chevy truck with the 6.2 diesel and that thing developed a fuel leak and let's just say it went up in smoke lol. Anyways going to resurrect the old ford wagon so I have something to go chewing with next spring. So as of now it needs a tranny and a few other minor parts I sold to fund the Chevy. For the tranny what do you all suggest? I want something simple and strong and cheap to do and I really want to avoid the a4ld if I can. The truck has a 4" suspension and a 3" body 35's and is getting some 410 gears. Let me know what you all think? If I don't come up with something I may just need to get a set of stock trannys and just keep one in the trunk.

 

[arco777]

Stock trans is easiest. Next level of difficulty is installing the slightly stronger M5OD manual trans. Advance Adapters offers a kit to install a 700R4 but you have to use a V6 trans and build it up to V8 specs or some such nonsense. Not cheap. A 5R55E will bolt up if you add a second PCM to run it (there is a how-to thread). Just a few options...

 

[Flip4ford]

Do a search but those are about your only options--- Oh I almost forgot a C4 swap.

 

[aubeagle]

My a4ld bit the dust about a month ago, I was pulling a small enclosed trailer with a Heritage Softail and a lot of tools in it. Everything was fine got the trailer to the destination, Then drove about 90 miles home and it started slipping like no tomorrow about 4 or 5 blocks from home. I bought the a4ld that patc sells and just put it in last week. Works great i have about 1k on it so far. Only time will tell!!!

 

[arco777]

My a4ld bit the dust about a month ago, I was pulling a small enclosed trailer with a Heritage Softail and a lot of tools in it. Everything was fine got the trailer to the destination, Then drove about 90 miles home and it started slipping like no tomorrow about 4 or 5 blocks from home. I bought the a4ld that patc sells and just put it in last week. Works great i have about 1k on it so far. Only time will tell!!!

Please tell me more, I have been considering buying one from PATC. What's it like? Any comments on it? How does it shift compared to stock?

 

[aubeagle]

Please tell me more, I have been considering buying one from PATC. What's it like? Any comments on it? How does it shift compared to stock?

Hello, It shifts firm not tire chirping hard. My old one when going down the highway: The torque converter would unlock all the time then flare up and lock back up. This one stays locked up till u hit the brake (turning off the cruise) and only revs up 2 or 3 hundred rpm's til it locks back up. patc puts alot of upgrades into it. Man they will even do a layaway plan for a trans, Go figure right. The owner of the co. told me thats the only way they sell the a4ld trans was thier hd verison. Alot of people thats alot of coin for it, But i look at it this way i would rather drive it than lay under it, So if it last me a long time i'am happier then a pig in... I also put a hayden cooler on it in place of the factory one. 11x11x3/4 .. I'am happy and thats all that matters to me. If you have anymore ??? fire away..
S.

 

[arco777]

Cool, thank you! Seems cheap to me compared to the $3000 reman'd transmissions out there that don't even have upgrades.

 

[MountainMonkey]

Hmm. So my Chevy has 700r in it but its from a v8 diesel so the advanced adapter wouldn't work? Don't think I want to go that route anyways. Do t want to change the transfer case and have the drive shaft nodded or any of that nonsence.

After a few drinks and some not so heavy thinking I think I'm going to just go with the A4ld again. So this leads me to a few questions. Buy a rebuilt or a used one? What would I expect to pay for both? Is there any aftermarket kits to beef up the tranny or is it really worth it in the end? Also I'm unsure of whats wrong with my current tranny. It over heats like crazy when bogging and stop and go traffic, but on the open road it seams to be good to go. I assume I've stretched some belts but I dunno.

 

[MountainMonkey]

Would also like to add that I've bin on a lot of other forums looking for insight and info on other project vehicles and this is by far the best one. Explorer people are just good people.

 

[arco777]

The A4LD really needs an auxiliary cooler added, especially in warmer states. The stock cooler just doesn't cut it and is the cause of shortened lifespan for most A4s. An additional inline cooler is cheap and easy to install.

For upgrades, Sonnax offers many good valve body upgrades and there are shift correction kits by Transgo and Superior that help too. I have a couple Sonnax upgrades and a Transgo kit in each of my 94s and am very happy with the results. There are some other upgrades, look on PATC's A4LD section of their website.

There are no belts in the A4LD trans but there are two friction bands. There is a procedure to reset the adjustments on them if you do a search on this forum.

