Tramsmission Problems!!!!!

[S. Allen]

Aggggrh!

I cannot seem to keep the tranny running in my 95 XLT 4x4 Explorer.

About 6 months ago, the OD-OFF light started flashing (sound familiar?) and we took it into the dealership for repair. With the light flashing, the tranny would not go into OD and there was a severe "clunk" when it downshifted from 2nd to first going to a stop. I was told this is the tranny's "fail safe" mode.

Well, the Ford genuises told me that the tranny was shot and that it would need overhauling (sounding familiar to anyone?) and that this would run me about 2,600 dollars (!!). The folks at Ford say this is "normal" for this tranny. NORMAL...crapping out at 112,000 miles? What a piece of junk!

Since we had no other option at the time and the rest of the vehicle had never given us any trouble (except the front-end aligment problem that is continual), we decided to have the tranny rebuilt.

Since then, we have had to take it back to Ford because the tranny was leaking fluid as well as several sensors that have failed that were not replaced or were damaged in the re-build process for the tranny.

Has anyone else had to re-build their tranny, due to this OD-OFF light blinking? At what mileage did you have to do this?

Does anyone else think that 5 years or 112,000 miles of regular driving (nothing harsh) is "normal" for tranny failure? i have never had a truck tranny give-away at such a low mileage/time and I have treated other trucks much harder than this one.

I have never bought a Japanese made vehicle, but this Exploder has convinced me to do so. Ford's sliphod construction and attutude towards what is "normal" for parts failure leads me to believe that Ford really builds an inferior product.

My 91 ranger had the impossible-to-align front end, like this 95 Explorer and I hear complaints from 98-99 Explorer/Ranger owners about their front-ends being hard to keep aligned and their trannies failing at early times and have come to the conclusion that Ford does not make the quality of vehicles it used to.

I will be replacing this vehicle (much earleir that I planned) with a Pathfinder or 4-Runner. The quality seems to be there on these vehicles. Ford has really let me down on this Exploder.

Sorry...this is a VERY awful vehicle,

-SA

 

[ronnie]

Klunking?

Hi,
I just read your thread. I just had that Klunking noise occur for the first time the other day. It only does it when I come to a stop. Looks like its the fail safe mode as per your thread? The tranny seems to go through the gears fine, has no slippage. I was wondering if you think I should take it to Ford, or should I see if my local mechanic can fix it. In your opinion, is fixable, or am I looking at replacing the tranny. The truck runs great other than that brand new Klunking noise. Thanks,
Ronnie

 

[AgExplorer]

SA,

Same thing happened to me at about 75,000 miles. I had the tranny rebuilt and it crapped out again 16 months later. And the warranty was for 12 months. How convenient. If you need the name of a good tranny shop in Houston, I found one that does great work. They did the second rebuild and the general manager is great.

I also have the perpetual alignment. Get it done everytime I have the tires rotated. Luckily, I got the "lifetime" alignment at Firestone 5 years ago. That's one thing that I have gotten my money out of.

 

[offroadkc]

WOW you guys are lucky. Mine made it to 55K before this happened. I am going to take it to the dealer this week for the second time. (The first time they just reset the computer.) They say they'll take care of it because I just bought it, so we'll see.

Go FORD

 

[DocVijay]

I win.

Well, even 55k is alot of miles. My tranny crapped out at only 38,000 miles ! They said a valve in there got stuck and the rest of the tranny went to hell right after it. Other than that I'm very happy with my X. Thank god I had the extended warranty, though.

 

[balmain]

flashing o/d + klunk

I have the O/d flashing and the klunk when I'm coming
to a stop.
my local tranny guy said, they ( Ford) still do not know exactly what problem causes this, so to just hang tight until a definite solution is found.

He resets my computer ( for free) , it takes about 5 mins and it lasts about 6 months until the flashing O/d comes on again.

This is about the 3rd time it has happened, but in between time the Explorer runs great.
The very first time , we changed the ATF, and did the reset.

