Tranny acting up

[John4me05]

Hello all. I have a 94 Exp 4.0 4x4 with 92K on the clock. It has a tranny fluid leak but i keep a check on it and keep it filled. Now to my issue. At times even after filling it with fluid it will free rev like being in neutral and i have to rev it once or twice before it will go. After it works fine. It could be the next day or a couple days later before it happens again. Any ideas. Could it be the touque converter. If so is there any way to play with the stall speed when i buy a new one to get a little more low end grunt.

Also seperate issue. When under load pulling a hill i get a rattle from what i assume is the valves. It occurs around 2300 rpm. Should the valves be adjusted. Are they adjustable?

 

[John4me05]

Anyone?????

 

[Smed]

I'm not a mechanic by any stretch of the imagination but I'm in the middle of replacing my tranny on my 92. I would look to see if it may be a sensor. I had the same prob with my 94 Bronco and it was just a sensor. Just a thought from a non qualified guy. Good luck.

 

[huntman58]

ops posted in the wrong thread so I removed it hope thats okay

 

[elbow2342]

tranny acting weird

Hi my 94 x was having a similar problem and a fellow on this site suggested an additive for the trans. I went to Walmart and bought some bars leaks transmission repair 2 part additive. after a few miles problem solved.works fine now. cost was only around $8. its worth a try--Elbow

 

[huntman58]

The rattle could also be a bad or lose shield on the muffler or some other part under the truck also.

as for the wonder fixes in a bottle I worry about them as yes they can work but they do so by filling spaces and that also means they can fill places they should not as how can they tell whets a good place to fill and what is not . Just a thought

 

[wood1]

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=161337

spend a few hours reading in the tranny forum dude, I would guess you may have a valve body problem, either a blown VB gasket or a sticking valve. A good start however is to adjust the bands. It's easy and free.

If a simple filter and fluid change (and band adjustment) doesn't help out your issues I would drop the VB to see if there is anything obvious. If there is any great amount of shiny crap in the pan your VB is probably got that same crap in it. You can either rebuild the VB or replace it with one that has all of the possible the improvements already installed. It may be as simple as a blown VB gasket. There are great write-ups in the tranny section on how to do this.

You say your transmission goes through fluid, does it leak or is it disappearing? The vacuum modulator has a diaphragm in it that fails and allows fluid to be sucked into the intake manifold. The modulator is located on the right side of the transmission and has a vacuum line attached to it.

The rattle sounds like it could be pre-detonation AKA the death rattle. Could be a few different things causing that. Usually shows up under load at low RPM.

Good luck.

 

[ragajungle]

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=161337

spend a few hours reading in the tranny forum dude,

x2!



you might have pinging going on (under load) Tune up time plugs, wires

 

[John4me05]

Hey thanks for the tips and links. I have always been a "old school" driver (68 chevy c10, couple of 70s F350s, 77 Bronco, muscle cars etc) I dont really know much about the electronic gizmos on these newer vehicles.
Ill search throught that tranny link.

 

[92exp4x4]

If your trans is not leaking and the fluid is dissappearing then you have a bad vacuum modulator. The diaphram has torn and the engine is sucking trans fluid and burning it. This can cause the "rattle" you hear in the form of pinging which these engines are known for doing. Search pinging or spark knock to find lots of info/fixes on this issue.

The modulator controls 1-2 shifting and other functions of the trans and this could explain your trans issues. It will be on the passenger side of the trans case hidden behind the cats and a heat sheild on the trans. Look for trans fluid in the vacuum tree on the driver's back side of the intake manifold. This is the tell-tale sign of a bad modulator.

Other rattles these engines are bad for are the lifters being noisey. I personally have noticed this on 91-92 models more than others but thats my own observation.

Good luck and tell what you find.

