92XLT A4LD Issue

[kdensberger]

This my first post, but this forum has helped move than any source I have tried. I learned how to rebuild my transfer case and refurburish my hub here. I now have a tranny issue which has me baffled and although I have read extensively here I am still confused. 3 weeks ago my fan clutch went out which caused my XLT to overheat while in 4Low at the beach in sand. The main issue was most of my tranny fuild leaked out at the point between the engine and bell housing. After replacing 5 quarts of fuild to the tranny and replacing the fan clutch and doing a fuild and filter change when I got home, the truck developed a whine/roar when started and placed in drive. My first thought was that it was the fan I had to purchase at a parts house that was causing the sound and it would disappear after driving a minute or so. But in the past few days the sounds are appearing when I stop for any length of time at a light or traffic and the truck takes about 20 seconds to go into drive when shifting from park. I it is fine as long as I am in drive except for the sounds. Also note that the fuild is full with dextron micrion III and I check it hot daily. Any information would be greatly appreceited, as I am unemployed due to downsizing at the place I worked. The delay of ingagement is getting progressing worse. It has no issues or sounds in reverse. Thanks again for such a great forum!

Keith

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! If you check the link on the bottom of my signature, you will see a link to a PDF file which addresses the problem with the front seal blowing out ATF when the vehicle is hot. Check the coolant level in your radiator. It is probably low. How many miles do you have on your vehicle? I would suggest trying a bottle of Lucas stop leak for your transmission problem. It expands, and swells the seals making a tighter fit. It is possible that overheating might have done some internal damage. Did you drop the pan, and look for any metal shavings? You might need some new fluid, a filter, and a band adjustment.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Here is a link to that article about the front seal blowing out as a result of a low coolant condition in the radiator: Dead Link Removed

 

[kdensberger]

Thanks for answering

I did drop the pan and found little to nothing as far as metal on the magnet. I changed the fuild again and replaced the filter. The fluid doesnt leak now. I tried to go to the store after my post and now the x doesnt go forward at all and reverse is also gone, this all happened in about a day except the whine/roar after 3 weeks. The tranny never shifted bad or slipped at all. I did reveiw the post on the front seal leak earlier before posting. The radiator has plenty of water in it. It seems like either the torque converter is not doing its job or it has a pressure problem. Do you think it could be the converter, modulator or maybe the pump? Thanks again for responding.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Check the fluid level when the engine is hot, and on flat ground. It is possible that you might be low a few quarts of fluid. The level when it is cold will be lower than when it is hot. If that checks out OK, and you still have no gear engagement, try to adjust the bands. If that still doesn't solve your problem, connect a pressure gauge to your port 1/8" X 27 NPT (national pipe thread) on the rear, driver's side of the transmission, and take a pressure reading.

 

[kdensberger]

Brooklyn

This morning I went out and adjusted the bands per the posting and it made no difference. Just to check, I pulled the hose off the modulator and its clean and dry. i also wanted to see if I was getting fluid circulation so I took off the hose to the cooler and trans fluid shot out big time, but I was blacker than whats on the dip stick, so I dropped the pan again, to my suprise it was still clean with no concernable metal. Does that make sense? Iam going to try to find a pressure guage today and post the results. What should I be doing and what should the pressures be? Thanks again for all your assistance.

Keith

 

[BrooklynBay]

Did you check both sides of the cooler? The cooler could be clogged. You might have just disconnected the line coming out of the transmission, but not the line coming out of the cooler.

 

[BrooklynBay]

The transmission gauge is a 0-300 PSI style. Any other pressure range is not for a transmission.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Check Glacier's thread on using a transmission pressure gauge: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117998&highlight=transmission+pressure+gauge. It was a sticky for a while.

 

[kdensberger]

Can't find a guage today

I could not find a guage today, I will look tomorrow, but I attempted to change the fluid and filter one more time with the Lucas additive since the fluid look bad from the cooler line. Yes it was the line going from the cooler back to the transmission. After the fluid change the tranny still would not ingage but I did notice the engine did drop about 200 rpms on the tack so I think I do have some pressure but not enough to move the vehicle. I am leaning towards have the tranny rebuilt or replacing it. Just wish I could fix it myself being unemployed at this time. But I have very little experience with trannies and do have the money to spend on things that don't fix my problem. This is my daily driver and need it to go to job interviews. No car equals no job... If I could be sure of what the issue was and could fix it without actually going into the tranny that would be great. I don't think I have the mechanical skills to take a chance on rebuilding my self just to have it fail and have to have someone rebuild or replace it with the limited funds I have at this point. I don't think the issue is inside the actual tranny as it has never shifted bad through at these issues. I just an engagement or a pressure issue I'm sure, but as I said no car no job interviews. Any suggestions on tranny replacements or cheap fixes to the one in the truck would be greatly appreciated. Brooklin thank you so much for your assistance!. If you have any more ideas let me know. Thanks again for such a great forum, I have refurbished my power windows, automatic 4x4 motor, and tranfer case by using the great post in this forum...

Keith

 

[BrooklynBay]

I suspect that your valve body might need to be cleaned out. Read the sticky on the A4LD VB. All of those particles get caught in those crevices that look like lines on a map. I've had that before. Dirt, and heat are the #1 killers of transmissions. The heat softens up everything, falls apart, then clogs up everything.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Check this chart out about transmission life expectancy. It is #8 in my list of useful threads under my signature: Dead Link Removed

 

[BrooklynBay]

I'll post it here too:
Dead Link Removed

 

[kdensberger]

Brooklytn, I am trying to remove the vb now and I took off the pan and filter and took out all the bolts. Then I try to pull the vb off it is hanging on something Is there something I forgot to remove. Also I noticed there is some type of servo or cylinder shapted thing that has two blue wires attacthed to it. Anyway the cap that the wires attach to is very loose and moves alot, it that going to be a problem and what is it? Thanks...


Keith

 

[BrooklynBay]

You are referring to the case connector for the 2 solenoids. It has 3 wires. I hope you disconnected those wires before you dropped the VB. That thing is very fragile, and could easily break if yanked. The part near the internal parking pawl is called the "Z" link. That is near the passenger side of the transmission. That has to be disconnected too.

 

[BrooklynBay]

"Z" Link:

3 wire case connector:

Low/reverse servo cover with 4 bolts:

 

[toy720]

hey BB im thinking pump whine on this one?

 

[BrooklynBay]

If there is no pressure in the transmission, it could be either a clogged VB, or the front pump gears could have cracked. A whining sound could be the result of an internal hydraulic restriction. Fluid is trying to go from one passage to another, but is partially restricted. I had a very bad whining sound from my bell housing area after a rebuild. I knew that the rebuild was good, since I put in a lot of new parts. The transmission shifted very harshly, and the whining sound was mostly heard when it was cold. The transmission would not shift after a week. When I opened it up, I wasn't able to find the problem, but suspected the torque converter. It was a rebuilt torque converter that was just installed at the time of the rebuild with no prior usage. I returned it, and got another one. The new one was good, and it was able to shift! The internal parts of the TC were defective. It just kept slipping, and whining.

 

[toy720]

Maybe it the tc then but if it just had partial pressure would that not cause the pump to whine as well?

 

[BrooklynBay]

The partial pressure could cause a whine. The VB probably has sediment clogged up from when it overheated.