if buying used, what year A4LD is best?

[saxon]

Looking around for a 1991-1994 used A4LD. What year is the best to look for (assuming that my mileage options are the same)?

I know that Ford updated a few things over the years; the OD band change from double wrap to single wrap comes to mind. I would rather NOT get a 1992 since they had both single and double wrap OD bands and there does not seem to be any easy way to tell which one I'm looking at w/o taking it apart (something I do not have time to do until this coming autumn or winter), thus adjusting the OD bands on a 1992 seems like a bit of a crap shoot.

I can also imagine that mileage is the key thing and maybe the year related upgrades are secondary in importance. Still interested in comments.

Last weekend's motorcycle road race was fun; gridded on the outside of the fifth row , I was 4th out of 30 both times into turn one at Portland . Didn't finish quite that high but still lots of fun.

My three day weekend would have been LOTS more fun if I had been in the explorer (transmission more or less non functional at the moment). My toyota truck is apparently mad about my buying the explorer. One of the new tires delaminated on the way home from portland; looks kind of like an egg now.

 

[Glacier991]

1994 is the best of them.

 

[BrooklynBay]

1994 is the last year Ford made them. The 4R44E/4R55E followed along with the 5R44E/5R55E. Then came the other ones like the N, S, and W.

 

[saxon]

1994 is the best of them.

I've found a 1993 A4LD with (they say) low miles and a good price. Big difference between the 1994 and the 1993?

 

[Glacier991]

I think 94 was when they went to torringtons on the center support.

 

[saxon]

Bought X no. 2 a few hours ago (1993 EB 4WD). I drove it around the neighborhood for about 20 minutes and could not find anything obvious wrong with the transmission. Reverse goes clunk a bit when it engages but there is very little delay.

Yeah! I have a transmission now that works albeit in the wrong vehicle. Got a beautiful set of factory wheels out of the deal, too all for a bit less than a used transmission (with a warranty) would have cost.

I will do a photo diary of the A4LD removal and installation process as I have not yet seen that done on this list.

Hope to start the swap next Monday; racing again both days this weekend and just bringing X no. home on Friday evening.

ciao!

 

[Glacier991]

please do! And you might want to soak those bolt starting NOW!!

 

[saxon]

I remember reading about the bolts/nuts on the,.... bottom of the exhaust 'Y'? I have some PB Blaster sitting handy just for that event.

What size heads are the exhaust nuts or bolts that need to come off? Random guess: 15mm? Do I need a deep socket or will a regular six-point socket do?

Any other odd tools required? (a 15mm anything is an odd size in my book; have never used that size prior to the ford).

The 1993 has a new, used and/or rebuilt transmission already installed so the exhaust bolts have been off that at least once in its life. Its the 1991 (the keeper) that I'm worried about; I think its all original.

When I pull the exhaust manifold off of a Toyota I always run a tap through the nuts and a die over the studs, then slather the studs with anti-seize on reassembly after which removal is a breeze.