Hi i am hoping someone can help i have a econoline 1992 model and it has started to have a problem with the reverse gear.

Whe you start the econoline up you can select all gears and reverse with no problems at all but one you have driven her for a few miles and put her in reverse she just revs but does not move.

I have drained the pan and got around 5 litres of oil out and have so far re filled with 7.5 litres of new gear oil but still have the same problem.

Do you think i just requires more oil or is there something else i should be looking at.

Many Thanks

 

It's always amusing when someone thinks changing the fluid in an automatic tranny will fix what's broken. However someone here might be better able to help you if you identified which of the 3 trannys were in '92 Econolines. There were C6 3 speed, AOD & Electronic 4 speed OD trannys. You fill these to the line on the tranny dipstick, the trick being to quickly plunge the wiped dipstick in & pull it out of parked fully warm unit, that's been shifted thru gears, w/motor running. NOT based on how many litres you dump in after partial draining.

Note that if you actually used "gear oil" instead of the FORD specified MERCON Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) you've probably ruined the tranny. Running them for long w/o enough fluid can kill them in short order.

If you're very lucky you might find confirming adjustment of the linkage solves the problem. But if it's the original 20 YO tranny more than likely its shot & requires rebuilding or replacing.

Bet my original '92 AOD would still be fine if my dog hadn't tried to smooch my hand on the wheel & caught the shift lever w/his nose, momentarily bumping from OD to R at 70 mph in Cruise Control. Nothing seemed to happen & I immediately returned it to OD. Next time I tried R had the same "put her in reverse she just revs but does not move". Had no illusions an oil change would help it.

Tried used unit only to find it had no OD. Spent $1200 to have original rebuilt & it lasted until the warranty expired. Then I went for a $1800 rebuilt unit from FORD. Retired the van when I got F-150 & tranny only had ~5000 miles on it.

 

Thanks for the reply its the AOD box.

Its seems strange that when cold it will reverse fine its only when warm that we lose reverse, all other gears are running fine when hot and cold.

As it goes into reverse with no problems on cold it does not seem to be a linkage problem.

I was told that as its run on fuild if its low you may lose the gears hence the oil change, this is why i ask how much oil should go in the book has it stsamped as 11.6 litres but not sure how much oil the torque holds the oil i used is the same spec as the ford oil but its under another brand name. uk seems very limited on the ford one (infact i have been told by the local dealer it would need to be imported, same spec so should not cause a problem.)

Just been told it could be a band problem but no know to much about these any advice would be good.

 

11 litres or 12 sounds about correct. What's important is that your Transm Fluid (you call them Gearboxes in UK) is where is supposed to be (dipstick mark) when you check it (properly check it) like Club Wagon advised you to. If you just drain it, you get out about 40% of it. The rest is in the Torque Converter and Cooler.

You can try to forward-flush the fluid and change the filter. Your problem though might lie with the reverse servo, which is located inside the valvebody, which is located inside the transmission.

If you can DIY, this can be done without removing the transmission. If you can't DIY, you can go to a shop, and if they are like here in US, they will tell you "your need an overhaul", regardless that the problem might be simply a bad reverse-servo piston seal or some other small part.

 

Band adjustment is mentioned in Haynes & Chilton FORD Econoline general manuals for C6 only. Thought AOD used clutch packs instead of bands.

There are FORD automatic tranny manuals that would be worthwhile looking at to show you how complex the guts of an AOD are & help you determine if you want to DIY.

These trannys have many O-rings & sealing surfaces that can be compromised after 20 years & become affected by expansion & change in viscosity due to heat. In my case rebuilding the valve body w/tranny in place was never an option. Was amazed how quickly & w/so few tools the technician dismantled my AOD right in front of me. A sealing surface inside an expensive internal part was gauled. The damage wasn't much to look at, but enough to eliminate R completely. The rebuild shop had a good used part & installed a master rebuild kit. Fluid pressure makes everything work & there's a ****load of places for internal leaks to occur.

Low/slow pressure eats the clutches, contaminating the fluid & spreading the misery around to other components. When you drain the fluid the crap that's in the pan/on the filter is useful to help diagnose what's what.

 

The AOD used both bands and clutches. The bands in the AOD were not adjustable.

I think the reverse clutch seals are worn out. They can hold when the fluid is cold, but when it gets warm the fluid thins and the seals leak.