A4LD Surprizes

[organman]

Seems a4ld's have some issues which brings me to this. One morning my 92 Ranger 4.0 would not go into OD. Later that day tranny seemed to function ok. Two days later trans would not shift above 2nd, then noticed I had no reverse. Checked fluid level, OK. Dropped pan changed filter, cleaned pan and replaced, no change. All trans guys talk rebuild, I don't want to go there if possible. Tried and experiment. Disconnected vacuum line from modulator, and plugged the vacuum tree at the motor (so motor would run properly). Guess what? Reverse began to work. Replaced mod (it was bad) fired the truck, reverse engaged, backed out of the drive and went for a drive. Trans shifted smoothly, but still no OD. Drove home and now no reverse. Tried the experiment again, Reverse. Any info in this situation would be greatly welcomed.

 

[COB]

OD AND LOCK UP ARE SOLENOIDS caps sorry and are very common to fail. on mine i blew up the planitary spline and it didnt move at all

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! It sounds like a valve body issue. Did you drop the valve body, and rebuild it? When you said that the modulator was bad, did you find ATF in the vacuum line? Read Glacier991's sticky called the A4LD valve body rebuild diary in the transmission section.

 

[organman]

Did find ATF in the line. I have not rebuilt the VB. Do you think this will solve my problem? I have read Glacier991's sticky called the A4LD valve body rebuild diary. Seems a procedure I could accomplish. I thought if the VB bolts were found to be loose they may cause this problem. I'll drop the pan and check for this condition if you think this is a possible problem. Thanks for your reply.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Is this a temperature related problem? If so, then it could also be related to the valve body gaskets. You also mentioned that the bolts were loose. This could contribute to the gaskets going bad, and possibly cause gasket material to clog things up.

 

[organman]

Haven't found any loose bolts, just stated if I were to find loose bolts would tightening them help this situation. I'm not sure if this is a temperature related problem. I do not tow, no off road driving, basically my driving is easy. However, My radiator temp gauge goes up and down but has not run hot. Last year had a leaky water pump and replaced it. You guys seem so informed and your input is appreciated.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Did your transmission ever have the famous front seal blowout on the highway when you experienced the overheating problem?

 

[organman]

I do experience some ATF leaking from the front of the tranny. I usually keep a check on it and add fluid to maintain the proper level. What puzzles me is the fact when I disconnect the vac mod line, reverse will engage. Is this causing more pressure in the VB? I just don't feel I need a total rebuid at this time. As I attempt to find the answer to this problem, I make sure I park in a position were I do not have to back-up. In one instance, I was in a driveway and needed reverse. I simply disconnected the vac mod line, backed-up reconnected the line and drove away. I do not want to further damage my tranny with this method, but I gotta do what I gotta do, for this truck is my daily driver. Also the OD problem is still there. I haven't checked the OD solenoid switch. I read a procedure were one could install a manual switch to activate the OD solenoid switch. Is this a safe thing to do? My thoughts are, if I find a VB problem and correct this, will it possibly correct the (no reverse) and (OD) problem at the same time. Thanks for valuable knowledge.

 

[BrooklynBay]

I would not recommend connecting a switch. If you engage it in the wrong gear, or forget to disengage it when it is supposed to, it might cause some transmission damage. Rebuilding the valve body would most likely fix the reverse problem. You would have to check a few things electrically to see if the overdrive problem is related. Did you try to adjust the bands?

 

[organman]

Did not try to adjust the bands. Not sure of the procedure. What electrical things can I check?

 

[BrooklynBay]

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158160

 

[chbtech]

Had my A4LD rebuilt recently. Common problem is the hub that bolts onto the front of the trans to support the converter. The hub actually breaks and the pieces devour the front (input shaft) seal on the trans, thus the leaking fluid from the front of the trans. You might end up having to pull the trans anyway but I hope you solve your problem without.

 

[organman]

Thanks for the info guys, I plan to rebuild the VB and adjust the bands. Will report when completed. Thaks again, Jeff

 

[organman]

A4LD VB bolt torque

I'm beginning my A4LD VB rebuild, when I reinstall VB, what should I torque the bolts too? Thanks guys

 

[organman]

Another guestion. The shift kit for my A4LD seems to say leave the wire clip out of the Reverse piston. Is this for real? Thanks

 

[BrooklynBay]

Check the torque specifications in this post: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=482165&postcount=46

 

[organman]

OK. I rebuilt my VB and still the same problem (no reverse and no OD) What would be your advice in my search in solving this problem?
Thanks for your time.

 

[BrooklynBay]

It's always a good idea to rebuild the valve body first. If that doesn't work, then you would need to rebuild everything. Rebuilding the valve body wasn't a waste of time since it would need to be done anyway when you do an entire rebuild.

 

[organman]

Since I am experiencing the same symtoms, what would be your thoughts on where the problem is?
Thanks for your knowledgeable input.

 

[BrooklynBay]

You now have two options. Since the problem was intermittent, it did sound like it was the valve body. You said that there was no change after rebuilding the valve body. Could you get another valve body to try on your vehicle? Contact Glacier991. He might be able to lend you one to try out. If it still has no effect, then you would have to open up the transmission to see where the damage would be.