is it bad to manually shift at a4ld tansmition.

[wimpytwins]

is it bad to manually shift an automatic trans under normal on and off road conditions? I am not red lining the rpm's or anyrhing i just dont like my shift pionts and i am to lazy to put in a shift kit? Will this where out my trans even faster or screw up my computer if i do it to much? I have seen a few kits that will turn your auto into a hybrid manual like the new sport cars have. Are those safe to use? thanks wimpytwins

 

[92ExEBJoe87]

I would deff stop doing that I have done it before but I have read around that it's not a powerful tranny I have I beleive I have that same one on my 92 Explorer but I would deff not do that. In my opinion or am I wrong.


-Joe

 

[White97Jimmy]

Shouldn't hurt it if you aren't redlining. Worst it will probably do is eat at your gas mileage.

 

[jimbo74]

the a4ld, in fact pretty much all of fords auto trannies sucked.... they are not ver y capable of handling rough driving or spireted driving... that said, i used to beat the crap out of my 94, jsut ask the people here i have wheeled with... and i manually shifted pegging redline a lot, had over 110k and never had a problem with it.....

 

[410Fortune]

They didnt give you the 1-2 adn D positions for nothing, I shifted the hell out of mine, all the time.

Its not bad for it, the A4LD's weak spot is the overdrive, not 1-2-3

the 3-4 shift and the lock up converter shift on the A4LD, those are what kill the trans in my experience...

Kinda sucks with a column shifter though, I loved my floor shifter.

Also it should not allow you to red line it, even in 1, if you push it too hard the trans should shift into 2, and the same with the 2-3.

 

[boominXplorer]

In the mounty when I did my vids I put it in 1 and all she would do is bounce off the rev limiter when I got it going too much (5200 rpm).

 

[CDW6212R]

I have been shifting my 91 and 93 Explorer for years. Knowing the weakness of the A4LD, from the start I often shift through 1st and 2nd.

Do understand, I do it not for performance, not high throttle at the shifts, but for longevity. The manual positions do not all use the same internal components to achieve each gear. My 91 automatic gears feel like they are slipping, in gear, but the manual 1 & 2 feel better.

I use any throttle that I want in a manual gear, and let off the throttle just before the shift. When I change gears, the shift firmness is controlled by my throttle setting. I am trying to keep the A4LD from hurting itself. My 93 lasted from 78k to its current 112,622 miles. My 91 hasn't changed in feel from the 108k to 117k currently.

Good luck,

 

[Glacier991]

I'd offer the following observation. So long as you are close to normal parameters (e.g. speed, rpm etc) manual shifting should not cause a problem. You shift WAY outside those ranges, and you *could* break a band, etc.

Shift manually CAn have it's advantages too. I routinely shift out of OD on long steep grades when the trannie wants to stay in OD.... avoids slipping and helps keep the engine in the best torque range.... So no "perfect" answer... it's ok, just use common sense.

{redline shifts ? Please no!}

 

[wimpytwins]

thanks for all of the replies. I am not out beating the hell out of it. I am driving regular. my biggest problem is I just replaced the front seal bushing and torque converter and I have a adjustable vacuum modulator and I accidentally moved the knob and now my shift points are way off. I have tried to adjust it a little at a tome but cant get it right so a have been manually shifting it by myself. I am a electronic engineering student and my father in-law is a electronic engineer and. I have been thinking of building my own manual shifter either a push button like the new cars or I thought it might be fun to put in a real floor shifter so it looks like I manual transmistion car but there will be no clutch. if any one is interested in either setup let me know and I will go in that direction and show you have to set it all up. I have also done a electric fan conversion. I went to a junk yard and got a fan out of a ford minivan that have a v6 and put it in my explorer. it only cost my 20 bucks for the fan and I am building my own controller for it. it is a two speed fan and my controller is going to take full advantage of that. I also will be happy to show everyone when I am done. just to give you a back ground I have a 93 2door explorer with a jeep font axle with leaf springs and about 10-11 inches of lift with 35 inch tires and 3.73:1 stock gears. thanks again wimpytwins

 

[Glacier991]

just "bumping" the modulator should not make a huge diff. In and out affects all shifts earlier or later... but not all screwy... something else is going on there.

 

[wimpytwins]

it is the aftermarket one and i did rotate the knob. everything else is working better than befor. and i didnt touch are take apart anything in the tranny or tranny vavle system. thanks

 

[410Fortune]

rotate it back
It does take quite a few rotations to make a difference in shifting...

 

[Longjohn119]

I was always told that you'll wear out a stock valve body prematurely by manually shifting it unless you get some aftermarket parts to beef it up a bit

Physically it doesn't hurt the clutches and stuff like that, it's just that the valve body parts and linkage weren't really made to be contantly shifted ...

One thing I will say, being able to put it in second and it starts out in second has gotten my butt out of a couple of fixes over the years where I'd be calling a tow truck if I had been driving a Chevy ....

 

[FROADER]

I always shift between the gears when bombing down the washes. I heard it was bad, so I asked a tranny guy and he said there would be no ill effects by doing it, so...