Pretty Sure its a Common Problem

[ezzieyguywuf]

But I dunno where to start. I mean, look at that monster list of stickies! My '93 4.0 Auto Explorer has been out of commission for about 4 years now due to the transmission. The problem is I'd be driving it and then it would "slip" into what felt like neutral, i.e. no power to the wheels. At first this happnened every now-and-again but it came to a point where I felt it was hazardous to keep driving, and now it hasn't been driven in a while. My fiancée is interested in the car, so I'd like to fix it up real good as a wedding present for her, and the tranny is the most critical component to fix. Can you guys please point me to the proper threads on what to do to troubleshoot/fix this problem?

 

[ezzieyguywuf]

bump

 

[Doomie17]

the trans will probaly need a rebuild wich will cost 1 to 2 grand at a shop

 

[ezzieyguywuf]

You saying it needs a rebuild because its been sitting idle for so long, or because theres nothing else I could possibly do to get it running? It looks to me after reading around a little that something with the Valve Body may or may not have something to do with something. I'm pretty much a newb when it comes to trannies, sorry

 

[rhauf]

You can buy rebuilt, ready to run a4ld's online for about $800 bux. have a friend who put one in his explorer, it works great.
a transmission won't go bad from sitting unused either. he probably means that its in need of a rebuild.

if you're in california, i've got a working a4ld i'd sell ya cheep too.

just curious, how many miles are on the trans in question? also, how does the fluid look? does it shift normal?

 

[Lacky01]

is it a possibility that its not the transmission? Is your PCM throwing any codes? does the transmission ACTUALLY shift into neutral? is it possible that the torque converter is slipping/letting go?

I'm also unfamiliar with auto trannies and their problems, but you need to figure out what the problem is before you go buying another tranny. could be that one is in great condition. I'm sure someone with more info will chime in. until then, start sifting through some stickies/threads and see if anyone has had a similar problem

 

[Willard]

The PCM wouldn't affect anything like what he is describing on a first gen. It only controls two solenoids, one for converter lock up and one for overdrive. Everything else in the transmission is purely mechanical.

There's a lot of things it could be, look into adjusting the bands and just dropping the pan and changing the fluid. While you are in there just give everything a look over. Looks for excessive metal shavings, loose parts, etc. in the pan. If you are really feeling adventurous you could try removing the valve body to see what else might look out of place and to see if the valve body has any problems.

I'd say if you can't figure it out with those steps, it is probably something like the clutches or bands being fried. These can't be replaced without digging into the main part of the transmission though.

 

[mawrazen]

I had a similar problem due to low fluid levels. A bad transmission modulator valve was sucking ATF into the vacuum lines and intake.

Have you tried flushing and changing the filter/screen? Could be a clogged line.

 

[ezzieyguywuf]

Wow thank you so much for all the feedback guys. Like I said in the first post, I haven't cranked this fella in quite a while. Here's what I can remember though. The transmission on that car has been notoriously bad. We bought it in '95 and have had it rebuilt 3 times if memory serves correctly. Since the last rebuild, the tranny has about 70k on it (but don't quote me on that). As far back as I can remember, its always been a weird shifter: it would get from 1-2 just fine but always seemed to stay in 2 for too long before going to three, i.e. the rpms would go up to about 5k (IIRC). Other than that, though, the tranny worked fine. I started having <i>occasional</i> slippage, but it would fix itself with a quick switch out of drive then back in. I decided to drop the pan and replace the filter to see if this would help. There were a few metal shavings, which concerned me, but as I wasn't in a position to replace the tranny I just went through with the filter swap and crossed my fingers. She drove for a while. I can't quite rememebr how long it took, but eventually it started exhibitng the problems that I described in my first post.

I would love to continue diagnosing this problem with your guys' help. It would mean getting in there and changing the oil first (no big deal) and pumping some air in the tires (also no big deal) so if you guys are willing to help, I'm willing to do work

edit: oh, and thank you for telling me I have an A4LD that will make looking through these stickies easier.