1992 High miles A4LD- no gears when cold

[peterjaypriest]

I've studied these posts, and really appreciate the information.

My '92 Exlplorer's transmission has held up well, but a few years ago I thought it was curtains. When cold, it would not engage in forward drive, until I reved it a bit (cautiously.) When warm, all was great. So I changed the fluid and filter, and it definately improved.

Several years later, the problem manifested itself again, and gradually became worse. Much worse. Experimenting, I determined it would not go into any forward gear. Reverse seemed to work, but now that is bad as well.

It was suggested that I try changing the low/reverse servo seals- and that made sense. But when searching for the seals, one shop advised that if all the gears are affected, it couldnt be the low/reverse seal.

Now I'm really uncertain. I know the ultimate solution is to rebuild the entire trans, but I'm not up for that right now. I like the idea of the low/reverse seal, because I can do that myself without too much trouble. And I already have the new fluid and microfelt filter ready to go!

Any thoughts / suggestions?

Thanks,
Peter

 

[Glacier991]

What happens if you select manual 2? If that is also a problem, then the shop is probably right. You could just have a stuck governor.... that's a DIY fix... it's not a terrible job... you just have to drop the transfer case to access it.

 

[peterjaypriest]

A4LD No gears when cold

Hi Glacier-

Running through the gears- manual 2, etc, all have the same lack-of-effect.

I will revisit the sections regarding the governor.

Thanks...

 

[peterjaypriest]

A4LD No gears when cold

Okay, now I will have to more carefully pay attention to this problem! Now I realize that in my previous mucking about I probably went from drive straight to low (1) which would not make a difference, if it's not going into low in the first place!

I just went out to start it and see what would happen going through the gears. It had been parked for over a month, and today it is ccccold!

It starts right up, and cheerfully goes into all the gears! So I back out of my driveway, and put it in drive, and it sits there. Back into reverse, and it sits there. Reved it a bit- it sits there. Back into drive, and it goes into gear!

So I drive it around the block. It's great. Back in my driveway (a bit of an incline) it again does it's failure- no gears- except I put it into 2 and it dies! That is very strange- but it restarts, and then I could not duplicate the problem. It does go into the gears again.

I will watch specifically how it behaves when there is no drive/reverse and then manual 2 is selected.

I'll update as I discover more...

Thanks

Peter

 

[peterjaypriest]

A4LD No gears when cold

Okay- putting the selector in manual 2 does not guarantee a result. What is interesting to me (but what do I know?) is that it will go solidly into gear, drive fine, with what I would call normal shifting, etc. and then on occasion (more now than ever) it will go into this "neutral" mode. Moving the selector may or may not help- but it seems like maybe it does- going from drive to reverse, then back to drive often is all it takes.

Tell me it's simple, please! Sticking govenor? I'll look into that...

Thanks everyone...I'll let you know as I learn more...

Peter

 

[Glacier991]

A sticky governor can potentially give you that result. So could some valve body issues. Be interesting to put a pressure gauge on it.

 

[Lomac93XLT]

Sounds more like the torque converter in the tranny, its most likely seen its days, people dont remember to have them serviced every 60k

 

[BrooklynBay]

You might have some issue with the manual slide valve causing some hydraulic pressure drop due to bore wear. The VB gaskets could have deteriorated too. Did you ever check your cooler to see if it is partially clogged?

 

[Glacier991]

I think monitoring line pressure will tell the tale. Then we'll need to figure out where the pressure is going if in fact you have episodes of low/no pressure. (which is what I am suspecting)

 

[peterjaypriest]

Dangers of over-filling atf??

What ramifications are there for overfilling- by about 1 1/2 quarts- the trans with ATF?

I ask, because the other day I went for it. I checked the dipstick prior to adding, and it indicated full. The fluid looked and smelled normal. But I decided to add a somewhat arbitrary amount of fluid- about 1 1/2 quarts.

Since then, I have driven about 175 miles- all with a perfectly shifting and behaving transmission! When it's cold, it now works fine. When it's warm, it works fine.

Does this open up a new can of worms?

This transmission has 270,000 miles on it now!! (I know it can't last forever...)

Thanks,

Peter

 

[BrooklynBay]

On the top of the transmission in the rear, there is an overfill opening that could leak fluid if there is too much. It could also leak when you go up a steep incline. If it leaks with a normal amount of fluid, then it's possible that the governor's seals might be bad.

 

[peterjaypriest]

A4ld No gears when cold- update

Okay-

It has been roughly a week since I added about 1 1/2 quarts of EXTRA trans fluid, in an attempt to help motivate my transmission.

I've driven about 350 miles- a mix of highway and town- and I am very happy to report- everything is great! Or it at least appears that way. Even when stone cold, first thing in the morning, the trans behaves beautifully, going in to all gears as if it were brand new! I see no eveidence of the extra fluid leaking anywhere- and my driveway is on an incline.

I read somewhere else that the dipsticks are incorrectly calibrated on some Explorers... now I'm wondering if that may be true.

Either my problem of "no gears when cold" is fixed / masked, or this has been an incredible fluke!

Thanks a bunch to everyone on this forum! If I can help anyone with VoIP, please ask!

Peter

 

[BrooklynBay]

Do you set people up with DSL service also, or just VOIP?

 

[Glacier991]

I am not sure if the A4LD was ever subject to that problem (a short dipstick, in essence) but I will say this.... I once heard of an 85 year old man who was a teetotler and a non smoker who was given a clean bill of health. He asked the Dr. how long it takes for smokers to show the bad effects, and drinkers to show the bad effects. The Dr. said well in some cases as soon as 10 years, sometimes longer.

The next day he took up smoking and started drinking.

At the miles you have on that tranny, go for it baby, whatever works. I'm still pondering this one.

ps. Overfill = blown seals is bullshjt.

"Just do it."

 

[BrooklynBay]

I know on the newer versions of the 5R, they added a return hose that goes from the rear overfill to the front seal. This is supposed to recirculate excess fluid that is blown out by pressure.

 

[peterjaypriest]

Update on the hi miles A4LD...

It's still running great! I have 270,000 miles on it, and since adding EXTRA trans fluid a few months ago, it has been shifting perfectly- cold and hot- makes no difference! And I remember at the time I was pondering an Explorer in 1992, people warned me the trannys don't seem to last. I can testify that there appears to be nothing inherently wrong with the A4LD- maybe some shortcomings as documented in these forums- but I would certainly buy another Ford- in a hearbeat!

Oh, and someone asked- my business is Voice over IP for business applications, primarily. We have an IP PBX telephone system, which can be provisioned with many different VoIP carriers... p.priest@fortel.us

Thanks again, everyone!

Peter