 

[John4me05]

Havent had a chance to check for fluid in the line yet but here is some of what i know.
Have been losing fluid and have a small leak at the front of tranny (assume front seal as it blew on me almost 2 years ago and puked all the fluid out. It cooled and i filled with fluid and it was fine til this summer before leaking.)
There is times when i press gas and it free revs til i pump a couple times then it goes and works fine.
I just changed oil last weekend and it looked to be 1 - 1 1/2 qts over full with almost a fuel smell to it. Had no clue as to why that would have been til i saw where trans fluid can get into the oil because of vm (ill have to re-read that)
I know it has a small leak cause i get a small puddle overnight just enough to make a slick spot on the road but not enough to make up for what i am losing. This last month when i went through a 90* and uphill turn it would puff smoke for 3-4 seconds. I am attributing that to the elevated oil level as it hasnt occured since the oil change.


Now the rattle
It sounds like the old motors that were in need of a valve adjustment. It doesnt sound like spark knock. I guess it could be lifters. I found something on the net once that said i could change the push rods and the arms??? that are on top of the heads (ill have to look that up again as well) fairly easily and for jus tthe cost of parts and gaskets. Something i CAN do on this thing yayyyy... Anyone hear of this before.


Yall seem to be the GO TO guys for this vehicle style and boy am i ever grateful i found this place.

 

[John4me05]

Ohh yeah.
Tune up when i bought it in 07
Its always had a little hitch in the idle...
Didnt know til i found this site that the bosch and such stuff wasnt "kosher" for these things. Gonna do a tune up in Feb

 

[John4me05]

Ok. Vaccum line popped off and had fluid. Also oil level is 1qt high with 2 weeks on a fresh change. So its definately time to change the VM. Great thing is its only 13 bucks. Thanks a bunch to you guys and your knowledge.

I am still researching this site and learning lots of stuff. Havent ran over it yet but is there any low buck high gain tips or parts to add or things to watch out for. Im lookin for a little more oomph out of the engine. Better mileage (i currently get about 14mpg). Or better 4x4 performance. The 4wheel drive works but after my experience with other vehicles it seems a little lacking in traction.

 

[huntman58]

if the oil is higher then is should be and it smelled of fuel I would think more along the line of FRP or a leaking injector then trany oil from a VM.
Normally a VM will just suck up the oil in to the intake and burn it off were leaking fuel being thinner willed wash away oil and run down the pistons rings and drip into the oil pan. For ATF to do that it would take a whole lot of oil to the point I would find it hard that the ex would even run and being also that ATF is about the same vis as motor Oil if the Piston rings are even half good they would tend to hold it back and that much oil would hydro lock the motor.

Just some thoughts there for you.
By the way a FPR works kind of like a VM in that they use vacuum and have diaphragms that can break. Now cost wise they do defer there also being the FPR is more then a VM.

Any way really check out that oil increase and fix it before you damage the motor bad.

 

[John4me05]

I will. But it would explain why i am losing so much tranny fluid and not finding a big enough puddle to justify it. It wasnt really a gas smell but it kind of reminded me of gas. My mileage has been 14 mpg from June 07 when i bought it with 72K on the clock til now with 97K on it. I am very envious of people getting 17+ out of theirs. But hey for 1200 bucks for 72K with 4x4 4 door leather interior and power everything i cant complain.

 

[huntman58]

also Look under the truck for any oil that may be leaking only under pressure and then blowing back along the belly as most of the time when this happens you will not have any big drip spots only maybe a few small ones as most of the oil has been blown off or spread around to were its not thick enough to drip. You might want to also check the tranny lines at the radiator and the oil cooler in front of the truck also for leaking. I know when my rubber lines were leaking it never left a puddle or drip but kept losing ATF. Once I replaced then and fixed them right it also was the end of my missing ATF also

 

[John4me05]

Ok so i got to change the valve yesterday. It was adventuresome but fun and i got to give the carpet and seats some needed tlc. Shifts smooth as silk and no noise or fluid in the vac lines. You guys saved me a good bit of money that i dont have by having this site and all these threads will a huge amount of knowledge just given to complete strangers. I appreciate it more than any of you will ever know. Merry Christmas to all and thanks so very much.

 

[wood1]

Great to hear you have it fixed, if you still have the ping under load try retorquing the lower intake manifold.

Cheers.

 

[huntman58]

glad to here your up and running again . Just keep an eye on that motor oil in case it was not all ATF.
and Merry Christmas to you also.