1995 Ranger 2.3 sohc tranny problem

[brownz]

Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated. I bought my 16 yr old son a 95 ranger 2.3 and believe it has 4r44e tranny with 45,000 miles. The car has not been driven on the road for 1 1/2years while we have been rebuilding the body, now that its done and painted we are having a problem with the transmission having a delay of sometimes 4-5 seconds before it engages in drive.Reverse ,2,1 aren't so noticable.I dont know where to go with this next.Yes I know there is a tsb about the valve body gasket but dont want to get into that if there is some other things to check first. What I did notice was after we used seafoam up the vacuum line and then changed plugs and wires -the truck when we went to take to blow out the rest of smoke it seemed that it did it worse and had to start off in second in order to start moving.After 15 minutes or so it is back to only a delay. I dont know it there was any relevance to what we had done but this was happening when we bought the truck. Once it is in gear the truck does not feel like it is slipping either and there is no lights on(check engine ) Anybody have any ideas ? Thanks

 

[Riceman]

The Ranger never came with a 2.6. If its a 4-cylinder its a 2.3, and if its a V-6 its either a 3.0 or a 4.0.

 

[brownz]

Yes you are right---it is 2.3 sorry what I meant is not what I typed.

 

[Tbars4]

...If you do have the 2.3L, 4 cylinder w/ 8 plugs and an auto tranny, you should have code "T" under trans code on your door sticker...If so then yes, you have the 4r44e tranny...

...Before starting a vehicle that has sat for a good length of time, changing the fluids and filters can help from having some of these problems and also may let you see some other maintenance things that need attention...

..:scratch:...My first thoughts would be if it sat for a year and a half, there is probably a lot of crud in the tranny pan...You might have also cracked or lost the O rings on the filter since it wasn't getting used...I would drop the pan and install a new filter and 3-4 quarts Mercon V to replace what was in the pan...

...Seals and such that are designed for lubrication when sat for a long period, will shrink, crack, or just go bad...

...I would also expect to have some dried out or cracked vacuum lines too...I would also check the one for the tranny...I hope this helps...

 

[brownz]

Thanks tbars

Thanks tbars but I should of put that it was not that it was driven or started and moved around --it was -I will do that tomorrow (change fluid and filters).The truck did that when I bought it-our mechanic said it baffled him (only ford all dodges)- I work for our municipality and they decided to not screw around with it so I bought it for my son to build it and paint it the way he wanted it and do the general maintenance in hopes he would take care of it more. But now that it is painted and he has his 2400 watts and his beloved subs in the car --It will sit there until we figure this problem out.Priorities these days are definitely different in kids I wanted to lay patches all over town he wants to blow out his ear drums---Now Im glad he has the radio in it so now he and our neighbors can listen to it while he is in his room looking out the window at it. I just remembered he (mechanic said he changed filter and fluids days before i got it because the transmission vent plugged and pushing the fluid up the dipstick if that makes a difference. Everybody Ive asked gives me something different epc solenoid -vacuum lines-so many abbreviations my mind goes blank when I get home to look it up. I dont really want to replace something if it cant be the solution. So I posted here in hopes of somewhere to start or replace a part that might be the problem or reason for the delays before going in gear. I just bought Lucas transmission additive to put in and take out for drive to work it in.

Actually is there solenoid that involves the throttle or rpms because after the seafoam cleaning, the truck was running rough and the problem was worse until it cleared out.

 

[Tbars4]

...I personally, am definitely no tranny expert but with the new information you posted, the tranny guru's here can better help answer your questions...

...They will be along this evening and I'm pretty sure they can answer your questions better than I...

 

[brownz]

thanks for the heads up ill check back later

 

[brownz]

anybody have any other ideas the tran fluid change with filter didnt make a difference

 

[Tbars4]

...Check with members Glacier991 BrooklynBay, they should have popped in by now...

...By the way, what did the tranny fluid and the magnet look like???

 

[brownz]

not bad at all little sludge but overall not bad at all . Right now i pull the top cover off in front of the seat to check the solenoids and someone told me to check the vacuum line but not finding it anywhere

 

[Tbars4]

..Personally, I'm not even sure if your model has a vacuum line after doing some searching myself..

...Have you had your stored codes checked???...These make for some good reading while you wait...
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=241130&highlight=4r44e
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=159232&highlight=4r44e

 

[brownz]

I must of read your mind -talked to my buddy earlier and going to bring over the scantool tomorrow to see what codes popped.Drove the truck around block today and started slipping a bit in drive so hopefully codes will show something tomorrow .Ill post back ---thank you for the help so far!

 

[brownz]

thanks once again tbars for the insight and help
Over the weekend I checked the oil over from my wastepan from the last change and it was kinda gritty and dirtier/darker than when i realized also realized sludge ot the bottom(wastepan was cleaned before i did the change).After the change of fluid and filter, filled with merc v and replaced a quart with the Lucas tranny medic took the truck around for awhile and noticed a slight improvement in shifting and maybe a slight decreases in the delay to engage out of park(might just be wishful thinking).Today I adjusted the od band per glaciers pic/tutorial and it seems to help it out more. So if im understanding this correctly if backing it out 2 full turns after the 120 in/lb helped cut down the time for it to go into drive what would it hurt if I tightened back down 1/4 or 1/8 turn to tighten it up more---or---should I give it more time and drive it and see if the Lucas and fluid change helps it over time.

One more thing I realized was that I dont know if the o/d drive is working or not. I press the button on shifter and nothing seems to happen (no light) only thing is I dont know if the dashlight is out or not.Is there anyway to test to see if it is electrical or if the o/d is off when the button depressed.Could this be adding to the problems?

My buddy got tied up and is coming tomorrow to see if there is any codes stored.So if there is I'll post them tomorrow.

 

[Tbars4]

..I am definitely not sure about the tightening or the OD light...While you are waiting to get your codes read with a scanner that can read tranny codes, I would crawl under the truck and check for damaged, unplugged, or burnt wiring around the tranny...

...If you have checked your relays and fuses, your OD light should be on...A common item with the OD light is it will flash to let you know you have tranny codes...Maybe someone unplugged something...