94 Explorer stalls when put in gear

[cmnjn]

I have a 1994 EB 4x4 explorer about 130000 miles on it, bought it used at 90000 miles and have had no problems since other then the transmission fluid was getting sucked into the engine. Read up on that here so was getting ready to replace the vacuum modulator on the trans when this problem happened.

I have searched thoroughly on here and havent found much that relates to my problem, I hope someone can give me some things to check.

My Ex was running fine then all of a sudden just stalled while in gear. Put in park restarted with no problem then stalled again as soon as put in gear. Always starts up and always stalls when put in drive or reverse. The only way I was able to keep it from stalling was to throttle up & hold it there then put into drive (kind of like popping the clutch on a manual). Once i was moving it drove fine until I had to stop again. (I only did this to get it home since it cant be a good thing to do)

Any ideas?

 

[Jack Flash]

sounds like you either have a torque converter going/gone bad, or there is a problem with the torque converter solenoid, or...................

lots of threads related to this problem. one thing that most don't touch on is the spring in the converter clutch solenoid bore will/can break and cause this problem. lots of converters replaced when it was just a broken spring in the valve body.

I recently had a '90 Ranger that the tranny "ripoff" repair shop told the customer that he needed a converter (and an overhaul). the solenoid (with an ohmmeter) checked good and I could not find anything wrong with the converter. dropped the valve body, pulled the solenoid and dumped out the junk behind it...SURPRISE !......broken spring.

lots of "how to's" in this section. read them and do it yourself. save some buck$.

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[big5dogg]

seems you got a torque converter clutch problem because when you put it on drive the clutch from the converter is supposed to release if it doesnt then it will kill your car

 

[BrooklynBay]

It could be the TCC solenoid or the IAC valve.

 

[cmnjn]

Thanks guys!

BrooklynBay - I wrote those two after reading another of your posts.

big5dogg - I read up a bit on torque converters from links on here but your comment summed my problem up perfect.

Jack Flash - After reading up on the forums I decided to replace the filter & check for any metal chunks etc & was considering rebuilding the valve body after reading how to in the sticky. Based on your comment and the other 2 it seems like my best bet or at the least the smartest one before worrying about having a shop do anything. Plus I do love getting my hands dirty versus my pockets empty!

Thanks again for the help, its very frustrating when a shop tells me I need to spend 2k+ for a rebuild because the gears are all frozen & I wont be able to drive in any gear. Then I get going and everything works fine once I'm going fast enough to avoid stalling. NOT a huge confidence builder for the shop!

 

[BrooklynBay]

Shops always try to convince people that every transmission which comes in needs to be rebuilt. If they have to spend time analyzing the problem, replacing parts, then after a couple of months something else fails, the customer will say that it should be covered under their warranty when a different part of the transmission failed. They just decide to rebuild everything which comes in. They make more money this way.

 

[jodimarie]

hi.
Wondering if you have fixed this problem. Im having the same problem with my 94 Exp! Any advice would be welcomed!
Thx

 

[jwwing]

If it was mine, I would look first at the IAC - Explorer engine is notorious for IAC problems, it is easiest and cheapest to fix. Symptoms are that the engine rapidly drops in rpm and shuts off. If you pump on the accelerator it will catch and run again sometimes. This is not a good idea to keep doing (pumping the accelerator) because it puts lots of pressure on the transmission (surges and what not) as the engine changes rpm rapidly. If the engine shuts off like it is being killed, look for transmission valvebody issues. I speak from experience with only one vehicle, however, and it is not repaired yet :>)

Update: I have since completed the job and the transmission is working quite well. The engine is also working well without any repair to the IAC which tells me that the original problem was caused by the ingestion of that little filter that mounts in the valve body plate. That filter got chewed up and messed up some of the valves in the valve body causing the engine to shut off periodically. The worst part is that had I recognized the symptoms, I could have avoided removing the transmission 7 years ago and probably could have had it repaired inside of a couple of days. That's what I get for making assumptions. The transmission had almost no wear showing at 140,000 miles when I took it apart. If it fails now, it will be because of what I did to it while taking it out, "fixing" it, and putting it back in :>) -- such is life!