92 XLT transmission problem

[slammin]

I have a 1992 XLT, automatic. Recently, it has been running very rough. The power isn't as it was a few months ago.

In the morning when I start it up, weird problems have been occuring. When I put it in "drive", it sits like it is in neutral. Then after a few minutes sitting in "park" (too warm it up) I put it back into "drive" again, then its back to normal. A few minutes later, while at an intersection, I press the accelerator, its back in the "neutral" gear again. I then, put it in "park", shift to "drive" and then it returns to normal. What seems to be the problem? Is the tranny going out?

Please help.

Sam
1992 XLT Explorer owner

 

[Opera House]

Could be

the transmission slip seals feeding the forward clutch. Is it always fine in reverse? A leaking low reverse servo (this is something someone at home could easily do) might lower the pressure enough that the forward doesn't engage. Forward is still leaking but it might delay a rebuild for a while. First thing I would do is check to see if DRIVE position is actually at the indent on the transmission. A linkage problem could cause this. Has the filter and fluid ever been changed ? Is it at the proper level?

 

[slammin]

92 XLT tranny problem

In reverse, it sometimes goes in the "neutral" gear. The transmission fluid looks fine and at the proper level. Please advise.

Sam

the transmission slip seals feeding the forward clutch. Is it always fine in reverse? A leaking low reverse servo (this is something someone at home could easily do) might lower the pressure enough that the forward doesn't engage. Forward is still leaking but it might delay a rebuild for a while. First thing I would do is check to see if DRIVE position is actually at the indent on the transmission. A linkage problem could cause this. Has the filter and fluid ever been changed ? Is it at the proper level?

 

[mahieber]

Better get it checked before you destroy the innards. A4LD's are not cheap to rebuild.

 

[Opera House]

How mechanically inclined are you?

While I have not experienced this problem, I have rebuilt an A4LD. This is a grey area problem that could be several things. The easiest to try is the replacement of the of the low/reverse servo O-rings. These are always bad to some degree and you will probably see an improvement. This is no more difficult than replacing the transmission filter. New filter, fluid, gasket and seals would run about $50. The procedure is located on page 2 of this thread is located at:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=60887&goto=newpost

The title of the post is "Low/Reverse Servo Improvement." I would also tighten the valve body bolts when the filter is off. Not too tight. Spec is in this post. If that doesn't work, it will need a teardown.

 

[Ross-N-Chicago]

Couldn't he replace the vacuum diaphragm before deciding on a rebuild? I'd try my luck with a $25 part before $2500.

 

[NateEB]

Hey Sam, I experienced this same problem for the first time this morning. It went into reverse fine, then I stopped to dump the trash and when I put it in D nothing happened...well, we started to roll backwards. I will check all the fluids tomorrow. It was colder than it has been all winter so far so I attributed it in some degree to that. I am very interested in what you find out if you take your X in to the shop or if you find something that makes a difference.

Nate

 

[FourXFred]

mine used to do the same thing once and a while. not all the time, just randomly. i had my torque converter and all the seals replaces (due to severe leakage) and it has not happened since. it cost me about $800. hope its a cheaper problem for you!