Rebuild or replace A4ld

[sploder92]

The transmission was working fine until it was towed 90 miles with a tow bar, :fire: now in any forward gear it goes into gear but it won't move a foot (slipping). It will not go into reverse at all. I changed the fluid and filter, no change, alot of metal shavings in the pan.

Should I buy a used transmission or rebuild it with new friction clutches and steels.

How do I know if the front pump is bad?

I have the ATSG rebuild book, I guess I should look in there for my front pump question.

Only advice from people who have done this work would be appreciated.
I don't have alot of spare funds to risk on a junkyard tranny.

 

[Glacier991]

Check out the "My A4LD Rebuild Diary" (in 4 parts) in the General section, or do a search for "A4LD and DIARY".

 

[cjbarron5]

well the first question is why was it towed for any distance with all 4 on the ground?let alone 90 miles i asume it was not running when this happened. you really wont know untill you get into it. the pump is probably ok it would be the thrust washers and bearings and clutch packs that will be your main focus dont forget to look at the case for wear when i did my 4r55e i bought total rebuild kit and hd convertor from atc direct for 263.00 shipped (18006333340 ext 267) glacier991 did a very good job on his write up and it is an invaluable addition to your ATSG book

 

[sploder92]

Thanks, the heads or gaskets are leaking and I was told by the guy who gave it to me that I could tow it with his tow bar and it would be fine, I should have trusted my instinct and used his car hauler.

live and learn $$$$$

 

[Brain]

Have you done the head work yet? I ask because it would be easier to remove the tranny w/o the heads. This also lets you do all of the inspection and cost estimating w/o spending the $ on the replacement parts for either set of problems.

"alot of metal shavings in the pan." - not a good sign. If metal shavings are in the pan it most likely means hard parts have failed. These cost more than just the steels and frictions. Was it towed in gear?

"the guy who gave it to me" - that still sounds like a bargain, even if you have to do a bunch of work.

Testing the pump is pretty straight forward - you hook up a pressure guage to the line-pressure port on the driver's side and do a stall test in reverse. If it goes to 300-320 psi, the pump should be fine, but then again, with metal shavings I would think a complete teardown and cleaning/inspection would be in order before you even spent and $ on soft parts (to see if you want to go through with it). Just my 2 cents.