As for where to get a trans, I would suggest trying to find a stock trans from a low mileage 93 or 94 (best years) Explorer. It is not impossible to find; earlier this year I found a junkyard X with 90,000 original miles on it due to cracked heads. It had sat since the head failure with engine disassembled and was sold to PickNPull, where I bought the valve body from it. An A4LD that was rebuilt by a shady mechanic or redneck trans shop often will fail again soon because they don't understand the intricacies of the design. If you go rebuilt, go with a rebuilder you can trust and that offers a solid warranty.

 

[arco777]

As for whether it is worth the effort on the A4LD or not, in my opinion it really isn't a bad trans at all, just not the toughest. With a good core unit, regular fluid maintenance, some valve body upgrades, and an upgraded cooler, it can last a long time as long as you don't expect it to tow things around. I have had good and bad A4LDs and still consider them a fine light duty transmission, and easy to work on. It is just too bad that from the factory they were under-cooled and calibrated for smooth shifts rather than longevity.

 

[FR-425]

Replacing an a4ld:

Some notes that I have not seen on this forum:

1. Ford requires the Auxiliary cooler to be replaced when replacing the trans / flushing and cleaning is not enough.

2. flush and clean all the lines.

3. On a vehicle this old replace your radiator. Flushing the trany cooler portion is also not good enough.

4. Install return line filter kit Ford part # XC32-7B155-AA

5. The heat shield between the trans and the catalytic converter.
Replace it with a new one from Ford the replacement is beefier.

6. The bell housings are final machined in place.
What does this mean?
It means the torque converter bushing is machined with the bell housing bolted to the engine. This ensures that the pilot bushing in the crank is aligned with the rear torque converter bushing. They do this for assembly speed to make up for differences in castings etc. If they are not lined up correctly the torque converter will wobble in the bushing causing contamination first and then seal and pump failure. And we'll blame it on the a4ld.
The run-out tolerance on this is 0.003

what does this mean for us replacing a a4ld.

Well this means that we need to reuse the original bell housing/ IF the pilot bushing and the torque converter bushing are ok reuse them. This is the best option according to Ford

It is this over looked step that is the number one cause of repeat failure, and it is the same for 5r55.

The reason it is designed like a standard transmission clutch setup instead of a floating torque converter like an old turbo 400 is the TCC. If not done this way the stress on the flex plate during lock-up will fatigue the flex plate causing failure. And the alignment of the TCC engagement shaft.
Fair trade i guess.

OK so how to check this:

Remove your old bell housing from the trany.
Bolt your new torque converter to the flex plate. Torque to spec.
Bolt your old bell housing to your engine torque to spec.
Disconnect ignition coil so you can crank engine with out firing.
Get a bud to tap the starter around.
Look to see if the torque converter is running nice and centered.
use a needle type feeler gauge all around checking for a maximum three thousandths

If all is good Reuse your original bell housing.

If is excessively off center The bell housing must be replaced.
But wait my new trany has a bell housing why not just bolt that sucka in there?

Some good trans builders will be aware of this an put on a NEW NOT MACHINED IN PLACE
bell housing from Ford. Most will give you whatever was already on it. That's why so expensive!

Some good news: you can try the bell housing that came with your rebuilt and see if it's a good fit.

If neither are a good fit you need a brand new replacement bell housing from Ford. The replacement will have the bushing hole cut dead center.

But wait, There's more: While your under the vehicle with NEW torque converter bolted up with the bell housing off use a magnetic dial gauge to measure the run-out on the torque converter so when you order your new bell housing they can put the right sized bushing in it.

Also if the torque converter run-out is greater than 0.003 it's junk get your trans shop to swap it for another. ok I got this a little out of order, Do this first. Also a good shop can and should have already checked this on the bench before you leave.

Whatever you run into with this alignment issue can be resolved! Just take your time.

FINALLY DO NOT INSTALL TRANY WITH THE TORQUE CONVERTER AND BELL HOUSING BOLTED TO THE ENGINE. PUT THE BELL HOUSING BACK ON THE TRANS. CAREFULLY SLIP THE TORQUE CON. INTO THE TRANS ROTATE UNTIL YOU FEEL IT ENGAGE THEN CONTINUE TURNING UNTIL YOU FEEL A SECOND ENGAGEMENT AND IT MOVES ALL THE WAY IN. ONE IS THE PUMP THE OTHER IS THE TCC SHAFT ENGAGING. ENSURE IT DOESN'T SLIDE OUT DURING INSTALL.

If you follow all of these steps and checks this will be the last a4ld you install. baring 6000rpm neutral drops. Anything can be broken if severely abused.


