Bad Weekend and now tranny problem..

[Maniak]

This last week/end has been a bad day for our 1992 XLT..

We have been losing water for quite a while (I top it off every 2 weeks or so.. 1/2 gallon)..
This last week while heading home (from town) our explorer sounded like a diesel running (I'm not talking pinging.. I'm talking pinging with attitude).. I got pulled over (took longer than I wanted to get out of everyones way) and the temp was still showing ok but the motor just seemed/smelled hot. I popped the vent on the radiator cap and there was no pressue (not a good sign).. There was no water in the Radiator.. I filled it up with all the water I had with me (just enough to fill it) and noticed that I was leaking some water on the passenger side of the radiator.. There was a crack about 5 inches long on the side of the radiator but it wasn't leaking fast.. I made it home (barely) right about the time it started to sound like a diesel again. Sure enough there wasn't any water left.

Now while I was dealing with this I got another problem (the one I'm worried about). If I put the tranny selector in OD at a stop it will barely move. If I put it in D or any other gear it works fine. Once I'm moving and cruising at about 55 I can put it into OD and it will go and work fine.. (until I stop).

I figure maybe I burned the tranny fluid when everything got hot (real hot).

Yesterday I changed the Radiator... Once I had it replaced and I started the truck (hard to start but it started and ran somewhat smooth) I saw water still coming out. Turns out The Water pump is also toast. I pulled the radiator out again, and replaced the water pump.. Now it started and runs sort of ok.. (still hard starting and a little rough).

I then removed one of the lines from the tranny cooler and swapped 8 quarts of the tranny fluid (not the filter).. The old fluid was dark but did not smell burnt. (If the symptome changed I was going to have the entire tranny flushed after I chagned the filter)

I'm sure the plugs are pretty bad (I have new ones.. that will go in Saturday).

Any idea of what happened to the tranny? I'm sure the tranny wasn't perfect before this happened (Twice that I can remember I stomped on it while in OD and it took a few seconds to get into 3rd).. I don't have a problem taking this to a shop but if it is something simpler like a bad solenoid in the tranny or something like that I would like to change it my self.

Our explorer has 231k miles on it.. and this tranny has 60-70kish miles on it.. (40k in the last year). I'd like to think that this tranny would last close to as long as it did the first time (160k+) but Since we actually wheel with the truck and the PO (previous owner) didn't maybe we just wore it out faster.

Any ideas or things that I missed?

 

[SteveVB]

rear clutch pack

Could be the rear clutch pak, or the OD clutch pak- Took a look in the ATSG manual I have and thats what they give me for no OD, would make sense if you overheated. The fluid change may help, but from your description the trans didnt get any cooling for a while.

For No engaugement D or OD :

Manual linkage adjustment
Rear one way clutch
Dirty fluid ( a good possibility given your senario)
Overdrive one way clutch damage

And from another diagnostic routine:

No drive, slips or chatters in first gear in OD,D All other gears normal: rear one way clutch repair or replace

Dont know if that helps you much or not. Hope so.

 

[Maniak]

Well, I changed the oil (figured I should after ovheating like that) and the plug.

The truck now starts and runs ok.. (motorwise)..

I have more info on the Tranny..

Every Gear works fine.. Including Overdrive.. Even the lockup is working..
The problem is when I put the gear selector in OD that it barely moved.. Once I'm going I can put it into OD and it works correctly.. Even the lockup is working (will unlock/lock when needed)..

The only other symptom I can see is that if I'm in OD and I stomp on it.. to the point where it wants to go back to 3rd, that it doesn't make it into third.. it acts just like it did when I started from a stop in OD..

If anyone has a good tranny book or knows of one.. I'd like to hear/read what it says.. I'm interested in the difference between the OD and the D selections do.. (for the first few gears).. It almost seems like I have a plugged passage or a bad solenoid or something like that..

Thanks..

Mark

 

[SteveVB]

ATSG manual

I bought the ATSG manuals- the A4ld and the update book. I got them from:

http://www.bulkparts.com/

it wont give you the direct link, but from the intro page go to transmission parts, then FORD, then A4LD, then technical manuals they have both - Its about 30$ for the set. If you have the FSM the A4LD is reprinted there, and you would just need the update book.

Im going to guess the Overdrive oneway clutch for the problem:
Info from the A4LD manual: the overdrive clutch is applied, and the overdrive oneway clutch is holding in D - 1st gear, but in OD 1st gear the Overdrive clucth is not used, and the overdrive oneway clutch is holding- makes me think the Overdrive one way clutch is the problem- since you can move in D but not OD.
I doubt its a solenoid since they control the engaugement of the OD and that wouldnt have any bearing on starting the vehicle- just when you hit cruising spped and the comp tells the tranny to shift into OD.

Sheddding any light?? Its hard to translate whats in the manual- hope it helps a little