Another cruel World story...

[csxtrainman]

Story is as follows....

I have a 91 XLT...After spending the better part of tonight screwing with the auto hub cams, and finally getting them on...no one warned me they would be such a ***** to get back on the spindle. Anyway, after finishing up the brake job, bearing session, I take her out to test drive and break in the new pads. Well, At a stop sign I add power to leave when the transmission pops and the RPM's skyrocket. Mind you I was in overdrive, and I know the A4LD's are crap anyway, as this is the original. So im guessing that the overdrive clutches went bye bye, or the fluid got really hot...the latter being the least likely, although I really wish that was what it was. Anyway, with that said, the truck will move slightly in OD, but nothin close to what it should. Runs fine through all the other gears. So along with the story, I wanna ask you guys, what do you think...the clutches, or something else? I guess this is really gonna push my decision to buy that 97 EB AWD ive been eyeballing....

 

[jimbo74]

sounds like the tranny is going out... od is always the first gear to go.....

 

[csxtrainman]

Oh well, I figured as much. With that said, I wanna go with anything but stock. What are the available mods that can be done to the A4LD to make her a little sturdier. Im sure there has to be clutches, and other things to make her performance better. Also, If not, then will a V-8 4WD Auto transmission bolt up to the 4.0 block? I think id rather go with the beefer V8 tranny, than get another A4LD. Im gonna build the engine, so Ill need something to handle the HP. Ideas?

 

[jimbo74]

just do a full engine swap and tranny with an atlas 2 tcase......

aa is trying to get an aod bolt to the 4.0l

but none will currently.....

 

[section525]

Buy the AWD! You won't regret it. The motor and tranny are top notch in the V8s!

 

[csxtrainman]

Man, I drove by the lot the other day and saw it...I about fell over, midnight blue, EB, and as loaded as you can get...plus when i got up to it I saw it was a V8 and was like okay, I WANT! Sticker was 9900 with 84000 miles, and in VERY clean condition...dealer has a 100000 mile warrenty that he backs with everything he sells...so i wouldnt have any worries till 184000 miles....not a bad deal if you ask me.....

 

[tenikiwon]

OD

I though Over Drive was only a factor at top speed (50+)
Please explain.

 

[Mbrooks420]

aa is trying to get an aod bolt to the 4.0l

No, they gave up on that because the bellhousing was too big. Now they are trying the 700r4.

 

['96explorereddiebauer]

Originally posted by csxtrainman
Man, I drove by the lot the other day and saw it...I about fell over, midnight blue, EB, and as loaded as you can get...plus when i got up to it I saw it was a V8 and was like okay, I WANT! Sticker was 9900 with 84000 miles, and in VERY clean condition...dealer has a 100000 mile warrenty that he backs with everything he sells...so i wouldnt have any worries till 184000 miles....not a bad deal if you ask me.....

Wow!!! That's a good deal!! But are you sure the warrenty is up to 100,000 miles and not an additional 100,000 miles??

 

[MyExpWork]

Yeah, I bet the warranty is up to 100,000 miles not another 100,000. New cars don't even get that.

Basically I think he will warrant for another 16,000 for you since its already got 84,000.

Brian

 

[csxtrainman]

Originally posted by MyExpWork
Yeah, I bet the warranty is up to 100,000 miles not another 100,000. New cars don't even get that.

Basically I think he will warrant for another 16,000 for you since its already got 84,000.

I asked the dealer about that specifically. He said that the warrenty was for the drivetrain. He said it was 100000 miles from mileage of purchase, so that would be 184,000 miles when the warrenty ran out. I was suspicious so I asked to see the warrenty paperwork, and he was for real. I couldnt believe it honestly.

 

[Majisto]

Re: OD

Originally posted by tenikiwon
I though Over Drive was only a factor at top speed (50+)
Please explain.

Heh, you'd be right usually. The O/D gear doesn't engage until I think above 40 MPH or something, but the A4LD is a strange tranny, as are all autotragics, and there is a band for overdrive, which can fail and cause the entire tranny to run like crud.

 

[Majisto]

Originally posted by csxtrainman
I asked the dealer about that specifically. He said that the warrenty was for the drivetrain. He said it was 100000 miles from mileage of purchase, so that would be 184,000 miles when the warrenty ran out. I was suspicious so I asked to see the warrenty paperwork, and he was for real. I couldnt believe it honestly.

