YW84U
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- March 10, 2000
- Messages
- 136
- Reaction score
- 1
- City, State
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- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1991 XLT
Hi All,
Just wished to run my situation past you and see if I can be pointed in the right direction.
I have a 1991 XLT 4x4, 4.0L with 3.73 gears and 31" tires currently at 350,000 KMs. New long block at 295,000 and a complete rebuild of the A4LD at around 268,000 KMs. The rebuild was complete and done by a very good service shop. Regular services, filters and flushes were kept up on the trans, was not driven hard and never towed anything. Driving was mostly highway miles with some in-town stops.
At around 345,000, I found out that my flex plate was cracked, and was so bad that it began contacting the starter gear cover. To the shop it went, and was jobbed out to a local trans repair shop (I had moved, so no chance to go back to the original reputable one). The flex plate was replaced, and the truck put back into service.
Shortly after receiving it back, I began having 1-2 shifting problems, mostly when cold. I returned it to the shop, and they diagnosed and replaced the governor (at more expense). When I picked the vehicle up, I noticed that there was a 'new sound' from the trans - best described as similar to a blower on a supercharged engine (belt sound?)- a whine that kept up with the RPM's of the engine. The whine is not present in either park or neutral; only when in gear - through all RPMs and through all gears. Fluid color, smells and levels are all good, no leaks for vacuum, and the engine is running fine with no codes that I know of (OBD I).
It was driven like this for about 2000 KMs, as the trans behaved properly despite the noise - I had assumed it was likely the new governor and not of concern. However, now when cold, it seems to slowly come into gear, and there are shift problems again from 1-2. When warm, it responds properly through all ranges. With that, I took it back to the shop in search of answers. I asked them if;/when they replaced the filter, if it was a jobber part or if there was a chance that an o-ring was messed up, to maybe account for the noise. Their diagnosis for the whining is that the torque converter is likely on its way out, (and may come apart catastrophically at some point), or the pump near the front is going. They believe that the shift problem is likely seal-related and is a separate issue. I am a little skeptical, as the newly acquired noise was immediate after the governor replacement (although, they say they only dropped the transfer case at that time to re and re the part, and topped up the fluid)......
Is there a likelihood of the TC going out in a big way, from the symptoms described? I am tempted to wait until it fails and deal with it then, as a full rebuild is around $2400, but repairing as per their recommendations would run around $1200+. Is there anything I can check on myself without an autopsy to delay what I've been told is the inevitable?
Any thoughts in this regard is greatly appreciated!
Just wished to run my situation past you and see if I can be pointed in the right direction.
I have a 1991 XLT 4x4, 4.0L with 3.73 gears and 31" tires currently at 350,000 KMs. New long block at 295,000 and a complete rebuild of the A4LD at around 268,000 KMs. The rebuild was complete and done by a very good service shop. Regular services, filters and flushes were kept up on the trans, was not driven hard and never towed anything. Driving was mostly highway miles with some in-town stops.
At around 345,000, I found out that my flex plate was cracked, and was so bad that it began contacting the starter gear cover. To the shop it went, and was jobbed out to a local trans repair shop (I had moved, so no chance to go back to the original reputable one). The flex plate was replaced, and the truck put back into service.
Shortly after receiving it back, I began having 1-2 shifting problems, mostly when cold. I returned it to the shop, and they diagnosed and replaced the governor (at more expense). When I picked the vehicle up, I noticed that there was a 'new sound' from the trans - best described as similar to a blower on a supercharged engine (belt sound?)- a whine that kept up with the RPM's of the engine. The whine is not present in either park or neutral; only when in gear - through all RPMs and through all gears. Fluid color, smells and levels are all good, no leaks for vacuum, and the engine is running fine with no codes that I know of (OBD I).
It was driven like this for about 2000 KMs, as the trans behaved properly despite the noise - I had assumed it was likely the new governor and not of concern. However, now when cold, it seems to slowly come into gear, and there are shift problems again from 1-2. When warm, it responds properly through all ranges. With that, I took it back to the shop in search of answers. I asked them if;/when they replaced the filter, if it was a jobber part or if there was a chance that an o-ring was messed up, to maybe account for the noise. Their diagnosis for the whining is that the torque converter is likely on its way out, (and may come apart catastrophically at some point), or the pump near the front is going. They believe that the shift problem is likely seal-related and is a separate issue. I am a little skeptical, as the newly acquired noise was immediate after the governor replacement (although, they say they only dropped the transfer case at that time to re and re the part, and topped up the fluid)......
Is there a likelihood of the TC going out in a big way, from the symptoms described? I am tempted to wait until it fails and deal with it then, as a full rebuild is around $2400, but repairing as per their recommendations would run around $1200+. Is there anything I can check on myself without an autopsy to delay what I've been told is the inevitable?
Any thoughts in this regard is greatly appreciated!
