Well, as the title states. Driving around today and noticed each time I had to back up? It took just a touch longer for it to engage. Got to my base store, and tried reverse (figure close to home if it crapped). Took about 20 seconds, found reverse...and it went in reverse, all the while I could hear it starting to slip.

Thankfully all the forward gears are still functional, although I have noticed it's starting to surge a bit going into 3rd gear. Still makes it, and that gear is not slipping that I can tell. (I more or less backed it into the parking space, put 'er into reverse, let it find reverse...and it's a slight incline, so gravity helped) When it's stone cold? It works 100% normally. Get it bakin' after a long drive? And that's when the fun starts. (bakin' is an operative term, as there is a large external cooler in front of the radiator, so I know it's not overheating)

I've got our local truck salvage yard lined up for Friday afternoon to pickup another A4LD for $250. Minus the transfer case, so I'll need to swap the dummy case over to the A4LD.

Changing to manual isn't an option for me, as I have a bum knee and can only drive standard if I'm really really in more of a prone position (otherwise my knee buckles)

Asking for general tips and hints. Any ideas on changing out the transfer case/tips/etc...and changing out the A4LD in general. I've changed transmissions in the past, but any words of wisdom will be helpful. Planning on driving the ol' girl locally for the next two days, and it goes in our family garage (no lift, but heated) Saturday afternoon and Sunday for the work.

S-

 

I changed one out in my bronco ll this summer in a gravel drive, not fun. I took the distributor out so the engine could be tilted back & down. It made it easier to get to the bellhousing bolts & exhaust flange bolts I'd reccomend soaking those exhaust bolts their tough. It's been awhile since I changed out a trans & it seemed like a pain in the you no what. Bellhousing bolts are hard to get to, have to remove the starter, we took the transfer case off before removing the trans made it easier to balance & lighter. it was hard to get the converter bolts to line up with the ring gear , you need two people. Just take your time if you can, I had trouble w/ the crossmember bolts being frozen in their mounts ended up cutting them off because I couldn't get them out but i had a spare mount lying around i could use. The bolts that hold the transfer case shield were rusted i just broke them off. i'd say it will take more then a weekend unless you have some good help & a trans jack. The bad part about mine is I let the vehicle set for about two years before we put the trans in, after we got it all together and started ther engine it had a miss. After checking it all out i discovered it's low on compression on a couple of cylinders & the more I run it the worse it gets. So i guess I'm gonna have to pull the engine but that's another days project. Good luck w/ yours.

 

Well, the main saving grace might be that the transmission was swapped out/removed about a year or so ago. And even though this is it's first winter with road salt? I changed out the drive shaft a couple of days ago (my luck..fix the GKN shaft with a conversion to solve the binding/clicky problem...and the transmission takes a crap)

Everything under it? it's still about 97% or so rust free. Granted I horsed down the flange bolts on the drive shaft, but they'll break free soon enough.

Gonna be a fun weekend.....

S-

 

Sounds more like low fluid level and lack of cooling getting the better of the transmission - I would suggest adding an external fluid cooler and running it inline with the one in the radiator for more fluid / cooling capacity. If you keep the one you're pulling, I would suggest getting a heavy duty rebuild done to it when time and $$$ permits so if the one you're putting in ever goes, you'll have a spare ready to swap in.

A lot of people with the 2WD BIIs end up getting a 2WD transmission and going with a different driveshaft -OR- getting a non-dummy t-case and converting it to 4x4. Just my thoughts on it, good luck with it and let us know how things go!

 

Kernel. good call on the fluid level. I drove the ol' girl to work (about 20 miles, so I know that transmission was at temp) I went right in and checked the fluid level. Sure enough? I had to add 3/4 of a quart of Mercon.

Now the bad news? I checked the dippy sticky. Fluid is not looking good...not good at all. I did have to replace a leaking cooler line to the external cooler (it's got a very large external cooler) And the fluid just didn't appear normal. Now sense day 1 this truck has had a surge going from 1st to 2nd...(no biggie LOL. Our probe did that for 2 years) I've just nursed it into 2nd by getting 'er going, and just when I feel the shift ready? I let off the gas a bit. The extra pressure knocks it into 2nd pretty easy, and it's a nice sharp shift.

The latest thing it's been doing for a few weeks? When it goes 2nd to 3rd...it has a very noticeable I guess would would be called an "surge". Engine rpm's go up a bit (about 300-400 rpm) and then it goes into gear a bit on the sloppy side.

Again, I can nurse it along using the same bit as the 1st to 2nd. But at this point? I think it's more likely the 'rebuild' the last owner claimed to do? Either was never done, or he just threw in a seal kit and ignored the clutch plates and bands.

So it looks like I'm left with 2 choices (and I'm planning on getting the boneyard A4LD regardless)

a) Dropping the pan and changing out the filter and checking the pan for leftovers (and I'm not talking about thanksgiving leftovers) Refill back to normal levels and seeing if it helps any. Also doing a basic band adjustment (10 ft pounds, back adjust off exactly 2 turns and retighten the locknut) And test drive it and see if it self-cures.

b) Swapping out the transmission with the boneyard one, crossing fingers and hope it's a good one. And doing a full blown hard core rebuild back to something better then just "stock". So if the boneyard one goes dumpola? I'll have a functional spare.

a and b combined...doing the filter/fluid/band adjustment...see if it improves, and rebuild the boneyard one for a spare.

