2WD TURBO 2.3 W/ A4LD : A Few Questions...

[88TurboCoupeA4LD]

OK... 1st Off... I Just Want To Say HELLO To EVERYONE Out There & Thank You For ALL Of The Great & Useful Information In This Forum...

I Own a 1998 Eddie Bauer Explorer 5.0 V-8 Full Time 4WD, But I Do NOT Have ANY Issues With This Vehicle Since I Bought It Brand New...

I'm Currently Tinkering W/ A 92' Ranger 2WD That I've Swapped Over A 1988 Turbo Coupe Drive Train In To (2.3 OHC I-4 Turbo W/ A4LD Auto) & YES... You've Guessed It - I'm Having TRANSMISSION TROUBLES !!!

The Problem Is That Almost EVERYONE That I Inquire About This Setup Just Tells Me To Switch Over To A 5 Speed Manual Trans - But That's NOT What I Want!!!

***QUESTION #1***
Is There A TURBO SPECIFIC Modulator That Is SUPPOSED To Be Used With An A4LD With A TURBO ENGINE? (I've Seen Them Listed At Different Trans Parts Websites As DISCONTINUED Items...)

***QUESTION #2***
Is There A TURBO SPECIFIC Torque Converter To Be Used With My Setup??? Are ANY Of The A4LD Torque Converters BETTER / WORSE Than Another (MOST SEEM TO BE INTERCHANGEABLE From The 2.3 All The Way To The 4.0)-(PLEASE - CORRECT Me If I'm Wrong) I've Seen Replacement Torque Converters Listed For The 2.3 Through 3.0, One Listed Just For The 2.3 N/A, One Listed For The 4.0, And Then They List A TQ For The Merkur 2.3 & 2.9's
But ALL Of The Measurement Specs Are The SAME For All Of These & They All Have Different Part #'s... My Question Is : WHICH TORQUE CONVERTER Would BEST Suit My 2WD 2.3 TURBO Ranger W/ 88' Turbocoupe Drive Train?

I've Been Through 2 Junkyard Transmissions That I've Upgraded The Valve Bodies, Governor, Bands, & Servos On... The 1st Trans I Ran Was Stock (I Believe, But NOT Sure) From The Donor Turbocoupe. The Next 2 Transmissions That I Blew Through Were 1 From a 93' Mustang 4 Cyl., & 1 From a 94' Explorer 4.0 That I Swapped Over The Bell & Tail Shafts On... NONE Of These Transmissions HELD UP To The TURBO 4 Cyl. (MILD Upgrades To The Engine / Turbo / IC - Running About 265hp)

So Now... I'm Doing It All OVER AGAIN... I've Got a Couple Of GOOD CORE A4LD Trannies To Start With, But I've NEVER Been Able To Find Anything Out About The Modulator & Torque Converter That Would BEST Benefit My Setup. I'm Going To COMPLETELY REBUILD The A4LD With As Many Of The Updates & Sonnax Parts That I Can Get My Hands On... But I Don't Want To Spend An ARM & LEG On This
- Which Torque Converter & Modulator Should I Run When It's All Said & Done? Are There Any GOOD Rebuilt Torque Converters Or BETTER Stock Ones That Ford Produced That I Should Look Into? ANY INPUT ON THIS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED... THANK YOU... - Derek

 

[jonafer]

I have done a few mustang turbo change over. The five speed is 100% the way to go. On one auto I completed It had a trans from a 93 4cly stang that lasted about 2 month's. The auto for the turbo 4cly was a bit more beefier than any regular trans. I would recomend going with the 5 speed it's alot more fun with 373 gears in the rear also,good luck.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! There is a modulator for a turbo, but it cost a lot more than the regular modulator. There are 2 stall speed ranges in torque converters, and the end hub is a little different. Even the front input shaft is a slightly different measurement. One is a little longer than the other.

 

[410Fortune]

C5 C5 C5 C5 C5

The A4LD is a good transmission, but good luck keeping one together with your setup!
I was a firm believer in the A4LD, I know it can be built well and to hold up for 150K + miles if the rebuilder knows what they are doing and why, using all the correct parts and updates... but even then it is still a crap shoot! Its just not the right transmission for these trucks IMO. A $1800 crap shoot is not my idea of fun anymore