A4LD rebuild questions

[RobbyD]

I need some assistance on a rebuild, first off, i followed glaciers threads on disassembly along with the atsg manual, its basically all apart, upon the tear down i really didnt notice much wear on anything other then the thrust washers.
First question: Do all the planets need new frictions and steels if they all appeared good without wear or can i reuse them without disassembling them?

Second: I plan on buying a new torque converter, is the new one marked somehow as to how to line it up with the flywheel, where upon taking the old one out i chalked the location on the flywheel and the one stud on the torque converter.

Third: Should i replace the all the thrust washers with torringtons? and if so where do i get torringtons and part numbers?

Im sure there will be more questions to come, hopefully someone can help me out here. Thanks alot! appreciate it, i want to get my ex back asap!

 

[Glacier991]

Let me try and give you MY take on this... others may have better ideas or differing ideas. Your trannie sounds like it was in decent shape.... no major failure. So we get into the area of "good enough" versus "more bulletproof". You definitely want to replace the frictions. Steels are your call. You want new servo pistons. new gaskets and seals all around. (soft parts plus).

NOW.... sprags. Check the races with a sidelight and a magnifying glass. Any spalling? Look at the sprag fingers... how do THEY look? Look at the inner bushings on the OD and intermediate drum. Look ok ? Any signs of wear? Sprags need special attention in this trannie.

In other words inspect everything with a critical eye. When in doubt, replace. NOW.... upgrades....

I think that looking back.... in order of siiignificance... I'd want to redo the rear case washer/race.... add the new center support with torringtons (I'll post all the part numbers for you) and add the OD bushing to the center support. How is the pump and all? DO NOT DISASSEMBLE IT yet.... keep the alignment... for now...ALSO....I'd add valve body upgrades as you do this ... both the Superior kit and the Transgo kit.... Also do the manual valve mod. Do the boost valve mod too. AND clean the bejesus out of everything while it is apart.

The NEW TC can mount any old way. At the factory they spin them apparently and balance... you cannot do that... others may chime in here but that is my take on things.

When I am done with my thread on rebuilding (And I HAVE tried to cover all this there) I may do a separate one on a "good enough" rebuild. Main thing to remember is that the OD and rear sprag are failure points. Make sure you pay close attention to both. ask all the Q's you want. Happy to help!

Also re-read the diary parts 2 and 3. You may surprise yourself.

 

[RobbyD]

Thanks for the reply Glacier, now to answer your questions.
I think my tranny is in decent shape BUT why did it fail if i cant find any significant problems?

So i need to replace the frictions in the planetaries, which is going to require the compressor to disassemble, did you mention autozones rent this tool?
As for the sprags, not exactly sure what you mean there, i tried finding a pic of it in your diary but didnt, how many are there and what do they look like so i know what to look for?

The inner bushings in the OD and intermediate drum look good, no sign of wear.
Not sure how to check the pump without disassembling it so i didnt, besides i would need the alignment tool if i did (hopefully this is rentable to, if needed).

I was going to get started on cleaning up the valve body but before i do that i wanted to get the kits i needed to mod it and wasnt sure on the part numbers, it seems like every site i went to, to look for a kit they didnt list one for the A4LD, strange...

If you could list all the part numbers i need for the upgrade kits and a whole overhaul kit (or whatever), that would be great! I just dont want to buy the wrong thing and mess it up more then what it is.

Well I looked for a rental place for the compressor tool and no such luck, so instead of buying one i made my own, works great, now i just need the part numbers for the kits to get before i go any further in ripping stuff apart.

 

[Glacier991]

Robbie ... the planetary gears do not have frictions. The clutch sets do. Yes you need to tear these down and yes you will need a compressor. There is a post in my threads (you really should take the time to go through the reassembly part too - you'll have a better idea of what sprags are etc) that links to an inexpensive clutch spring compressor - but like you did, one can easily be improvised. Someone DID post that autozone rents them, but they were in error. Autozone does NOT rent automatic transmission clutch compressors. Same for the pump alignment tool. No one rents it. Leave your pump mounted!

You still have some disassembly ahead of you. It's possible your problems were more valve related but get it ALL apart and then you'll have a better idea. The valve body mod kits (Superior and Transgo) should be readily available - just remember you are way beyond something Autozone or those kinds of places are going to be carrying....

I had a local supplier, but others should be able to direct you to a good online parts supplier.

Bulkparts.com comes to mind as one.

 

[Glacier991]

Robbie - On a whim I checked the Bulkparts.com website. They have the valve body kits. Buy a "Master kit", new servos, new bands and the upgrade kits for the valve body at a minimum. Oh yes, and get a thrust washer kit too. If you want to upgrade the center support I'm going to recommend that you buy the parts from Torrie at FORD PARTS NETWORK (new center support and torringtons.) There are only a few places in the transmission you can changeover the steel thrust washers to torringtons - and it's expensive. About $35 a bearing and $75 for a center support that uses them. I am a believer in modding the center support to put a bushing in it for the OD center shaft. Seriously consider replacing the OD planetary with a HD one. ($75 or so). I think I explained all this in part 3 in rebuilding.

That should get you started. The selective snap rings and the selective thrust bearings I have posted FORD numbers for in my threads. Good luck.