Hi all!
I've been reading many of the older post here to see if anyone has had the same problem that I am now experiencing with my 86 BII. It is the EB version, with the 2.9 V6 so I believe it also has the A4LD transmission.

The engine has less than 100K on it, so I would really like to fix the truck and keep it as long as the tranny repairs don't cost an arm and a leg! The body is in very good condition, no rust except for the peeling paint of the passenger compartment top. Everything else in the truck seems to work fine, and I drove it for about 5 months with no problem.

While driving home one day, a cloud of smoke started coming from the engine and back of the truck. It also started to slip in gear, as if I had shifted into netrual while driving. Then it would kick back into gear. The truck is an auto with overdrive by the way, with a touch button for 4WD. When I pulled over, I checked the oil and tranny fluid. The tranny fluid was empty. I filled it up at the next gas station, but only got about 10 to 15 miles when it blew all the fluid out again.
Garage checked it and could not find what the problem is. It seems to be blowing the fluid out of the filler tube!
Anyone have a suggestion? The garage checked the filter and could find no clogs or anthing. I have read here the "distaste" for the A4LD and was wondering if anyone else has experience this problem and if it was something that could be fixed without a rebuild or new tranny.
I really don't want to invest another 1500 to 2K in the truck.
Any suggestions?

 

Rebuild it or put a 5 speed man.trans. in it.As far as your problem it sounds like you have a bad seal inside the trany and its pumping the fluid out the filler and/or breather tubes.jm.02 worth

 

Thanks for the post GrayRanger! Does fixing the seal, if that is the problem, require a rebuild? What would the average cost of this be? What about a 5 speed manual transmission?
Do you think this a wise investment in a 86 truck? I would like to fix it and give it to my son who is going away to school, but I don't want to invest alot of money at this point, only to have other problems creep up. I guess it's just the chance I will have to take should I decide. I was hoping I could get it fixed without replacing/rebuilding the tranny along with the associated costs involved.

 

An A4LD rebuild costs $2,000. A used 5 speed costs about $500 if you can find a good one. OR, you can take a C5 3speed auto out of a 2.8 ranger or bronco II and use that. The C5s are rock solid tranny's. You will need the drivshaft from a 84-85 BII, though, and it's tranny crossmember. Use the 2.8 flexplate and convertor, starter. Bolts in. Oh yeah, need a front drivshaft too. The C5 is shorter than a A4LD.

 

pat67shorty Thanks for giving him that info.I forgot about the c5 trans swap.
Jiminator now you have to deside what to do.In my opinion the 5speed is the way to go.It takes a little more work and a donor truck with a 5 speed and the clutch pedel. Good luck and welcome to FTE.

 

sounds like a vaccum modulator to me.(on the tranny) i have a 78 buick skylark that started smoking (i thought the rings were gone) it was also puking out tranny fluid out of the filler tube. my neighbor suggested the vaccum modulator may be blown. turns out he was right! once i replaced the part , the car was back on the road with no problems at all.

 

Thanks everyone! Hmmm....vaccum modulator hey? Is that located on the tranny itself? Worth checking out for sure.

 

hi jiminator. you should be able to find the modulator (if the tranny has one) by looking for a vaccum line running from the trans to the manifold. once you find it pull the line off the modulator and look for tranny fluid in the line. if there is fluid in the line it is shot. even if there is no fluid present i would still suggest replacing it (about 20 bucks) good luck.