I'm dumb, ran 94 A4LD 3 quarts low... | Ford Explorer Forums

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I'm dumb, ran 94 A4LD 3 quarts low...

Quake Guy

New Member
Joined
April 18, 2003
Messages
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City, State
Phoenix, AZ
Year, Model & Trim Level
1994 XLT
My wife was complaining about something so I finally drove it. First time nothing odd. Second time a few days later it and a little colder, was slipping really bad.

Checked the dipstick and nothing showing at idle. I have spent a good part of the day adding a quarter quart every stop and it took 3 quarts to get it back to the hatched area on the stick.

My father-in-law gave us the vehicle and it was always the redheaded step child before we got rid of my wife's Miata in anticipation of our first child. My father-in-law had the fluid changed a year or less before he gave it to us about a year ago.

So I never really thought about checking it. Doh!

I guess all those years of checking the transmission fluid never showed a problem so I got lazy.

My book shows the tranny takes close to 10 quarts, is 3 low going to damage it? Or is it so used its going to die anyway?

Its a 1994 XLT 4x4 with 120k miles. Its been cared for, but well used offroad.

Its burning oil through the valve seals (quart every 1500 miles) and needs radius arm bushings too. Plus the radio is dead.

Should I trade this in before it blows up and is worth nothing, or fix what is needed (except for the valve seals)?

It was burning less oil, I might be tempted to fix anything that comes up. But if a bad tranny turns up in the next 12 months, I would have spent including radio and bushings $2k for a vehicle with tradein around $3k. And by then its probably within 10-20k miles of needing the oil burning problem fixed for another $1500...
 



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That's not that bad, I ran mine 6 quarts low, and had to replace it. It gave out in the middle of a trail in Moab.:rolleyes:
 






my front seal leaks real bad, and the way i tell if its getting to low is by looking through the rear window. if i can see through it, theres still plenty left. if the window is covered in ATF, its time to put some in.
 






I'd look at the fluid. Does it smell burned or look dark? I doubt you fried anything, and if you were in the process of frying something, the fluid would probably be a dead giveaway. I recommend you fix those RA's you will be glad you did, ride will be 100% better after you do. As for the radio, mine crumped, and I later found out (after I bought a replacement radio) that the problem was the power supply through the ignition switch... maybe want to check that.

Happy exploring

Chris
 






Fluid is pink and clear. So I should be okay?

Radio isn't dead dead, but certain buttons don't work. For example, the volume button. So I am stuck at a certain volume. Its loud enough at a standstill but not loud enough on the highway.

As far as ride, any other tricks to soften the ride? I have always found Fords to ride rough. Even compared to live axle jeeps.
 






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