Not sure at this point. I did have reverse back when I got home from work, again it took a short bit to engage, but it didn't seem to slip. Then again I've been down this road with a C4 in a ford...only first gear kept going bye bye in 2 replacements. (seems it was a bit weak to pair with a 351W. LOL...cured that with an FMX out of a 72 merc)

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If your pulling a a4ld from the junkyard, try getting one from a explorer 4x4 up till 94 I think, that tranny is built for the 4.0L engine so a 2.9L should be easy on it. The shift points are the same when I did my swap. Then a week later, that tranny dumped on me! What got me the Junkyard gives 30 day warranty on them, year later I put the thing in.....live and learn. Next one will proply go in for that warranty they give.

I have been kicking around making a AOD adpator to the 2.9L/4.0L engine as I only have 10K on the rebuilt 2.9 and hate taking the tranny out of there, a 5.0 swap is not a option for my wife! never keep tires on it....


Bend that body flange that sits over the bellhousing, doing that gives more room so you don't have to drop exhaust or pull the dist out. Now as this is the 3rd time for pulling, I'm straight piping the exhaust getting rid of the converters, that will open more room up to get those pass side bolts, or take the front wheel off and pull back the inner fender to access those bolts.

 

I forget which particular Explorer A4LD is 'by default' a factory 'HD' unit, but that is a good idea to get one. Sounds like you already have an external cooler, which helps - but the leakage didn't help and is not good on any automatic, especially an A4LD.

Otherwise, sounds like you have a plan in place and should be good once you get it all sorted out.

 

Well, the old one is out. Had to take a break due to a lame employee. (1 1/2 hour)

Drained the old fluid out. Jet brown/black and it stunk!!. Found the last owner who 'claimed' to rebuild it? Used probably about 2 tubes of RTV to seal the transfer case to the extension housing.

And as a bonus? Went to unhook the lines to the cooler? Found that "someone" removed the lines, and bent one I think at 90'...and just rebent it back straight. So it had a hell of a kink, probably cut the flow off by 90%. (can anyone say overheat?)

And we didn't have to do anything to the exhaust. It just slid back and down.

I started to prep the replacement. Pulled the pan off, found the usual expected coating of grime for normal wear and tear. (also some rust/paint flecks from being stored) Cleaned it all out, installed a new filter. The left over fluid was in good shape. Nice and red...no real signs of abuse. Thankfully everything cleaned out pretty well.

Having a field day replacing the front seal LOL. But it'll get done. Plus I have a large roll of gasket paper, so I can do a proper job on the extension housing and the transfer case mount. I figure do a neat cut job, very light coating of tack-seal...and it should work fine.

I'm also going to cheat with the lines. Picked up a couple of short sections that I'll prebend and attach to the transmission before it's installed. And two longer sections to bend to shape to the cooler, attached with a set of unions and compression fittings to the front. It should get cooled correctly afterwards.

As for the old one? As stinky as it is? (and I'm fairly sure the clutch pack is toasted judging by the silver and crud build up)

I'll be saving up the funds for a full master rebuild kit, and a replacement torque converter. (you can actually hold the old one..shake it..and hear the guts rattle LOL) I figure with a correct rebuild? I'll just park it off in the corner, cover it with a tarp...and save it for a spare.

Mondays a day 'off' on finishing it. Gotta work. Gotta finish it on tuesday however..Need it back on the road in Wends.

S-

 

Holy crap. Well, at least now you know what was wrong with your old transmission and sounds like you got a fairly good plan on getting the 'new' one in and should be able to avoid troubles anytime soon. I will definitely make a note of the fluid cooler lines issue for future reference - I've known that to be an issue before, but have not dealt with automatic transmissions regularly in a long time. Good stuff to know and think about. I would recommend running your 'new' one for about 500 - 1000 miles and doing a filter and fluid change (or you could probably clean the filter if it's the metal mesh type) just to be safe and so you can see how the fluid looks and if there are signs of impending doom (which we all hope will not be the case, of course!).

You will probably want to buy a heavy-duty master kit for the old transmission and do a full clean-out and rebuild with all new parts and seals. If you have access to the right kind of parts washer, you can definitely get all the gunk cleaned out of it prior to reassembly. Once it's assembled, cap off or plug the cooler fittings and the front and rear of the transmission so no moisture gets in it and then store it until you need it. I can't remember the vendor, but there is one out there that you can send the old torque converter to and they can rebuild it, if you want to go that route.

Anyhow, glad to hear you got it all figured out and will have 'er back on the road soon.

 

Just wondering what people think of the inline filters for transmission coolers? I've been seeing them pop up from time to time.

(Tuesday got the push off----location called me for a service call, and I get to drive back south AGAIN!! on my day off. grrrrrr)

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I'm not exactly sure what to think. Could be good, but bad as well. If the filter clogs, then you have restricted or no flow to / from the cooler and the transmission overheats - which will put you right back where you started. Not familiar with the inline filters - do they have a button that pops up or something to tell you when they need changing? That would be the crux of the decision to install one, IMO.