transmission problem....

[danoexploring]

Ok so heres what has happen so far... My trany pan was leaking a little and so i changed the gasket and the filter... but broke me didnt have a torque wrench to tighten the bolts so i did it hand tight (first mistake) well i cracked the gasket and didnt know it till a few days later when the fluid started to run down. Here in Maine it is to cold to work on the explorer outside and i dont have friends with a garage that i can work on it in. So i have been waiting for some money to come in so i could take it to a shop and have them do it... well just about an hour ago at 130am here i drove to the store to buy some smokes and the transmission wouldnt go into reverse. I looked underneather and notice fluid dripping from the front of the transmission where the engine mounts on it. so now its leaking from two places. i have been addin fluid to it as it goes low but dont know why it did this.. the temp out side is about -10 even lower when you ad the windchill.. so i thought maybe the gears or something was frozen. My question is... Does this sound like a simple problem of replacing the gaskets or am i looking at alot of trany work? :roll: its a 94 xlt explorer thanks...

 

[IZwack]

..but broke me..

Well at least you're on the same boat as almost all of us here (except Jefe - he's pretty much living it like a king over there in fancy "California" - wherever that is).

Well first off, if the fluid is dripping from the side/edges of the pan, that’s probably not that big of a deal. It’s probably just that u didn’t tighten the bolts enough, or the gasket is whack, or both!

As for the fluid coming out of the front of the bellhousing (mounts the transmission to the engine), that’s a bit more serious. Since your X is a 94 and you didn’t mention of any transmission rebuild or anything, I'm assuming that you have quite the mileage on this thing. With this in mind and from your description, it’s probably a seal that has gone hard or something (mostly due to time and heat). I’m sure the transmission Gods of the board can shed some light on this situation of yours and figure out exactly which seal it is. But one thing is for sure is that it does sound like your transmission will probably have to be dropped from your vehicle. You’d probably need to take it to a shop and at least have them do a diagnosis on it (though the transmission Gods of the board can probably diagnose it for you via the net!)

My 0.2 cents on this whole situation is that, if this is still the original transmission, then it will probably die in the very near future anyways. So for the long run, and if you have the funds to do it, my suggestion would be to have this transmission rebuilt or swap in one that is already rebuilt/remanufactured. A rebuilt/remanufactured A4LD (if that is your transmission), can be purchased online (Ebay, etc..) for probably around $700.

 

[Opera House]

Sounds like the front seal was the problem all along. Thinking that replacing the front seal will solve the problem is wrong. This generally indicates an alignment problem that has caused extreme wear on internal bushings. The front seal isn't supposed to have any fluid pressure on it. Since some wear is inevitable, some drill out return passages to reduce this pressure and the potential for a leak. Personal feeling is that this is the worst problem that you can have with an A4LD because all the needed parts may not be replaced in a local rebuild.

 

[Jefe]

Well at least you're on the same boat as almost all of us here (except Jefe - he's pretty much living it like a king over there in fancy "California" - wherever that is).

Wow, I've had my name come up a lot on this forum, but that one was uncalled for. I work hard to support my hobbies.

 

[danoexploring]

(Since your X is a 94 and you didn’t mention of any transmission rebuild or anything, I'm assuming that you have quite the mileage on this thing.) I bought the X this last June from a sherriff in my town. Shesaid for the past 3 winters she didnt drive it out just left it in the garage. So its in nice shape. it had almost exactally 100,000 miles on it.

(This generally indicates an alignment problem that has caused extreme wear on internal bushings.) Dont know if this is what is causing it. but the vehicle pulls to the right, I had it go in for an alignment and they said that it wasnt the problem (This is at a ford dealership) the said it might be a radial pull from the tires. the cheif mechanic said that when they get another X in the shop they will call me and have me bring mine over swap the tires and see if thats it. the steering also has a little looseness where you can turn it about a inch or two before it will change the direction of travel. Well i get a nice check from Uncle Sam tommorow so i will have it looked at by a shop i trust. Just wanted a basic idea of how much it was going to cost. Thanks for your info everyone.

 

[IZwack]

Jefe>> "valencia"?? i mean cmon, what is that? some kind of an orange juice drink?? valenciaaaaaaaaaa?!

danoexploring >> what operaHouse probably meant when he mentioned misalignment is not your vehicle's steering, but rather the internal transmission parts. and what he probably meant when he said "this is the worst problem that you can have with an A4LD because all the needed parts may not be replaced in a local rebuild", is that you are probably better off, in the long run, replacing youre dying transmissoin with one that has beed remanufactured as a loca transmission shop/rebuilder will probably replace just the obvious seal that is causing the leak and not other parts that may have been damaged (bent out of shape for example) due to the misalignment. Its also probably not that obvious to find the parts that have been damaged from the misalignment because the damage might not be so obvious without taking precise measurements of these parts.

 

[danoexploring]

Thanks.. IZwack when it comes to general repairs i have a good idea, but internal engine and transmission parts, I'm still learning. My X body is in reallly good shape, hard to belive up here cause the snow and crap they put on the roads to melt ice eats the hell out of most vehicles body. So i want this baby lasting along time. I am now positve that i want to replace the tranny. I dont know if any place around me would have a transmission for me so most likely I'll have to find one online or talk to the ford dealer.(which is about 20 feet from my house) But is it worth it to go threw them... i know they charge out the a$$ for parts. Also is there a ball park figure that i should pay for a tranny and if anyone has had a great experince with someone who sells them thanks

 

[Glacier991]

I'll post somethign more germane to this problem later this evening, but I just got home from 2 days in Morro Bay, Ca..... near San Luis Obispo ...on the left coast (North of Santa Barbara). It was 76 degrees there yesterday and again today (as opposed to more like 48 here in Sacramento). Man was THAT a treat! (except for ther 5 hour drive)