One Way to Save a First Gen: A4LD to 5R55E Swap (Completed)

[mr cribb]

If it's any conciliation I've been following your trans makeover... mighty nice overhaul I must say.

 

[cybergasm]

Some of us just prefer to Lurk

 

[MrQ]

It really is a great achievement to be able to get this 5r to work like this. It may not be stock but by the time he's done it will sure look that way. Keep up the good work with Blue!

 

[Kris Guilbeaux]

Im in the fan club

 

[NICE59FORDF100]

Im in the fan club

Yay!

 

[NICE59FORDF100]

Ok, just a small update. Took blue out for a test drive last night and discovered the following. The 97 pcm is not registering any signal from crank sensor (no rpm), no vss signal (0 mph) and a fully stuffed MAF signal (showing 33lb/m and not changing) all via NGS. So, if something was causing tcc not to lock up, Im willing to bet it's one of those. Ect, tps, boo, and iat signals are all working fine. So tonight, going to dive back into my harness and try and figure some of this out!

 

[NICE59FORDF100]

Alright guys and girls, the swap is officially complete... As of 3:15 pm, 1-14-2012,

I now have working TCC LOCKUP!!
​

The TCC solenoid is working and being commanded by the EEC-v like it should and the trans is shifting perfectly. turns out, for whatever reason, the vss and ckp wires needed switch around (positive was negative, and vice versa). Dont ask me why, i had wired everything correctly, but alas, thats all it needed. That being said, NOW i will consider building more harnesses, now that I know what i'm doing, lol. And I will amend the wiring diagram i made for you guys

 

[wood1]

Awesome stuff!

Congratulations on quite an accomplishment dude.

 

[cybergasm]

Where does the line form for these harnesses?

 

[BrooklynBay]

This is great news!

 

[NICE59FORDF100]

Thanks everyone! I'm really happy this whole ordeal actually panned out and worked! But you know what, I wasnt the only one who figured all this out. I couldnt have done it without every one of you guy's comments, help, support, and advice. We all made this a reality, and now, as our first gens get older, we have a VIABLE transmission replacement option, not just a one-off mod. 5r's are still a-plenty out there, and if this thread saves just one first gen (blue included, lol) then it was all worth it ;-) thank you everyone, thank you!

 

[ExplangerXLT527]

Way to go! I'm a 2nd Gen owner, my younger brother has a 1st Gen. We did a swap from '91-94 trans and worked into a load of problems. Reverse, first, and second work.. Hoewever, it will not shift out of second automatically. It gets to second and "forgets" what to do. Won't go into 3rd at all. Not sure if it the VB or what.
We used the VB from the '91 trans, and since have been trying to figure out what else to do for the 1st Gen. We've even tryed to sell her! but Dad misplaced the title, and stumbling accross this thread gave me hope once more.

I would love to get this 1st Gen rolling again! What are your thoughts?

Matt

 

[NICE59FORDF100]

So you used a a4ld from a first gen into a second gen? If so, the electronics Wont like that, lol. If not, it sounds like something internal is messed up (i am not knowledgable in the trans internals at all). But if you want to attempt the 5r swap like I did in a first gen, then around post 104, I have the parts list you will need

 

[rickybobby]

So you used a a4ld from a first gen into a second gen? If so, the electronics Wont like that, lol. If not, it sounds like something internal is messed up (i am not knowledgable in the trans internals at all). But if you want to attempt the 5r swap like I did in a first gen, then around post 104, I have the parts list you will need

russ, it sounds to me like he swapped a 94 trans into a 91 and ran into some issues

 

[rickybobby]

Way to go! I'm a 2nd Gen owner, my younger brother has a 1st Gen. We did a swap from '91-94 trans and worked into a load of problems. Reverse, first, and second work.. Hoewever, it will not shift out of second automatically. It gets to second and "forgets" what to do. Won't go into 3rd at all. Not sure if it the VB or what.
We used the VB from the '91 trans, and since have been trying to figure out what else to do for the 1st Gen. We've even tryed to sell her! but Dad misplaced the title, and stumbling accross this thread gave me hope once more.

I would love to get this 1st Gen rolling again! What are your thoughts?

Matt

My 86 ranger a4ld (same mechanicly, but electronicly it may be different) did that, and it turned out the intermediate band adjuster had worked loose. idk if just the adjuster would have fixed it though, because i sent it out for a full rebuild. there should be a ton of info for you to read through in the transmission sub-forum however

 

[ExplangerXLT527]

So you used a a4ld from a first gen into a second gen? If so, the electronics Wont like that, lol. If not, it sounds like something internal is messed up (i am not knowledgable in the trans internals at all). But if you want to attempt the 5r swap like I did in a first gen, then around post 104, I have the parts list you will need

Russ, We have a 1991 sport 4x4. used the transfer case from the 91 trans. we swapped out the trans. said to have come from a 94 ex rollover. when we got it, the pand had two holes in it and the vb was messed up. used the vb and torque converter from the 91 trans and the pan(pans don't matter thay were the same). I don't feel the vb's would be any different either.

However, we got a full shift when we first took it out (after the tranny swap)then shut down and restarted. that's when we found we had no third gear. she was running 3500 rpms in 2nd. Don't know what the deal is. Started thinking, maybe the donner trans isn't an A4, we did have to change the shifter link braket. the 94 bracket wouldn't hold the 91 cable. where can I find the tranny codes in the case to see what tranny we have?

 

[ExplangerXLT527]

My 86 ranger a4ld (same mechanicly, but electronicly it may be different) did that, and it turned out the intermediate band adjuster had worked loose. idk if just the adjuster would have fixed it though, because i sent it out for a full rebuild. there should be a ton of info for you to read through in the transmission sub-forum however

That may be, I know that in the gen 1 the reverse, 1-2 are hydrolic or vacume shift, after that it's electronic( 3-4 and od). I'm not too inclined in the mechanics of a trans to know for sure. More in the electronics like Russ, but not that exclusive. I would live to see the gen 1 up and running but I'm thinking there's more to this truck than what meets the eye. we nick named her "Som B___h!" cause of the issues we've been having from day one. Maybe we'll figure it out.

 

[NICE59FORDF100]

Been driving Blue for about a week with all the tranny issues worked out and must say, this is the best mod i have EVER done

 

[ZBlackBeast]

Wow, amazing work. I am VERY impressed.

Now, i have a 95 OHV with a blown tranny. Say i wanted to do something like this. Since I have 1.5 would it be a complete nightmare? Would your haness work? Thoughts? I know I have a 4r not an a4.... Just an idea! 5 gears > 4 gears!

 

[NICE59FORDF100]

In theory, its very possible to do this swap in a 95. Being a second gen, however, it might also be just as easy to swap the engine harness and upgrade to complete obd-ii and only run the one computer.. Operative words being might, lol. But yea, my swap is possible on your truck!