A4LD transmission seal leak……

[axlegrease]

My A4LD transmission (1992 Ranger, 2WD, 3.0L) has an ATF leak which appears to be at the seal between the selector lever shaft and the transmission case.

Glacier991 covered this area in his A4LD TearDown Dairy (Part 3 - subPart 2 - Page 3), and discussed this seal where the selector lever shaft goes into the xsmn case.

My question - - can this seal be replaced with the truck setting on jack stands without dropping the xsmn? Not much working room as some disconnecting of the shaft from other internal parts to withdraw the shaft from the case is required.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Laph9979]

Was wandering the same thing, Just sprang a huge leak and I thought it was the pan seal cause I couldn't see to good due to heatshield. I reaplaced it and would you know it, it still leaks. What did you find on changing that seal?

 

[axlegrease]

Thanks for your reply. Was able to repair the ATF leak in the shifter shaft seal area on the driver’s side of the transmission without dropping the transmission. It appears that the shifter shaft seal leak is a frequent problem. Almost every national auto part store, NAPA and Advance, carry the replacement seal - OEM part number 7B498).

The bore of the shifter shaft seal looked nice and smooth and was not wallowed out or scored. It miked 0.750”, indicating little wear. The shifter shaft itself miked 0.742” diameter.

The old shifter shaft seal (two-part seal metal and rubber) sealing lips were stiff and not very rubbery so changed out this seal. Tried to pound in a new one with a hand-held flat plate and a small hammer - no good - distorted the seal. Made a seal driver to reinstall the seal and it went in fine.

The seal goes on the long round section up against the collar of the driver and the long round section goes into the shifter shaft bore to guide the seal in place. The short round end is to hammer on..

Once the shifter shaft seal and the shifter shaft assembly are in place, it is nearly impossible to remove the shifter shaft assembly without ruining the shifter shaft seal - the sharp corners of the groove in the shifter shaft shear off the sealing lips of the seal. I learned the hard way.

The throttle shaft assembly seal was an o-ring and it was replaced with a new o-ring OEM p/n 386078S.

To remove the shifter shaft assembly and throttle shaft assembly, it is necessary to remove the shaft nut holding these two shaft assemblies in place. It was necessary to remove the external neutral safety switch (NSS) before re-assembly as the inner detent lever bears against the inner pin of the NSS, to complete the inner re-assembly.

While the pan was dropped, a soldered-in drain pan drain plug assembly was added.

Replaced the pan gasket (nitrile rubber), o-rings on the ATF filter and the ATF filter before closing up the transmission and re-filling. Used just enough petroleum grease to hold the gasket in place on the pan during re-assembly. Torqued the pan bolts to 100 inch-lbs. So far, so good.

Jack stands used on the front suspension of the Ranger to get enough room to work on the transmission. Didn’t use a creeper to gain a few more inches of working height.

The Glacier991 postings are excellent and recommended for study before doing any A4LD internal work. His A4LD Rebuild Diary starts at this web site
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146956

and the section of work on the shifter and throttle shaft assemblies is on this thread
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=113354&page=3
Part 2, 2nd half, Page 3, about 1/3 into this page.

Good luck on your work to find and repair the seal. Let me know if I might have learned something that could be helpful.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Thanks for taking the time to write this information! How did you make that seal installation driver tool? You could add this information in my home made tools thread which is # 63 in my list of useful threads: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=195437. # 75 in my list of useful threads has information on installing leak proof magnetic drain plugs into a transmission pan: http://explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=206353.

 

[axlegrease]

Thanks for taking the time to write this information! How did you make that seal installation driver tool? You could add this information in my home made tools thread which is # 63 in my list of useful threads: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=195437. # 75 in my list of useful threads has information on installing leak proof magnetic drain plugs into a transmission pan: http://explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=206353.

BrooklynBay, the requested information has been posted to the following link

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=195437&page=3

 

[BrooklynBay]

Thanks for the information on the shift shaft seal driver!

 

[explorer 4x4=16]

I removed my transmission from my '94 explorer because the reverse was not working anymore. Which is the best way to remove the body valve?
Do I have to turn the transmission upside down? or do i keep the transmission on its original side?
Thanks.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Turn the transmission upside down to remove the pan & valve body bolts.

 

[Benjam]

Hi all,

Has anyone been able to source just the double ring seal that goes IN the shift shaft to seal the throttle kickdown(little) shaft that runs inside it?

I read through glacier's post here, http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1040960&postcount=52

but all that shows is the old style o-ring is replaced by a newer double ring seal. How does one find this double ring seal?

https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=64269&cc=1119619

It appears rock auto sells this as a kit, the shift shaft seal, with a seal of sorts for the inner o-ring. Although it's hard to tell whether or not the smaller o-ring is a standard o-ring or the double ring style specified..

Any help or insight is appreciated here,

Benjam

 

[BrooklynBay]

WWW.TransmissionPartsUSA.Com sells it.