My Trans blew today

[JoeC5]

Well I was on my way home from college today (Seton Hall). I was on rt. 280 going up a hill, I started to hear a loud rattle, then BANG!!!!!! No more transmission. And thats that. Had to wait for tow truck, that took awhile and it is at the shop right now. I will fix it then I will probably be putting it up for sale. Too many things going wrong with it, I cant take it anymore.

[Edited by JoeC5 on 01-29-2001 at 02:22 PM]

 

[mdrut]

Sorry to here that..I know from experience,"when it rains, it poors." Maybe you'll get lucky and it will be a bad torque converter...Once again, hate to see anyone without one of these fine rides..

 

[JoeC5]

Well I talked to my mechanic today, they will be working on it tomorrow morning. I asked how serious it was, and I quote, " the entire pan was filled with shaved metal". Not good. Hey mrdrut, the torque converter is also busted on top of many other things.

 

[CHH777]

Hey Joe,

There are many A4LD tranny upgrades available that'll strengthen it and make it last much longer. Do a search and discuss them with your mechanic before he gets started.

 

[Bigcheck1]

what upgrades would those be? i have had alot of tranny problems ( this is my third now) please give me some tips that i might try. i need 2 more years of everyday duty out of the explorer before i start using the mustang again. give me some tips man, i need it.
chad

 

[CHH777]

Here's a couple links:

http://www.homestead.com/therangerstation/AutoTrans.html

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=16563

 

[SteveVB]

and some more info sources on upgrades

Dead Link Removed

http://www.protorque.com/

http://www.altousa.com/ib41756.htm

 

[JoeC5]

Hey thanks guys for the great info, I will definately run this by my mechanic tomorrow.

 

[IgotTwo]

Did it blow before or after Mt Pleasant Ave?
You could have coasted for miles if it did... maybe all the way home.

To all:
Sorry, I couldn't resist it (I'm another Seton Hall guy) You also have to know Route 280.... maybe you do!

 

[edogwv]

torque converter question

Originally posted by mdrut
Sorry to here that..I know from experience,"when it rains, it poors." Maybe you'll get lucky and it will be a bad torque converter...Once again, hate to see anyone without one of these fine rides..

Just curious, but what kind of test needs to be done to determine whether it is actually the torque converter, or is the transmission itself? A friend of mine rebuilt his automatic transmission on his eagle, and to make a long story short.. it didn't exactly work as planned. He got extremely pissed off and went out and bought a used one. ...Kind of wondering how we could determine the problem with his rebuild job.

-thanks in advance

Evan

 

[tac0meat]

hey steve VB, just wandering if the valve body and the clutch kit could be used together and do you have any idea as to how much each costs?

 

[SteveVB]

I have no Idea the costs. Ive put together a bunch of stuff that Im going to take to my trans shop- but I have too many balls in the air at the moment so it keeps getting pushed back. Ill be lucky if I can get my trans built before June.

The clutches and the valve body, and the shift kit are all in different places and I cant think of a reason they couldnt be used together. What im trying to get info about is whether the power clutch pack referenced above is part of the upgrades done in 93.5, there are also some updated Ford clutches that are avail.(some aftermarket cos have them also) with a special cut on the faces to increase holding power- I believe these are derived from the A4LD-E series(4R44s 5R55s) in the late models.

If your looking for mods for this trans I would think that a LARGE cooler would be the first step if you dont have one.
Im planning to run a big B&M with its own fan, and keep track of it with a gauge. Im also toying with the idea of a larger oil pan- but I need to work out the pick up issues.

I have had no problems with my 160k mile tranny which has had a couple of fluid and filter changes and came with the larger auxilary cooler. I believe that the large cooler has something to do with its longevity.

 

[Rhett]

Good info on the A4LD on the RangerStation site. But one thing that caught my eye was this:

"Only use synthetic fluid if it is required by Ford."

That was in the info by a "Gloria Roozen". What does she mean, "required by Ford"? Ford, to my knowledge, never "requires" the use of synth transmission fluid. But then again, I can't see why a Mercon-compatible synth fluid would not be superior to regular trans fluid.

I'm getting conflicting info here, I just thought the synth trans fluid handled heat extremes better than non-synth. Maybe it doesn't matter in the A4LD. Maybe Gloria Roozen knows something I don't. What's going on?

 

[CHH777]

I believe there's a service advisory for Ford mechanics to use only synthetics in the A4LD (although they didn't come from the factory that way). When I inquired my local Ford service department told me ALL A4LD equipped Explorers came with synthetic ATF, but he's wrong.

BTW, he also mentioned that he just did a fluid change on a 99 Explorer equipped with an A4LD tranny but again, he’s wrong.

Just remember at Ford, quality is job one (HA!!!).

 

[mbryda]

Originally posted by JoeC5
Well I talked to my mechanic today, they will be working on it tomorrow morning. I asked how serious it was, and I quote, " the entire pan was filled with shaved metal". Not good. Hey mrdrut, the torque converter is also busted on top of many other things.

Dono how cheap you want to get away with it, but there is a trans shop in E. Orange called Joey R's (or something like that-it's been quite a while) that does decent work and is cheap. Did a clutch and front trans. seal in my old Mustang for $300. They specialize in transmissions and can get just about any rebuilt transmission cheap.

Might be worth looking into as you're a college student.

-Matt
(Grew up in Bloomfield, so I know the area quite well.)

 

[JoeC5]

Well my truck will be done on monday. Need a complete rebuild, $1800. So much for spring break.

 

[leebo]

so then mine wasn't the only one that ran about that much...when you get it back please post the prices for the parts and labor you ended up with. How long of a warranty did your's come with???

Here's mine....
Tranny remove and inspect...450
Repair kit...95
torque converter...195
lock up solenoid...89
shift solenoid...189
flush tranny cooler and lines...62
tranny fluid...35
overdrive...180
reinstall...450

total cost...1860 with a one year warranty. Good thing for tax return.

 

[RobbieJ]

Im on my 6th tranny at 160000 I know the feeling Robbie

 

[IgotTwo]

$1,800 for repairs never makes a good story.
good luck with it

When you hang on to cars\truck for a long time, there is a lot to be said for a manual: fuel ecomony, a little more power?, easier on the brakes, more fun to drive. Towing is aguably, but the problem is you have to like to shift. Personally, I like manual to avoid facing the inevitable automatic tranny repairs $$$$ as the mileage rolls up Pulling out a manual tranny? doabe. ...an automatic? Leave it to someone who does it everyday.
good to see you are back on the road... maybe we'll pass each other in Jersey.

 

[JoeC5]

Will do leebo. I'm hoping it will be done tomorrow, its been more than a week now. They put everyone they got to help fix up my trans. So i'm praying that I will have no more problems with it for awhile now.