'92 Wont Shift out of 1st or 2nd.... (with a twist)

[antogt]

'92 Wont Shift out of 1st or 2nd.... Ive tried everything!

Ive taken this as far I can. Now im stumped. It started out where the ex would just hang out to long in 1st and 2nd, then it went to over-reving in all the gears. I did everything I learned from this site. New Vac mod, replaced govenor, dropped valve body checked for stuck valves, tightened valve body bolts to spec, new filter and gasket, repaired a large breach in the vac line to the vac mod. And now after all that, it wont shift out of 1st or 2nd unless I feather the throttle at the the top of the gear. All the other gears are now fine. Od is fine , im pretty sure the tc is doing what it is supposed to. It down shifts fine. My ex is 92 xlt 4wd, w/ a a4ld. The 3/4 solonoid is a replacement with no screen btw. Is it possible a valve is stuck in the valve body and i just missed it?? If anyone has any suggestions I could really use the help. Thanks.

 

[antogt]

Anyone? Please.
everything seems absolutley normal except that it wont shift out of first unless i feather the throttle or if keep very very light throttle from a stop. i tried adjusting the vacuum mod and there was no change. Any input would be a huge help.
Thanx

 

[antogt]

when I had my valve body apart there were NO gaskets between the valvebody and the metal plate that bolts to it there was also NO gasket between said metal plate and the transmission. A diagram I just referenced, seems to show gaskets in these locations. The diagram is very poor and small so I want to confirm this . Am I supposed to have gaskets and could not having them be causing the vehicle to not shift out of first?

 

[antogt]

anyone? id like some input before i tear this all down again. please.

 

[Brain]

Yes, there should be a gasket on the top and bottom of the seperator plate. Without it, it is possible to have insufficient pressure (due to fluid leaking from pathway to pathway) to properly activate the clutches and bands. After all, the passageways look like a brain, and that's kind of what it acts like. Think of the fluid pressure as signals that gets jumbled if they aren't kept seperate in their own channel. I wouldn't run it w/o the proper gaskets in place because you could be getting enough pressure to partially activate the clutches and bands, but not enough to really have them work. It could cause your bands and plate clutches to burn up costing alot more than the $5 the gaskets will run. It is kind of like dragging your brakes (until they burn up) versus having them spin free or be locked up. Rubbing causes the friction which creates the heat that destroys trannys. The clutches and bands are meant to either be applied all the way or not at all. Don't do this with your EX until you fix it, but if you lock up your brakes and then step on the gas, and the wheels don't turn, you aren't going to burn up your brake pads even though they are being used.

Also, since you didn't have gaskets, are your little valves and check-balls in the right places? There are three shuttle balls, one check ball (same size as the shuttle balls), two check valves, and two pressure relief valves. These are all pretty small parts and can easily be dropped if you are not careful. The cheapest place I've found for individual gaskets is bulkpart.com. I'm currently working on my tranny (A4LD for a 4.0L also) so I have examples at my fingertips. I also sprung the $13 for the ATSG manual (better pictures).

Good Luck,
Brain

 

[Glacier991]

I'll second Brain's advice. Also get the thicker gaskets....while you have it out add the upgrade boost valve with O-rings (pics of this in the thread "My A4LD Rebuild").

 

[antogt]

Thank you guys for your advice, i just wish i would have thought to ask before i put the darn thing back together. I should have known. I dont have alot of experience with transmissions so I was just focused on putting it together the way I found it. It never occured to me until after the fact that it was wrong when I started. oh well. "Live and Learn and Love your Ford"
Thanks again!

B.T.W I was at bulkpart.com and they seem to have more than one "Boost Valve Kit" . which one , specifically, do you recommend?

 

[Brain]

Not to cut this thread short, but it is on the 911 board, and Glacier991 has done a great job of documenting a "bulletproof" teardown and buildup. I can't explain how great a resource his effort truley is.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103666
That is a link to page 1 of part 3 (3 threads) of the series. About a fourth of the way down, you will see some pictures with a purple anodized boost valve (with o-rings, a concept I like). I think he lists his source for that boost valve.

Here are some links to Tech Service Bulletins regarding no 4th gear:
http://www.alldatadiy.com/alldata/A.../34853741/34850750/42063452/42468153/56380246
http://www.alldatadiy.com/alldata/A.../34853741/34850750/42063452/42468153/42468155
http://www.alldatadiy.com/alldata/A.../34853741/34850750/42063452/42468153/42468157

Alldatadiy.com lets you preview what their services offer, and one of the models available is the Ranger 4.0L, which - to our benefit- uses the same tranny as the Explorers, so all the tech bulletins are available (to preview of course). I have 44 TSBs saved for the A4LD - they just keep on making them better and better!

My advice would be to not drive around (except for diagnostic purposes) until you have it fixed. If things are slipping and over-revving, odds are that clutches and bands are being burned up. If you do this too long (or at all for that matter), you may have burned fluid (it's tough to completly flush this tranny because the torque converter doesn't have a drain), burning clutches, burning bands, and possibly other damage occuring to hard parts (and those are bigger $ parts). All of those things would require a rebuild out of the vehicle - so PARK IT UNTIL FIXED!!! SLIPPING IS BAAAAD! It creates heat that the tranny and sub-components are not designed to handle.

That's the advice that I'd give my own family, so it's as honest as I can be. Good luck, and if you want to join in the discussion on Glacier's thread, see you there.