Hello, Just looking for a little advice. I drive a 95 Exp Sport and the other day, as I was pulling my boat, my OD light started flashing. With the falshing light my truck will not shift into second without letting up the gas. My truck has 120k on it, but before that all of the sudden happened there where no problems, she was running and shifting great. I took it to aamco today hoping they would tell me it was a small problem and send me on my way with just a slightly lighter wallet, but not. They told me they they pulled the code and it told them something was wrong with second gear and it could be one of two things. It could be some kind of gasket that tends to rip/break or it could be major and need to be rebuilt. If I need to replace the tranny then cool I will. I just don't want to be taken for a ride. As I was sitting in the waiting area there where there other customers that were there before me and they were all told that they needed to have theirs rebuilt also. I guess I just wanted to know if it sounds like I should trust them and get it done or if I should get another opinion. When something goes wrong with a tranny like this does it usually require a rebuild or can it just as many times be something simple? Thanks

 

Hello,

The A4LD transmission from 91-95 was notorious for either a low/reverse servo or intermediate/OD servo seal getting hard and causing a shift concern like the one you are having. Another trouble spot was the bands can break and usually leave the end pieces in the pan of the transmission, which can also cause the concern. Did they drop your trans pan or just run the codes? if it is the servo trouble have them replace both of them and you might go to a dealer and buy them because they have been updated for more longivity and while your at it have a service done. If it is the band, they will have to remove the trans and rebuild it but make sure they update the servos.

Hope this helps,

 

When the computer registers a shift failure or other tranny error it does two things.

1. flashes the o/d light

2. increases the fluid pressure in the transmission (to try and protect other parts, I guess)

when the fluid pressure is increased the shifting gets very hard.

If your tranny does shift into second then I think the BAND is not broken.

There is a seal in the tranny that is known for breaking. it can be replaced without rebuilding the entire tranny.

now that the error code is cleared you might want to try and drive the car and see how it shifts.

a lot of trannys have occasional shift problems, especailly if they have old fluid.

have you been having the fluid flushed

 

Any help is definetly appreciated. They are supposed to be dropping the pan tommorow to see what is going on. The worse part of it is the fact that I am 300 miles from home. I would much rather be at home so I could have the mechanic that I know and trust fix the problem for me. It shouldn't be a problem making the 300 mile trip I wouldn't think. Thanks again

 

I haven't had the fluid flushed in a while. As a matter of fact I had an appointment on thursday at the military base I am staying at to have that done. I made that appointment before all of this happened. The seal you are talking about might be the one that the guy at the shop was talking about. He said it was a common problem with my truck. It definely does shift into second still just needs a little coaxing. One other question: I just recently puchased a boat that weighs in at about 2500lbs. Now that I am pulling this around should I consider getting a cooler for my tranny? Thanks a lot for the excellent answers.

 

I popped into the tranny shop today to see what was up with my truck and they had the pan dropped. They showed me some chunks of medal that were in the pan. Also, the fluid that was dripping out of the tranny was brown to black. I am guessing at this point that the rebuild is my best option. I am going to be pulling a 2600lb boat. Would it be a good Idea to have them through a cooler on, or is it not nessesary? Thanks