I have heard that disconnecting the battery overnight would achieve same, anyone done this ?

 

[Michigander]

Originally posted by S. Allen
and that this would run me about 2,600 dollars (!!).

WOW!! I would definetly take it somewhere else (not a dealer). My complete rebuild was about $1200.

 

[pbzmag]

Mines first happened @ 15k, a few months after I bought it. It's @ 63k and it is in for the 2nd time with a cost of $1,400. I brought it in again on tuesday because the problem wasn't fixed when I brought it in last thursday. With my model year, 99 auto XLT SOHC, they performed a TSB(Technical Service Bulletin) # 99-16-10. I'm guessing that they just replaced some valves. Now the problem came up again, this time with a much harder shifting. This time I will try to get a warranty on the trans service.

Anyone who wants to know where to get TSB's, go to these sites:


www.alldata.com
www.nhsta.gov

 

[mbryda]

Originally posted by S. Allen
for this tranny. NORMAL...crapping out at 112,000 miles? What a piece of junk!

regular driving (nothing harsh) is "normal" for tranny failure? i have never had a truck tranny give-away at such a low mileage/time and I have treated other trucks much harder than this one.
I will be replacing this vehicle (much earleir that I planned) with a Pathfinder or 4-Runner. The quality seems to be there on these vehicles. Ford has really let me down on this Exploder.

Depends on what you are driving in. 112k in all stop and go city traffic is not bad at all. Compare it to a manual and you'd be replacing clutches at that time too. (Since the auto clutches and such are internal...) 112k all highway is pretty bad.

As far as the Japaneese quality MYTH, I wish you luck with your Toyotas.

The new pickups (Tundra) love their transmissions more than the Explorer. Not to mention there have been reports of problems with Toyotas as well. (Engine sludging on 4's and 6'es, which Toyota denies is a problem)

No company builds the perfect car/truck. They come close, but none is significantly better or worse than the others. I remember a story a while ago where the difference between #1 and #10 on the JD Powers surverys was like .5 defects. Not enough to worry about.

I also find it amazing people will moan about an Exp. tranny but when they replace an engine or transmission on an import, they still call it a superior car. Amazing.

However, I will admit Ford quality has been slipping as of late. Blame that on Mr. Nasser. In his quest to increase shearholder wealth (another big fallacy) he cost cutted to the point that they can't build 'em to last much longer than the warranty. Hopefully he will find himself out of a job and Ford can get back on track.


-Matt

 

[Pete]

This tranny is the A4LD. It is the same one used in the Aerostar et al. Mine in my Aerostar died suddenly at 115k. The guy at AAMCO ($1700 for rebuild) claimed they usually go at about 80k. When I had mine in for rebuild, there were two Aerstars and two Explorers in the parking lot with the same illness.

The A4LD has an interesting history. It was originally a JATCO and was beefed up a bit for use in heavier vehicles. The JATCO was first used in the Pinto and is thus underdesigned/overloaded for larger vehicles such as the Explorer/Aerostar/Bronco II etc. and simply will not last as long as an AOD or GM 700 because it just can't -- there's not enough metal and not enough beef to take the load.

If you do a bit of research you will find that the Jap transmissions do in fact last longer in the vehicles for which they are intended, e.g. Camry/Accord, than equivalent American transmissions found in, for example, a Taurus. The same research will also show you that the Chrysler trannies are the worst of the Big 3, hands down, as far as early failures are concerned. There used to be a really good webpage called The Drivetrain Page but I couldn't get to it last time I tried.

I think my point here is that you got a pretty good service life out of your A4LD. If the truck meets your needs and is otherwise reliable, I say rebuild it. Change the fluid every 25,000 miles religiously and make sure you use a cooler if you do any towing at all. Everyone knows this is a lousy transmission, and Ford is making big buckage by selling hard parts for all the repairs. By the way, this is exactly the reason why I bought a 5-speed Explorer - because I didn't have $1700 laying around for another tranny rebuild. $450 for a new clutch every 8 years is a lot less money.

