[photo diary] My 1994 explorer

[roanokejim]

Hi Fordexplorerguy1. Those are good a4ld. For me it is great. Thanks for showing them.

 

[Fordexplorerguy1]

yeah man no problem

 

[Fordexplorerguy1]

Well been kinda busy, removed the transfer case along with the extension housing, pan and the valve body to see why the hell my truck jerks in reverse and why park and reverse are backwards. I took the valve body out and my tcc 3-4 solenoid isnt working it hums instead of clicks... i want to try to fix it but i might have to buy a new one. I also found 1 of the two hockey pucks were missing. My boost valve had a non needed extra spring. and i had 1 too many check balls. so i took my scotch pad and polished the boost valve end piece whatever its called. Oh i almost forgot the worst thing i found was a badly damaged piece in the 3-4 shift bore... heres a pic

0502011456.jpg by Justinsdiy, on Flickr the one on the top was what came out the one under it was the one i replaced it with. Unless i can get that solenoid working the valve body wont go back into the truck until i replace it. I am so sick of pulling that stupid pan and bathing in fluid.

 

[atxexplorer94]

Props for rebuilding your own tranny, how'd you get your pinstripe off? I have an ex the same color and it looks good

 

[Fordexplorerguy1]

I used wd-40 and a razor blade. I went CAREFULLY across the side going with the pinstripe to remove it in 1 swoop well per panel anyway. there will be a residue left from the pin striping. i have not found anything that gets rid of it yet. goodluck!

 

[AlsExplord]

Kudos

Excellent job providing pics! This is a job I would venture to say many diyers would hesitate to tackle so you jumping in there AND taking pics is awesome! Any luck with the headliner yet?

 

[Fordexplorerguy1]

thanks! i kinda put the headliner on the back burner for now. getting this truck functional is my main goal ill start customizing it more once i achieve that

 

[AlsExplord]

Kewl..Sounds like a good plan.
You mentioned sanding your lens and spraying with clear coat early on. What did you use to do that? I have a lens on my Navi that could use some sprucin' up...

 

[Fordexplorerguy1]

Kewl..Sounds like a good plan.
You mentioned sanding your lens and spraying with clear coat early on. What did you use to do that? I have a lens on my Navi that could use some sprucin' up...

i used ace hardware clear enamel i did like 3 coats? just dont put too many on at one time or it will fog up. i sanded it with 2-300 grit i think.

 

[AlsExplord]

Kk...thx man. Keep your build pics coming!

 

[Fordexplorerguy1]

well i have been looking over my valve body... btw it isnt the original i think it came out of a earlier a4ld... from what i have read the 94' (last year for the a4ld) was the best year and im sure my valve body is from a much earlier truck. if it helps date it the boost valve did not have o rings or the purple insert (watever its called) SO i have decided to use my 94' valve body separator plate. it has bigger openings on certain parts that the earlier one did not even though it has apparently a shift kit on it. I also think one of my solenoids was backwards causing the plate not to seal correctly. however im not 100% but its kind of on hold till i can replace the non functional tcc solenoid or OD solenoid. I also MAY have gotten the wires backwards on the trans... still not sure didnt take a pic so i cant remember. I will make sure i get it right. So far i have not discovered anything that would cause reverse not to work. I did remove the tcase and extension housing. when i reinstalled i made sure my shifter holder was on correctly, because i had to cut it when i was rebuilding it (forget why) so after that my truck started cranking in park again yay! but hmm maybe thats what was wrong but anyway im glad i tore the vb appart because i have a chance to fix it once and for ALL. stay tuned! maybe if i can borrow a sim card i will record a vid of when i get this thing fixed. Wish me luck!

 

[Fordexplorerguy1]

Quick release windows

Well keeping in favor of the (beach bum) theme of this truck this is something i am almost done with to make detachable rear windows (without tools).
I cut the interior pannels down so i can access the screws when installed:

0429011635.jpg

I pretty much took the 4 outer studs and chopped them down to where they are flush with the nut :

0428011640.jpg

Now i am not going to use nuts instead Wing nuts! i left the inner studs the same so when winter comes i can just put all the bolts back. now for sealing the windows i want to find some peel and stick weatherstripping like flat. So my truck wont look ghetto with black line around the window( like someone busted them out) i want the weatherstripping to attack to the window not the body. this is what i want to get rid of:

0428011348.jpg by Justinsdiy, on Flickr the ugly gasket around the window. Any thoughts are welcome!

 

[Fordexplorerguy1]

comparing valve bodies..

Well Being that i bought a replacement valve body off of ebay I decided to compare my old one to the ebay bought one... I was trying to date this valve body because my original was from the last year a4lds were used... im pretty sure my valve body from ebay is from the first year 1985 (made in 1984) the date on my old and new vb have stamped in the same area my 94 says 93 makes sense... but dang i knew it was old but not that early!! wow. be careful what you buy off of ebay.

0504010125.jpg by Justinsdiy, on Flickr

so i was originally using the separator plate from the ebay one but i compared them too. seems like the 94' one will be a better fit. the most updated. makes sense right?

the differences in these valve bodies are the new one has raised reinforcement lines, the small filter hole is smaller than the 94 the dividing plate has several holes on the 94 that are larger or shaped differently. Also the 94 plate has a spot for the little filter as seen on glaciers vb rebuild diary. other than that they are pretty much the same. I have taken the time to replace my 84 vb with some 94 parts like the booster valve got the updated one with o rings, and i just replaced what i needed. the way i got around the smaller filter hole was smaller o rings.i doubled up the vb to divider plate gaskets just seems smart to me.

 

[rickybobby]

imho, doubling the gaskets is asking for trouble, i have had problems in the past doing that on accident

 

[Fordexplorerguy1]

meh i dont see any harm, i see more harm from having a servo retainer clip in backwards and causing the vb not to seal correctly

 

[Wade99]

As a "youngin'" and jumping into these types of repairs I commend you sir! This is the way us "shadetree" mechanics learn. This will give you plenty of experience and satisfaction of saying "I can fix a transmission."

 

[Fordexplorerguy1]

well i have my valve body all fixed i dont know if i mentioned before but im going back to the 94' divider plate instead of the old one. and I found a retainer clip that was backwards causing the vb not to seal on that plate. I still have to buy that stupid tcc lockup solenoid. i think my solenoids were hooked up wrong too. But anyways today i got the t-case re mounted and everything bolted back besides the pan and vb. ill post some pics..

 

[Fordexplorerguy1]

0506011129.jpg by Justinsdiy, on Flickr puttin the tcase up1

0506011144.jpg by Justinsdiy, on Flickr puttin tcase up 2

0506011305.jpg by Justinsdiy, on Flickr my new license plate location

I also put the interior all back yay!

 

[ragga]

Be careful about using the seperator plate from the other vb. If the other vb was as old as you said they may not be compatible. Do you have the atsg update manual?

If not email or pm me and I will send you the info...but basically the newer one prob has the reverse engagement valve, and down by the low reverse servo, looking at the plate with low/reverse servo hole at bottom right, on bottom left area there should be three small holes in a line....but if the old one did not have rev engagement valve, it has a slot down the in lower left corner area... it's kinda hard to describe but if low/reverse servo is at bottom right, at bottom left there are three slots in a row, next to a hole that's the shape kinda like a spout on a sink faucet, or the handle you use to flush a toilet;-) Well to the left of that hole theres either 1 slot, or three holes that go from smaller to larger, I think both plates must match there... either slot or holes, or you might mismatch plate and vb...

Good Luck!

Respects,
Ragga

 

[Fordexplorerguy1]

I will post a pic of the 2 plates and you can tell me because they look identical to me..