95 XLT - Should I buy it? Tranny problems, etc....

[splat]

Quick history on the vehicle: The guy is trying to sell it for a family member who was coming down on a road trip when the transmission went out. After the tranny started having problems, the vehicle was continued to be driven to the destination (not sure how far this was). Its a 95 XLT with 160,000 miles, automatic transmission, and 2wd.

The guy selling it was willing to let me take it to a shop to have it checked out, so I dropped it off last night. They started to look at it last night and will finish up their inspection this morning. The "O/D Off" light is flashing, and the technician who started looking at it said this usually means the solenoids in the transmission have gone bad and will need to be replaced. He said this usually costs about $4K , is this about right? I called the local junkyard and they said it would be $550 for a tranny (if they have one). Would it be that difficult to swap out the tranny? I helped someone swap out a manual transmission a while back without any problems, not sure how difficult it would be with the cable tensions, etc for an automatic. I also have a 92 with auto I can get parts off of, will the transmission from it fit onto the 95 (I think its a 4ALD on the 92)? Are there any other vehicles (maybe a Mustang) that I should be looking at for a donor tranny? Last time I was at the junkyard they had a couple sport trac's, are these options?

A couple other problems I've noticed is one of the door lock actuators will not lock, the motor tries but will not pull it down (it does unlock though). Also, once the driver side window goes all the way down with the "one-touch auto" the motor still tries to turn for a few more seconds.

Sorry for the long post, I appreciate any advice on these questions and anything else you can think of that I should be looking out for on this.

BTW, I can probably get the vehicle for under $2K. My main concern right now is how big of a headache its going to be to take care of the transmission and how much it will cost.

Thanks!

 

[95limited]

$4000 for the transmission repair is way too much. I just had the transmission overhauled in my '95 Limited for $1850 total price. Besides the parts in the overhaul kit, they also replaced the bands, clutches, overdrive sprag, low rev sprag, reverse planet set, all the solenoids, and the turbine speed sensor. I did a lot of research before taking my Explorer to Northshore Transmission in Nice California. Ask around for local recommendations for a small shop.

I would not recommend buying a transmission from a junk yard. I beleave the transmission in the 95 was only used from 95 until 97. That being the case, a used transmission will be at least 8 years old.

You can also do a search on Ebay for a transmission. An outfit in Phoenix, AZ has a buy it now for $725 plus $260 shipping ($130 is for sending back the core) and a $350 core fee.

Hope this info help.

 

[splat]

Thanks for the reply. I picked it up from the shop yesterday and the manager told me "worst case scenario" it would cost $1500-2000, IF they have to do a complete rebuild. Not sure what that guy was thinking who told me $4K!!

 

[marragtop]

Before you get too far into a trans repair, try unhooking the battery to reset the codes. The '95s are notorious for throwing a false OD blinking code. This puts the trans into cripple/limp mode which causes it to shift roughly. However, if the drive drove it a considerable distance at high speeds with the OD light blinking, then it may need an overhaul. Good luck.

 

[Glacier991]

Often in these transmissions such problems can be fixed by simply replacing the valve body (along with the solenoids). THAT is a DIY repair, and will run ya about $200-$250 or so. If you are interested I can give ya a link to a place selling remanufactured valve bodies. DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY ASSUME YOU NEED A REBUILD!!