How's it going? I had a concern on my 95 aero 3.0 auto trans. I have been noticing when my wife drives the van, and she repositions her foot on the gas pedal, the transmission sound like it's slipping, but it goes through all 4 gears normally, or am I getting confused with the torque converter locking and unlocking. I even had her drive the van in Drive and it sounds the same. Is this something I need to worry about, or is this a normal concern. Fluid condition is good and level is full. I did forget to mention that when going on the interstate and setting the cruise, no abnormal sounds are present. Please help, this concerns me because I am hoping my transmission isn't going out. Thanks Brian

 

i plan to put a large transmission cooler on mine to try to prolong the trans.

 

Would adding an auxillary filter help as well. And my van has one, but are there bigger trans coolers for these vans. Also any more ideas, because I'm hoping that the trans is not going out on me. It shifts well through all 4 gears, but it's when you let off the gas and reapply then this condition occurs. Please help. Any ideas will be great. By the way my van is a 95 aerostar swb 3.0 A4ld trans.Thanks Brian Skinner

 

To make these A4LD last, they need high quality ATF.
Use Mobil 1 ATF, a full synthetic. Easy to obtain everywhere, Amsoil or Redline is also good.
Normal crude oil ATF, the additive package breaks down too quickly leading to shift issues.

The LU clutch in these switches in and out too easily and too close together in speed/power demand variations.

Put an LED on the LU clutch electrical wire circuit and you can monitor when it switches in and out. Full directions in past posts.

Very little dirt in these to filter out, the inline addon filter is perfect. Put one in the power steering line also.

Extra large cooling ATF radiator needed if used for towing or in hot climates slow speed driving with lots of shifts. I have a 12"x18" mounted in front of the main radiator. Use the old OEM tranny cooler for the power steering.
lots of previous writeups.

 

When you let off the gas the torque converter unlocks. When you get back on the gas it relocks after a programmed 1-2 second delay. This is normal. It's working as designed.

 

Could you be more descriptive, like...
1) When getting off gas, engine rpms drop to idle, even though I'm coasting at 50mph.
2) When getting on gas after briefly being on, the engine goes to redline with no power transmitted. Have to let off for a few seconds before continuing. Happens going up hill at around 40mph also.
3) When getting on, rpms seem to climb noticably too fast. The van isn't going that much faster.
4) It only happens when my wife is driving. Hmmm.

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Fyi, my A4LD was out and back in last week, over a 2-day wrenching session.
Found the source of a problem (#2 above) and completed the Frankentranny upgrades.
I can also help with #1 and give advice on #3.
All other condtions, you're on your own.

 

An external filter will not help, may even be counterproductive, since as it plugs it would reduce circulation through the cooler.

The B&M plate type coolers are the most commonly recommended type. If you look at them and compare to what you have, you will see how they work better. A tube and fin type cooler is inefficient. These vans come stock with the internal radiator cooler, as well as a tube and fin cooler. The radiator cooler works fine, its the tube and fin that needs to be replaced with a good one.

The best thing you can do for these transmissions is regular maintenance. Drop the pan and replace the fluid and filter every 20,000 - 30,000 miles. Do not get a power flush. A dynamic fluid exchange is fine, but is only needed on a neglected transmission.

If you are not sure when the fluid was last changed, change it.

The correct fluid to use is MerconV, not the old Mercon/Dexron ATF stuff. Don't use a multi-trans formula, use a fluid that is labeled as MerconV. If you can get a synthetic that is fine, but not necessary, as you should be changing the fluid long before it begins to break down.

 

No help with #4?

Since I've owned my van for over 20 years, the one symptom I've noticed is a change in the behavior when I let off the gas to coast or slow down, and then get back on the gas. First, I can feel the abrupt drag from the engine for a moment before the clutch disengages. Then when I get back on, I can feel the clutch re-engage where there is a slight surge to the van, and the engine rpm drops. That second part seems to be taking longer now, as if feels as though the engagement is stretching over more time; the engine rpm doesn't drop as quickly as before, and that surge is not as harsh. It's like slowly engaging a clutch on a manual transmission. So something must be wearing out.

Here's a test to see if a link to a picture works (totally unrelated to the topic)

 

Yeah, this is an 'all other cases' for which I'm no help.

I let this one weigh on my brain for awhile, but it still seems counterintuitive for an automatic, but you say its been like that since The Beginning.
Both the TC and the OD/coast drum should react just the opposite of your description.

You imaging clutch ops had me considering the normal swings in hydraulic pressure as more or less torque is applied to the converter.
IOW you get on the gas, hydraulic pressure rises, clutch/bands clamp harder, cuts slippage.
I also checked the presence of a 4R/5R tranny that can modulate system pressure. Nope.

I ended up suspecting this effect is not about the transmission at all, but rather some electronics at work either transitioning engine ops or your forward diff engagement.