Then there were 2...

[wonderer]

I am in the process of following Opera House on the A4LD troubles / preventive maintenance..

I ran into a problem however, when it came to ordering the "right" 1rst/reverse servo seal..

I looked all over town and ended up at the Ford dealer, the problem is that there are 2 different seals showing on this guys parts computer.. I made sure he knew we were dealing with the 1rst / reverse servo in a 1992 a4ld 4x4.. Showed me the parts diagram and everything but I couldn't decide, (haven't tore it apart yet).

One cost a buck something and the other cost two bucks and something (cheap), so I ordered both. Apparently the inside diameter was different. Guessing maybe the old seal and the updated seal??

This is beyond the scope of my experience and I'm hoping someone here can tell me the difference.

Calling Dr. Opera House lol.

 

[ALYZ1FLR]

Hope this helps.

 

[SteveVB]

Well were they the same size? The servo has two rings on it- and they call them large and small reverse servo sealing rings. You should replace both- but the larger is the updated ring and causes the problems. I cant imagine the dealerwould be stocking the old style still- I think the fix has been around since 97 or 98.

Go here:
http://www.atcdg.com
go to tech bulletins, and look for the A4LD section and check bulletin 122. It has a drawing of the servo and the seal, you can also see the smaller seal on the necked down part of the servo. Crappy line drawing, but you will get the point.

Good Luck

 

[wonderer]

Thanks ALYZ1FLR and SteveVB !

Valuable info, I didn't know there were supposed to be 2, (woulda surprised me when I got around to tearing it apart).

I also didn't know you could get these parts for peanuts, thought it was going to be $20 or better coming from a Ford garage and ordered elsewhere only
in a kit?

You don't need to buy a kit, nor do you have to order it online somewhere, just go to your local dealer and talk him out of one hehe.

One more note ,, I thought the tranny filter had a screen in it for 4 wheel drive models, the one I got has a yellow colored filter element in it.

 

[SteveVB]

The 4wd filter has the longer tube - the yellow fiber filter is better filtering than just the screen. Dont forget the o-rings on the filter- one large, one small.

Good Luck

 

[wonderer]

the old 1, 2

I went to the Ford dealer to pick up my new seals for the 1rst/rev servo, and to my surprise, they were still the old design! I guess they believe in what works... Keep selling the old parts and keep raking in the doe on repairs lol.

Oh well, I’m going to change the fluid/filter fairly often anyway, so I’ll be able to replace with new design if I come across one somewhere, (I don’t mind, except for the part where the pan comes loose and warm fluid gushes out everywhere, kinda makes you feel like you just slayed a large animal lol), .

I noticed that there was a serious accumulation of small particles on the servo and the gasket cover. You’d think that those people who design these things would realize that if you submerge wearing parts and clutches in the same fluid as delicate things like hydraulic servos and limiters, that there will eventually be hell to pay!

Maybe someday, someone will build an automatic tranny that has separate sections, one for dirty parts, and one for parts that have to be kept clean?

I also noticed that the old O-rings weren’t as soft or elastic as the new ones, so hopefully that will make a difference. Not that it would make a difference, because mine isn't suffering from that classic simptoms, (mine goes into rev and 1rst quickly), just thought I'd change it while in there.

Not sure if you all know my story, but here it is brief. My Ex, that I just bought, seems to have excessive rpms when cold and still some when worm. Shift points are fine, but extremely sloppy, can hardly tell it shifts with light pedal, and it holds well @ 3000rpm in a stall test (brake/gas at same time). It may be that I’m just not used to V-6 automatics, only had four bangers and a Ranger w/manual… The 2.9 L was very doggy until it reached about 3000, maybe that’s why the 4 L locks up @ 3000? It was extremely easy to stall. You could kill the engine, then while still rolling at about 2 mph, (if your quick on the clutch), you could drop the clutch and still pop-start it!