My new journey with the a4ld...

[jake122288]

I'm on a journey now. but first here is a bit of background.My trans went out on my 1994 X. typical for the a4ld. I then bought a truck for parts with a good trans in it (a 1991 X)did the swap and also did a lift and now put 33's on it. i got everything done and buttoned up and worked great drove maybe 50 miles total and my eec fuse blew. I traced that back to the 3-4 shift solenoid grounding out and when i pulled the pan most of the insulation of the wire was missing. (still needs fixed waiting for vb gaskets and such b4 i start the teardown) this is not my main issue now tho. before i discovered this issue, Today i pulled the truck into the garage (drove it just fine like i have been the last few weeks (its all the driving it seen since the trans install minus the initial test for a 4 mile round trip down my gravel road) Not twenty minutes later i had to drive it a mile down the road to jump start the battery on my work truck and about half way to that truck i lost all forward gears. revers still works like a champ tho.As sooon as i put it in any forward gear it acts like its in neutral. i dont even feel an engagement of the forward gears like normal. there wasnt a slip, a grind, a noise or anything. I was about half a quart low on trans fluid but i instantly topped it off (i carry spare fluids of every sort and kind) didnt fix the issue. i got the truck home but now im looking for possible culprits and im not comfortable tearing past the pump I feel it can be ruled out due to having reverse but i could be wrong) in the trans or the valve body... so im looking for possibilities in these areas. (starting in the valve body)

I recall reading somewhere that low pressure due to a bad vb gasket can cause this or also possible metal shavings/gasket material sticking a valve open/closed in the vb. any and all input advice is greatly appreciated. its nice to know im not on this journey alone and have the great support from the guys here!

 

[daisyrocky]

I'm on my 3rd valve body and 2nd "rebuilt" tranny with converter within 3 weeks now and hardly still no reverse and forward gears only. Drop the pan and retorque the vb bolts to 80 in. pounds for now and see if the forward gears come back. Adjust the bands too, ten foot pounds and loosen 2 turns. And last hook up a gauge which I'm about to go and get one myself to check for pressures. I would do these since they are easily accessible. Good luck.

 

[jake122288]

I'm on my 3rd valve body and 2nd "rebuilt" tranny with converter within 3 weeks now and hardly still no reverse and forward gears only. Drop the pan and retorque the vb bolts to 80 in. pounds for now and see if the forward gears come back. Adjust the bands too, ten foot pounds and loosen 2 turns. And last hook up a gauge which I'm about to go and get one myself to check for pressures. I would do these since they are easily accessible. Good luck.

I did just adjust the bands. tightened down to ten foot pounds then backed it out 2 turns! Im trying to find a tran pressure gauge to check that out. and as soon as i get gaskets ordered and they arrive along with a transgo shift kit im pulling the vb replacing that solenoid and putting the shift kit in with new vb gaskets and properly torquing the vb bolts (after i find a cheap but good "click style" torque wrench! Right now until these get accomplished i wanna just compile as much information of the possibles as i can!

 

[jake122288]

well im getting my stuff on way for attacking this...picked up the 1/ inch drive torque wrench from harbor freight today! and got my gasket set and transgo a4ld shift kit ordered today also! but i didnt get anything done with the truck due to a long night which created this lovely icon...haha

i got a feeling alot of this will be done with me and the crue on this journey... lol!

 

[jake122288]

im trying to get a trans pressure tester. but i cant find any! the ones i do find only go to 100psi and i read i need atleast a 300 psi gauge???? does anyone know where i could get one reletively cheap?

 

[XLTByAccident]

If you have an engine compression gauge, you can use that. They usually go up to 300 psi. The challenge you will have is going from compression thread/fittings to pipe thread. You are unlikely to find the correct adapter that will go from compression to pipe thread (I looked at home depot and a couple of other places before giving up). If your compression gauges are like mine (I have 2), they have pipe thread. Unscrew the gauage from the compression fitting hoses and get a suitable pressure hose for your transmission test (I borrowed one from a friend that works at a calibration company). You will need 1/8" npt for the fitting into the A4LD.

 

[jake122288]

i dont have a compression tester either... im slowely gathering tools for anything i may have to do! but thanks for the advice!

 

[daisyrocky]

Sears got a nice set with adapters for 39.99 but the one near me sold out.

 

[jake122288]

Sears got a nice set with adapters for 39.99 but the one near me sold out.

thanks for the info i shall have to look into that one!

 

[PopRichie77]

http://www.amazon.com/Automatic-Transmission-Engine-Pressure-Tester/dp/B000I182JC

I bought this one comes with a lot of fittings, it's 300 lbs, worked ok for me.

