A4LD Governor Replacement

-tranny techs....

everyone is telling me governor problems, maybe you can help shed some light. my A4LD, is in an '89 Ranger supercab. 2.9l engine. now it seems to shift fine, 1-2-3, but it does not want to shift into O/D. if you go 'UP' a hill, when you give it gas to get up the hill, it will shift into O/D. but! when you reach the top and you let pressure off of the gas pedal, it automatically shifts back down in to 3rd or drive and reves the engine up like it's going up a hill.....weird. also, if your going down a hill or a flat level stretch, of course it's running in 3rd, but if you keep giving it gas, eventually somewhere between 65-70, it will shift into O/D, but to keep it there, you have to keep pressure on the gas pedal and of course, you go faster. so how fast do you want to go???? lol. but as soon as you take your foot off the gas, it shifts itself back down to 3rd. and also strange to me, is that anytime you let off the gas, its like the trans goes to neutral. if the engine is turning, say 3000 rpm, and you let off the gas, the engine rpm, goes down to like idle speed, and when you get back on the gas you have to bring the engine back up to 3000 rpm to get it to pull again. is that normal???? you can play with the throttle and give it gas and let off, and never have any trans pull. thanks in advance if you have any insight into this thing.......

check your fluid levels. could be a dirty valve body. the governor controls 1-2 shifts. could be the solenoids too. you can test your solenoids by tracing the harness and applying 12 volts and if they click there working. if they dont then they are bad and need to be replaced. To me it sounds like fluid level/ valve body issues. Good luck.. Im rebuilding my trans atm..

Check your hydraulic pressure in each gear with a 0 - 300 PSI test gauge.

Fordexplorerguy1 said:

check your fluid levels. could be a dirty valve body. the governor controls 1-2 shifts. could be the solenoids too. you can test your solenoids by tracing the harness and applying 12 volts and if they click there working. if they dont then they are bad and need to be replaced. To me it sounds like fluid level/ valve body issues. Good luck.. Im rebuilding my trans atm..

Click to expand...

-just bought it the last of Dec. fluid was dirty , and i had the fluid "exchange" done. not with a cleaner, just a fluid replacement. it seemed to "help" it some, but did not cure it........

Try changing the filter...

-re-doing my valve body and putting in new TCC solenoid and a 3-4 solenoid, and the 3-4 that came out of the valve body is a little short one with a screen, but the replacement i bought from Ford is a lot longer and has some kind of 1/2 inch "spacer" with it. they say thats the only one listed for 3-4 in all 2 solenoid valve body A4LDs. does it replace the other one or something??? anyone seen or know of this????? thanks.....

That's the new redesigned solenoid. They don't have a screen anymore.

thank you.

BrooklynBay said:

It's a heavier weight, so it won't stick as easily. WWW.TransmissionPartsUSA.Com sells it. A used governor might have wear on the stalk. You could purchase a new one from WWW.Wittrans.Com.

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Talking to the awesome guys over at Whatever It Takes Trans, they don't actually make new ones, they seem to only have used/rebuilt governors, that they measure to insure no/minimal wear. I got one anyway because it was under 20$ and they guarantee it. I'll report back once I get it swapped in.

Glacier991 said:

I often get questions about the governor on the A4LD. Where is it? How do I get to it? What does it look like?

Well a picture is worth a thousand words.... the governor is attached to the rear of the case... well... to a "shelf" on the output shaft... Here it is:

Another view:

To get to it you need to remove the transfer case, leaving the extension housing....looks daunting.... but you know what is inside... now you CAN remove the extension housing if need be...here is a view with the extension housing installed... hiding it.... remember you CAN remove it....8 bolts....

But why ? See our prize down inside... can be removed without removing the extension housing.

I will admit, on your back .. under the Explorer this doesn't look so easy.

I hope this helps someone.

Click to expand...

hi im new on here , i have a 1989 4x4 ford ranger with a a4ld , i have the same problem with my tranny , it wont shift into second unless i let go of the gas , ive been driving like this everyday for a year now and it hasnt gotten any worse , or better , all the other upshifts are perfect , and no issues with downshifts, ive read alot about lots of people havin this same issue with there a4ld, and i havent read anything about someone gettin it pin pointed and fixed , theres just a bunch of suggestions and ideas , if anyone figured it out what the real problem is it would be great, my tranny only has 60,000 miles on it , everyone seems too be suggesting the governor , has anyone changed the governor that fixed this error on there truck/car. ?? email me at axis28hunter@gmail.com, thanks

Welcome to this forum! Check the bands. It sounds like you might have a broken band.

i did check my governor , its good , i checked my vacum module , no oil coming out of it ,i checked my vacum line , no leaks, plus i had my pan down and theres no debris or any filings or broken parts in it ,my oil was good , wouldnt there be broken parts in there if i had a broken band , and if i do have a broken band , how do i go about in checking that ? is their a way off doing that without taking my pan down or pulling the tranny??

Does this issue happen when it's cold then slowly fade as it warms up? You might have a worn governor. A band adjustment will indicate if you have a broken band. It's possible that the band might be worn, and needs an adjustment.

well i would say its actually the oppisite, its seems to work a bit better off the get go in the morning when its cold, , then gets a bit worse once it warms up, but after driving for about a hour or so it gets even a bit worse .,,,, frusterating!! i feel like takin the pan down fill it up with a couple sticks of dynamite let the fuses hang out bolt er back up , light the fuses and let the moon take it fr here )

If you're sure that you still feel all three gears when you start up, it won't be a blown band. It sounds like you need to adjust and retension your bands, swap ye of the filter, and maybe even do a pressure test to make sure that the torque converter hasn't gone out on you.

I would start with the bands, you'll know if one is broken pretty damned fast. Trust me. :-(

thanks naasau,, ok first i am 100% sure its going through all 3 gears plus od, i think i know how to adjust my bands on left side of tranny , where the overdrive , and lower gear adjusting bolts r sticking out too adjust the bands , never really did this , i would think the rear one is for lower gears thats the one i wanna adjust ?(correct me if im wrong ),,,could you please describe to me how too properly set the bands just to get me 100% straight here, ?,, i replaced my filter 2 days ago plus new oil , even though it was still good , .and the presure testing of the torque converter is totally outta my knowledge, never did that ,can i do it myself ? if so, how do i go about doing it and what tools would i need?? thanks a bunch,)

oh i forgot one thing , lol, how am i supposed to know that my bands r broken??

Take a look at the sticky threads on the top of the transmission section on band adjustment & pressure testing. This thread is for governor replacement.

sorry , i cant seem too locate the specific sites ,, could you send me a link too them ?? thanks. im new on here yet , gotta get used to this site yet a bit,, , thanks.