Drivetrain warranty doesn't mean as much as you think. Dodge prides themselves on their 70K mile warranty, but what they don't want you to know is that it's only on the powertrain, not the entire vehicle. It's still nice if you blow the engine, but blowing an OHV 4.0 is not an easy task

*edit* Now that I think about it, the powertrain warranty is the best thing for an X, since most of all the problems I see are tranny related. The body is a very strout consturction.

 

[rufus50]

I've been reading a lot in this site about how crappy the V6 trannys are. Clutch band wearing out, OD not working right.

When did Ford get their stuff together and fix or redesign the trannys for the X ??]

another question I have is: when did Ford put a V8 in the Eddie Bauer X's ? I'm new to the world of the X ( I hope to buy my first very soon...a '95 Eddie Bauer V6 with auto tranny).
Help this newbie out, I'm going crazy

 

[bluevolume]

Originally posted by csxtrainman
I asked the dealer about that specifically. He said that the warrenty was for the drivetrain. He said it was 100000 miles from mileage of purchase, so that would be 184,000 miles when the warrenty ran out. I was suspicious so I asked to see the warrenty paperwork, and he was for real. I couldnt believe it honestly.

I'd take it a step further than "couldn't" to "wouldn't". There is simply no way that the dealer is going to give you a 100,000 mile warranty on an Explorer, especially one that already has 84,000 miles. There is definately something that he isn't telling you -- about exactly what it covers, the time limit for claims, the quality of the replacement parts they will use... something.

Did he explain who is backing the warranty? With that many miles Ford isn't even going to offer an ESP, and certainly not for 100K. Other groups like WarrantyGold and AutoWarranty Brokers would cover the vehicle, but for those terms you're probably talking about a $5000 premium. Do you think the dealer is going to pay that?

It doesn't sound like a bad price they are offering you, even without the mysterious warranty. If you really like the truck, and don't see any glaring problems with it, go ahead and get it! But, take the warranty as some kind of lottery bonus that you might be able to cash in on should some specific part go bad.

Blue

 

[Majisto]

Originally posted by rufus50
I've been reading a lot in this site about how crappy the V6 trannys are. Clutch band wearing out, OD not working right.

When did Ford get their stuff together and fix or redesign the trannys for the X ??]

another question I have is: when did Ford put a V8 in the Eddie Bauer X's ? I'm new to the world of the X ( I hope to buy my first very soon...a '95 Eddie Bauer V6 with auto tranny).
Help this newbie out, I'm going crazy

The transmissions are not as bad as people make them out to be. The A4LD isn't the best transmission in the world, but tell me how long you expect a tranny with so much abuse as a high-displacement V-6 puts on it? 100K miles is pretty good IMO.

The 5R55E is a replacement to the A4LD, and I know every single SOHC V-6 has the tranny, and I believe most 2nd Generation OHVs also have it. It is a bit stronger than the A4LD, and I have seen much fewer failure rates with it.

The V-8 has a 4R70W which is an entirely different tranny that is very, very good since i believe it's also in the Mustang, and it's been around forever V-8s started in 1995 with the newer body style.

 

[liquidx9]

v8s actually started in 96.. just to clear that up

 

[Majisto]

Originally posted by liquidx9
v8s actually started in 96.. just to clear that up

It did? You mean, the V-8 didn't start with the new body style? Ford's decision are certainly strange...

 

[jon42]

According to the ATSG manual the sprag clutch and the o/d clutch handle the torque in the drive (3) position.In the O/D position the sprag clutch in the centershaft handles ALL the torque through all the gear ranges.Sounds like a puried sprag to me.The no# 2 bearing between the planet and centershaft has probably left the building too.Park it,pull it,disect it.Learn something about your trany. Automatics are a fun learning experience.Easy to rebuild.Your probably need about $120 in hard parts and a $90 shekel friction and seal kit. Oh yeah...get a $25 manual from ATSG. Youll need a pair of C clip pliers a screw driver,1 or 2 allen wrenches and 3 sockets to tear it down and re assemble.Go for it and if you get scared there lots of veterans in the forums to talk you through it. Im in the midst of one right now.Oh yeah...the 4r44e and 4r55e are electronic shift units. The E stands for electronic.They will bolt up...but they wont shift unless you install the 96 and newer grey matter and wiring. If you forgo the rebuild and go with a remmaned unit....find a 92 or newer A4LD.Seems Ford re examined thier engineering and modified it that year with heavier parts.

 

[Crankcase]

Originally posted by Majisto
It did? You mean, the V-8 didn't start with the new body style? Ford's decision are certainly strange...

Ford couldn't build a V8 transfer case strong enough that fit in the X either, so the V8's were either AWD or 2WD....