Let me simplify this if I can:

Two things going on here:

1. Your new torque converter is " wobbly" ( when bolted to the flex plate and you turn the engine the shaft that goes into the trany wobbles (run-out) to much.

2. The bushing hole where the torque converter shaft goes through the bell housing is not aligned with the torque converter.

 

[FR-425]

P.S. As far as towing goes the first gens are rated at 5400lbs.

Here's the ketch: In the owner's manual which no one reads even if they have one.

It states in the section called "towing" go figure!

"When towing DO NOT USE OVERDRIVE. place gear selector in "D" drive at all times.
At highway speeds the engine will run 2500 to 3100 rpm this is normal and will not harm the engine. DO NOT CRUISE AT SPEEDS ABOVE 55MPH, as indicated by the red 55 on the speedometer.

This little oversight by owners I believe is the biggest cause of the a4ld failures.

Personally I drive mine in what I call C3 mode until I reach cruise speed then shift to OD. I call it C3 mode because the a4ld is a C3 Trans with an over drive added.

With over sized tires I run in "D" (third gear (c3 mode) all the time in the city.
shifts firmer, no starting out in 2nd, and better fuel economy at speeds under 40mph.
At 45mph the TCC still locks. Shifting it manually like this gets you up to highway speed a lot quicker to.

Later models resolved this inconvenience by adding an OD button to the shift handle.
On those models they tell you to turn off OD when towing or when you want more power. Same result but using a button instead of manually shifting. For Lazy people
with text messages to pay attention to rather than OPERATE the motor vehicle.

 

[MountainMonkey]

Holy cow. With all the info in that post that has such tight measurements I don't know if I'm going to be able to get this done at home. I replaced the tranny in a jimmy and seriously All i did was take the old one out and bolt a new one in. It ran awesome after.

 

[arco777]

Great post FR-425!

 

[jd4242]

Hello everyone. First post in like a year and I'm happy to be back. I burned out my nasty a4ld in the snow using my ttb as a snow plow back in the woods last winter and just parked the truck and started other projects. Anyways I was worken on a 86 Chevy truck with the 6.2 diesel and that thing developed a fuel leak and let's just say it went up in smoke lol. Anyways going to resurrect the old ford wagon so I have something to go chewing with next spring. So as of now it needs a tranny and a few other minor parts I sold to fund the Chevy. For the tranny what do you all suggest? I want something simple and strong and cheap to do and I really want to avoid the a4ld if I can. The truck has a 4" suspension and a 3" body 35's and is getting some 410 gears. Let me know what you all think? If I don't come up with something I may just need to get a set of stock trannys and just keep one in the trunk.

Starters I would look for better gears than 4.10 for 35s...get the right gears, 4.88s or at least 4.56!!! This would help the trans dramatically! !!! Don't matter what trans you put in there if you don't have the right gears you are just adding WAYYYY extra stress on it...spend your money on gears....

 

[FR-425]

Relax Mountain Monkey, It's really not that tough, hell it took longer to write the damn post than it does to do it.

you were going to replace the cooler already the rad is so cheap and literally takes 10 mins on these trucks to swap so the only point of contention is the bell housing alignment thingy. If I had pics of this being done you would not be intimidated at all.
It just sounds complicated.

The Main Point is that if you want this done right you are going to need to do it yourself. Every trans shop is going to look you right in the eye and say " yes we do that" having no idea what you are saying. then after the 6mo warranty is up you see trany fluid on your driveway and it's CIRCUS TIME AGAIN!

 

[FR-425]

OK here's some more encouragement!

95 times out of 100 your old bell housing is perfect!
Because it is aligned correctly from the factory.
It's only in extreme cases that even with a front pump failure that the bell is chewed up because that kind of failure stops any further damage cuz ya caint drive it no more!

 

[FR-425]

If your still freaked out I'll put together a photo shoot at the trans shop or draw it on paper to help ya visualize it.

 

[FR-425]

As fare as spending $2300 for the PACT trans that's over kill unless your gonna run 300hp through it.

A reputable shop will cost you about $1,100 for a a4ld but this price helps to insure that the reman has all the updates as of late '94. by now the only rebuild parts available for the a4ld are the upgraded components. So it's safe to say that a reman will have the steel OD cage, new center carrier with torington bearings, updated governor, and valving. The kits mentioned arco777 are fine. I only use the sonex power valve as all the factory introduced upgrades get to that point. The sonex power valve provides faster shifts on 3-4 helping to get more life out of the OD clutches.

1-2-3 shifts are perfect already when shifting manually (C3 mode)