A4LD problems

[Henri56]

Hello everyone, I am in Belgium and I have a 1988 Bronco 2 that I love, unfortunately it is causing me problems and I need an expert to tell me in which direction to look. I have the A4LD box, it does not move forward or backward, so I took the internal pressures and it gives this:
in idle P N OD D 2 1 + - 55 psi R + - 72 psi hope is good
a 2000 tr/m P N OD D 2 1 + -62 psi R + - 85 psi it is much too little
an idea of what is not working ?
Apparently the solenoids no longer work so I ordered a body valve f053, even if the problem does not come from there, it will do him good to have a very clean vb, sorry for my English but I am French

 

[RangerX]

Welcome Henri! I can’t help, but hopefully someone who sees this can.
Your English is fine!

 

[CDW6212R]

Most auto trans issues come from the VB or solenoids etc, the normal wear parts that are user serviceable. So I would have suggested going through the VB, and with a kit plus Sonnax upgrades, and replace the solenoids and accumulators. That's the things to do for any high mileage trans, whether working perfectly or not. Those things need to be done before a transmission fails, and they don't add to the cost of a rebuild if one is needed later.

The clutches wear out fast when there is a lot of slippage, so it's likely to need rebuilt, unless the truck was stopped immediately when the first symptom presented.

Replace the accumulators and solenoids, the VB, and keep full records too in case it has to be rebuilt(show the records to a shop so they don't charge you to replace the same parts again).

 

[Henri56]

Thank you for this information, the box has never been mounted in a car it was used for some test on a hydraulic bench, all the parts that I could see were practically new, only the vb had no solenoid, and the valves were not the same, I tried to redo with my old one and the ATSG manual but apparently it does not work or so it's something else

 

[CDW6212R]

If you've changed the parts I mentioned already, it may be time for a rebuild. But if there are some parts not done yet, all of the solenoids, all accumulators etc, then I'd do those before giving up and taking it apart. Most issues begin by malfunctions of those items, or leaking seals of the accumulators etc.

If the trans is out of the vehicle, and it fails the bench testing, it's not bad to take it apart to rebuild it. Most good trans shops will rebuild one cheaply compared to in a vehicle prices.

 

[Henri56]

I think you did not understand correctly, it did not fail the test bench, it was used for hydraulic machine tests,never mounted in a car , it was practically new, but they had modified the valve body

 

[CDW6212R]

Gotcha, sorry. So it should be in fine shape(clutches).

 

[Henri56]

yes it is in very good condition inside, there is only the problem that they had to change the body valve for their tests

 

[CDW6212R]

So just like any trans in a car, the same parts are likely to develop issues. Installing a new VB is a good idea given you don't know what the old one had and how it would work in your Bronco II. Whether you tried again to fix your old VB, or do the new one, I'd buy the new solenoids and accumulators.

A TransGo VB kit is the best upgrade available still I think, I did my two in about 1998(91 and 93 Explorers). It's not very hard to install, and there are a couple of other VB items made by Sonnax for the A4LD. One is an o-ring kit that replaces several of the stock end plugs, that stops leaking from them. The TransGo VB kit is not a "shift kit", it doesn't make any shifts harsh. It's a correction kit to improve functioning, I have installed many TransGo VB kits among several Ford transmissions. They are great for anything, except high powered 4R70W's.

That A4LD kit used to cost about $27 here in the late 1990's.

 

[Henri56]

I ordered a reconditioned valve body from Sonnax, the F053 with the two solenoids, I must receive it tomorrow, I hope this will solve my problem

 

[Henri56]

I only hope that the transmission will not be too slow, the final gear is 3.36 instead of 3.73 on my old one

 

[CDW6212R]

I forgot that, Sonnax now sells rebuilt VB's. That will be a quality part, not cheap I'm sure, but a reliable company product.

BTW, in my old Explorers, my 91 had 3.27 gears, and my 93 was 3.73:1 geared. They will both work, but the 3.73 is a better all around gear. For the lighter Bronco II, what you have may be fine, especially on flat highways.

 

[Henri56]

I guess the final gear is in the gears inside, hard to change I guess?

 

[CDW6212R]

Yes, the differential gears. They aren't too expensive, say $200, but labor to install is often high($500ish). It's a couple hours of work for a good shop, but many charge a high fee for setting up the ring and pinion gears.

Drive it like you have it, you might be okay with it, if you have the bigger engine. I'm not familiar with the Bronco II, but we do have some great members here that have them and love them etc.

 

[Henri56]

Thank you for all these answers, in normal driving it should be fine with the 2.9 L we'll see when I pull a trailer

 

[CDW6212R]

Yes, the towing might make you want more gear. The 3.73:1 would make it happier I'm sure.

 

[Henri56]

It should be fine I never exceed 2000 lbs and never over long distances, 10-15 miles

 

[Henri56]

Good news, I placed the vb Sonnax F053 and it is much better, the pressure is within the norms at idle, good at 2000 rpm in reverse but still a little low in forward gear, around 120 psi, and it has trouble shifting gears, I put back all the oil that I had emptied (it was new and I filtered it to be good) and the gauge indicates a lack of oil, I will see if that poses the problem of gear change

 

[jon clarke]

Hello everyone, I am in Belgium and I have a 1988 Bronco 2 that I love, unfortunately it is causing me problems and I need an expert to tell me in which direction to look. I have the A4LD box, it does not move forward or backward, so I took the internal pressures and it gives this:
in idle P N OD D 2 1 + - 55 psi R + - 72 psi hope is good
a 2000 tr/m P N OD D 2 1 + -62 psi R + - 85 psi it is much too little
an idea of what is not working ?
Apparently the solenoids no longer work so I ordered a body valve f053, even if the problem does not come from there, it will do him good to have a very clean vb, sorry for my English but I am French

When you have the pan off be sure that the transmission filter extension is on the . it is a little more than an inch in length. It is pretty normal for any shop changing transmission fluid and filter to NOT transfer the extension over to the new filter. This causes early failure due to not have sufficient fluid in the system.

 

[1sicbronconut]

X2 on the filter extension! Your English is great and the A4LD was produced in France so it shouldn't matter