Strange tranny leak - '91 A4LD

[91STR8AXLE]

Hi everybody!

Newbie here. No stranger to auto trannies but this has me kind of stumped.

I have a '91 Explorer with the A4LD. It's fine when I first fire it up and then after driving about 5 miles (or around 10 minutes of run time) it starts puking fluid out the bottom between the engine and transmission.

Now logic tells me this is most likely front seal. I have read the threads regarding the mis-alignment issues that are common. My problem is that my transmission shifts fine, works great, just leaks fluid. Its a trail truck so I don't Daily Drive it.

Can I just replace the front seal or am I going to have to screw around with the bell housing alignments issues etc?

It just started doing this recently and hasn't been driven more than 10 miles since. Again I don't D/D it.

Any ideas from the experts here?

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! How many miles do you have on this transmission? I would suggest that you replace the front seal, crankshaft to flywheel spacer (6 hole design), and the rear main seal of the engine while everything is removed.

 

[91STR8AXLE]

Welcome to this forum! How many miles do you have on this transmission? I would suggest that you replace the front seal, crankshaft to flywheel spacer (6 hole design), and the rear main seal of the engine while everything is removed.

I appreciate the quick feedback! Thanks.

Quick question. Where do I get the updated crankshaft to flywheel spacer? Is there a good place to buy it online or is it a dealer available part?

As for the rear-main seal is that an easy fix while I've got the tranny out? Obviously it must be and I am sure it doesn't involve dropping the crank out of it but does the oil pan need to come off to fix the rear main? (or possibly just dropped out of the way a little bit)

How hard is it on these to get the front seal out? I did it on my 48RE in my '05 Cummins ram truck but that's a different animal and it wasn't a big deal. Anything special to getting the seal out on the A4LD?

Thanks so much!

 

[91STR8AXLE]

Oh forgot.. Mileage is 143K!

143,000 miles by the way. Sorry!

 

[BrooklynBay]

They make specialty tools for removing, and installing the seal, but it's not absolutely necessary. WWW.TransmissionPartsUSA.Com sells the spacer, and rear main seal. You have to email, or call them for the part #'s. Not everything is on their website. The spacer is made by Sonnax. It is billit steel. The OEM one is powdered metal. Check # 2, and # 9 in my list of useful threads for more information.

 

[91STR8AXLE]

Okay I headed over there and I'll need to call them for sure.

Can you tell me what the 6 hole spacer is about. Is that something that was updated to help with the alignment issues I read about on the ATRA site? I saw on there that if you have a front seal that goes out it may continue to go out based on the misalignment problem.

Is there anything else I should do while I've got 'er apart? I like the idea of the rear main. Thanks for bringing that up as I will definitely be doing it.

If I do not have the special tool to get the front seal out of the tranny what is a good tool to do the job? Or obviously I can buy the correct tool. Anybody sell them for reasonable price?

I know.. Lotsa questions!

 

[91STR8AXLE]

Ok heres another. On the website you told me about I see a Sonnax 8-Hole crankshaft to flywheel spacer. Did that part supercede the 6-hole you originally mentioned or should I call them and make sure I get the 6-hole?

 

[BrooklynBay]

The only way to learn things is to ask questions. A special hook shaped seal puller could do the job. HarborFreight, and AutoZone have various tools like this. I guess you could even use a small, bent end fine prybar (like a bent screwdriver) if you can't get the other tools. Installation could be accomplished with a soft PVC pipe, and hammer. They make special seal drivers for this as well.

 

[BrooklynBay]

The 8 hole spacer is for the newer style engines with the 8 hole flywheel (a 98 for example). Here is a link for a picture of both spacers: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showpost.php?p=1595330&postcount=32

 

[91STR8AXLE]

I reviewed your very helpful links page. Number 2 seems very interesting to me. Now I just checked all of my coolant levels yesterday and they were full. Is it possible that my transmission cooler could be plugged and therefore not allowing it to cool. It doesn't leak a drop till I drive it a ways (couple to 5 miles) then pours.

Very interesting. I have an auxilliary tranny cooler waiting to be installed. I'll put it in and see if that helps the issue. May be no need to tear it apart.

Thanks again!

 

[BrooklynBay]

I had this problem on mine. I had to replace my water pump, thermostat, radiator cap, hoses, belts, and other stuff which took care of the leak I was having during the summer with the A/C on while driving on the highway. A clogged cooler would cause shifting problems on the A4LD, but not on the newer 4R, and 5R series which has a temperature controlled cooler bypass.

 

[Glacier991]

IMHO, just replacing the seal MIGHT do the trick, but failure to address the inherent eccentricity issues in the pump bushing will lead to another replacement sooner than later.

 

[91STR8AXLE]

IMHO, just replacing the seal MIGHT do the trick, but failure to address the inherent eccentricity issues in the pump bushing will lead to another replacement sooner than later.

You mention the pump bushing. Is this in the bellhousing or is it part of the pump on the transmission?

 

[BrooklynBay]

It's part of the bellhousing.