 

[jake122288]

well i guess change of plans now...im parting off my 91 parts truck and a guy was gonna buy the drivers side front and back doors and both bumpers... 175 for all (door has a few dings and what not but him and i were content) after some talking we came across transmission issues and he offered a trade a rebuilt a4ld out of his old explorer which the engine blew right after he got it in and it was still sitting around his garage...straight across with torque converter! no idea the actual shape of the trans other than he said the pump was bad (stripped gears due to not beign properly aligned previously claims it works but who knows). well turns out i have a pump still from my old trans...would anyone think there would be a problem still using the one out of my old trans if properly aligned? or should i look for a new one? and how hard is it to change the pump? if not to complicated im going to wait to put my shift kit in this trans and get a dropping out the trans in my truck now...any input? and if it doesnt work im not out anything besides a few parts off the parts truck which may never have sold anyway?

 

[XLTByAccident]

If you have not taken the pump out of the bell housing, you should be able to swap bell housings and avoid the pump alignment issue. Make sure they are the same and compatible bell housings.

 

[jake122288]

well i have a pump by itself removed from the bellhousing... but i could also pull the bellhousing off the one currently in my truck... but say i have to pull it form the bell housing how complicated is it? and do i need any gaskets or anything? i already got a new pump seal to replace that but unsure of any other gaskets i may need

 

[jake122288]

got my shift kit and vb gaskets today! gotta wait until the 8th to go get the trans so i may do my valve body work on this trans and see if it fixes it but idk cuz if this new trans get put in i wanna have the vb work doen to it? suggestions?

 

[jake122288]

and a question on all the drilling for ppl that have bought the transgo shift kit? what two sizes are the two drill bits included in the kit? should i bore out the pucks? and last of all in the kit a sheet says something about a very important kickdown cable adjustment for the a4ld? just wanting to check on this?

A follow cable from trans to adjuster it loooks the same as gm type but may be turned sideways.
B. depress tab and push cable housing into adjuster 1/2".
C. road test: you must not have a 2-1 or a 3-1 KD at 20MPH.
D. then pull the cable housing out of adjuster 1/8" at a time until there is a 2-1 or 3-1 KD ar 20 MPH
E. if kickdown is too hard to get pull cable out of adjuster another click or two.

???? i thought as i read here you pull the kickdown cable until its tight then push the acc. petal to the floor and it locks it and it is set?

any idea's on this test/ adjustment?

 

[daisyrocky]

This last valve body I pulled out has the transgo kit in it and I do not see any difference in adjustment or anything. It's the third valve body and they all just snap on to shift cable like any other. My TRS alignment tool came in today and checking to see how it suppose to work but will most likely do it on Friday since it's late now.

 

[jake122288]

idk...im thinking i'll just keep the kd cable adjusted like i've previously done. i did post in a diff thread where Brooklynbay posted the procedure. i may just send him a PM in regaurdgs to this since he seems to be a big trans guy on this forum!

 

[XLTByAccident]

For the bell housing swap there is a gasket to the transmission you'll need. There are also O rings on the bolts that hold the bell housing to the transmission. You should replace these too. When you replace your front seal, make sure you "stake" it so it doesn't blow out in the future. For the transgo kit, the drill bits included, I think... they are .055 and .063. I'm out of town and can't check until I get back late Sunday. You can get a cheap micrometer or digital calipers at harbor freight to measure for sure. On my kit, I drilled the pucks out. I did all the modifications for firmer shifts.

 

[jake122288]

For the bell housing swap there is a gasket to the transmission you'll need. There are also O rings on the bolts that hold the bell housing to the transmission. You should replace these too. When you replace your front seal, make sure you "stake" it so it doesn't blow out in the future. For the transgo kit, the drill bits included, I think... they are .055 and .063. I'm out of town and can't check until I get back late Sunday. You can get a cheap micrometer or digital calipers at harbor freight to measure for sure. On my kit, I drilled the pucks out. I did all the modifications for firmer shifts.

i dont have the instructions in front of me but i believe iirc, that there is also a hole that needs drilled out to .88 or something like that? i guess im just going to have to find a numbered drill bit set. if i want to do all the holes and resizing it says. i was guessing the two drill bits were .055 and .063 due to being the common sizes wanted. i do wanna drill everything out for the firmer shifts but how precise do i need to be with the drilling? what if its a slight bit larger than what the instructions says (using a sizing chart for drill bits mixed with number sizes decimal sizes and standard sizes i have many standard drill bits but they are either smaller than whats needed or a slight bit larger.. cash is low atm so im trying to avoid buying a new drill set if at all possible but if i cant skip around it i will have to get one i found a 60 piece set at harbor freight for $20. number bits 60 to 1...looks like a good set but like i said im trying to avoid getting that! thanks for all the advice!

 

[jake122288]

and what do you mean by "stake" the seal so it doesnt blow out again? after looking on wittrans.com its showing washers not o-rings on those bolts? do i need special o-rings or can i find a snug fitting one from the local hardware store