Hope this helps!
Pete

 

[Andrew K. Petko]

Hello everone,
Well my o/d light started flashing yesterday. Went to the dealer, he advised me to replace my trans. He also told me that there was an upgrade to the processor and Tp senser on 95 XLT's. The mech told me that with out this upgrade the new trans would not last more then 55,000 miles. He quoted a price for the new trans at 2007, processor at 270 and TP sensor at 49. They blocked the code for the flashing light and told me I had two the three months till total failer. I guess I will try the new trans rout when the trans does go.

 

[mbryda]

Originally posted by Pete
If you do a bit of research you will find that the Jap transmissions do in fact last longer in the vehicles for which they are intended, e.g. Camry/Accord, than equivalent American transmissions found in, for example, a Taurus. The same research will also show you that the Chrysler trannies are the worst of the Big 3, hands down, as far as early failures are concerned. There used to be a really good webpage called The Drivetrain Page but I couldn't get to it last time I tried.

Could it be because of better maintenance? The typical Import owner will drop his car off for the 30k service, which usually includes trans. fluid changes. The typical Ford owner won't....
As far as Import trans. lasting longer, I don't think so. Last time I went by the local trans. shops, there was a pretty diverse assortment of cars there, both imports and domestics.
There are plenty of Tauruses/sables/malibus/luminas/etc. with over 100k and the original trans. It's all how you take care of them.
Change the fluid every 30k and it will last quite a while. This is probably the biggest thing you can do to extend the life of your trans.

 

[01EB5.0]

WHen you had your tranny replaced the first time didn't ford give you a warentee? I had mine replaced at 91K (my truck was used for towing all it's life so that explains the early failure) Ford installed a new transmission (not a rebuild...because my Dad has had bad luck with rebuilds) So $2,700 later my truck shifts better then new and has a 2 year 24K warentee

I also did have a tranny leak after the replacement. They found loose pan bolts the first time and a bad dipstick o-ring the second time.

I also converted over to full synthetic ATF and added a tranny cooler to help extend the life of my new tranny.

 

[Lookingataford]

Is this normal for Explorers, I'm looking at a high mileage '94.

 

[Sparky-KB]

O/D Off light

I guess this is a normal thing from all of these replies. Mine started blinking in my 95 Explorer Sport at around 51,000 miles. We had to drive it across Colorado, Kansas, and Missouri with the klunking. It went out on the trail in CO. Had to get the tranny rebuilt. Not cool. Still have some minor noises if i go from a stop light, only get up to 20 or 25 mph and then stop at another light. It happens when i start slowing down. Not very loud though. Good luck.

 

[01EB5.0]

Originally posted by Andrew K. Petko
Hello everone,
Well my o/d light started flashing yesterday. Went to the dealer, he advised me to replace my trans. He also told me that there was an upgrade to the processor and Tp senser on 95 XLT's. The mech told me that with out this upgrade the new trans would not last more then 55,000 miles. He quoted a price for the new trans at 2007, processor at 270 and TP sensor at 49. They blocked the code for the flashing light and told me I had two the three months till total failer. I guess I will try the new trans rout when the trans does go.

I'm interested in knowing more info on that processor upgrade you speak of.

 

[Andrew K. Petko]

Originally posted by 95XLT


I'm interested in knowing more info on that processor upgrade you speak of.

Hello
Well, all the mech told me was that for all 95 + 96 X's. There was an update or an upgrade, what ever you call it to the trans processer. He told me it was my choice to update or not but if I did not the new trans would not last very long. something about the shifting timer. Im calling the dealer so the mech can explain to me in detail. When I went the last time I did not have time to ask any questions.

 

[01EB5.0]

Andrew,
I would appriciate any further info. you know because I have about 15K on my new trans and don't want it to fail prematurly. Thank you!