Official A4LD Problem Thread!

[85_redranger]

thanks so much for all your help dude

 

[WcRanger88]

Hey guys Im new to the ranger station and I am here because I am having a few problems with my a4ld.

I have an 88 ranger xlt 4x4

a) my tranny cannot decide if it wants to stay in gear , like when Im cruising it hiccups back and forth like it cannot decide to stay in the higher gear. Like it blips back down a gear and then back up to the gear it was at. only when I try and keep a constant speed

b) it leaks a lot of tranny fluid from in front of the tranny where the bellhousing meets the motor.

c) the leak got so bad that one day I tried to drive the truck and it got to the point the tranny wouldnt move the truck in any gear. Im gussing its because there wasnt any fluid.

I dont want to keep just filling the truck , Id like to do an overhaul as these transmissions seem to be an issue for everyone. thanks in advance.

 

[Sheolraver]

Holiday killer A4LD! - big $!

Hi all. My '87 Supercab 2.9 A4LD finally hates me. After having the all too common fluid leak, which was caused by the retainer clip holding the 2 cooler lines up against the housing sawing through the line, it has finally hiccuped final. I've had the same hiccupping in upper gears & recently a loud grinding sound a few seconds long. Since that event it makes horibble diesel like sounds when in idle & droning sounds in gear. Took to local tranny shop. Metal & brass(?) filings evident in pan. Rebuild to cost ~$1700- $2500. Ow!! Does that sound unrealistic?? Is a replacement tranny cheaper & available?? Any advice or info greatly appreciated.

By the way, the leak I fixed by cutting out the broken line & replacing with rubber high pressure trans. coolant line. Ditched the clip. Was a bonafide bitch trying to find that 1.

Happy Turkey Day all!

 

[Viper Command]

If you get a clicking sound which is consistent with your RPM's then your torque converter is bad. If it’s leaking from inside the bell housing, one of two things can be the cause, the torque converter seal, or bell housing bolts. Please note if your replacing the torque converter seal you need to hammer in place, glue it in and lock it down. Since you found metal debris in the pan, then you have hard parts damage (gears, drums, and bearings). If there was also a nice thick black film, your clutch bands and discs are toast. Either thing requires a rebuild. An average rebuild for the A4LD here in Cali is about $700-$900 which includes torque converter.

 

[CraKel]

Had my first problem 3 months after owning the truck I bought from a Heritage Ford dealership..Blew the cervo cover out and leaked tranny fluid everywhere on the road after I stopped and got it towed to the shop.. after getting a new one installed from AAMCO for oh about $1500CAN (thank god it was under warranty!!) It was good as new.. minus the small yet constant leak from the front cover and bolts..Have since put a new oil pan in and while the engine was out, I tightnened everything up under there and she still leaks.. Horrible tranny and cant wait to get the c4 put in..

 

[85_redranger]

Hate to keep buggin ya

i changed my filter in the a4ld and didn't see any black film in the old fluid i completely drained and refilled the tranny waited a day now it's engaging fine and taking off good but for some reason it feels like it's lacking power(like 2.8's had any to start with lol) i was considering buying a shift kit for the tranny what do you think?:icon_confused:

 

[Slipknotyk]

Hey I've been through all 6 pages and still havent found a problem like mine.

I've owned my Ranger just inside of 35K miles. I bought it at 196K and she's just over 229K today.

Anyways, I'm hoping that this is just an issue of the severe cold in Colorado this time of year, but it's acting up in the strangest way, it's confusing me beyond belief.

Park- normal at startup, then when shifting back from another gear, it tries to go forward (have to hold brake to keep it from doing so)
Reverse - nothing
Neutral - it tries to go forward, again I have to hold the brake
O/D - tries to go forward (normal I guess)
Second - tries to go forward (normal)
First - Nothing

my fluid level is slightly high and has been ever since I nailed the hell out of a problem with the front seal leaking with 3 bottles of transmission stop leak. After I did that, I had it flushed and filled with a new filter, and a bottle of Lucas added to the fill.

the problem started when it was about 5 below outside, idk if the temperature is relevent but the problem continues when it's 25 and allowed to warm up 5-10 minutes.

 

[MikeWild]

Well here's an addition to my previous post. I picked up a junk yard tranny after over heating my tranny in the summer. That tranny lost overdrive, but still shifted normally other than that. I've since bought another exploder because I just love the a4ld sooo much! The new truck needed a tranny when I bought it. When you'd give it gas, the rpms would continue to rise without shifting, but when I'd let go of the gas it would shift. I replaced the vacuum modulator and same thing. So I dropped the tranny and threw the junk yard one in. Now the problem I'm seeing is a hard shift from 1 -2 (shifts at around 3500 - 4000 RPM) If I'm aggressive on the throttle it shifts normally, but going easy on it gives me the hard shift. Also, on cold mornings I really need to let it warm up or the tranny won't engage. Once it's warmed up it's fine other than the hard shift. I do notice it's leaking fluid from somewhere, but haven't had a chance to crawl under and find out where. I'm getting tired of dropping these tranny's and am hoping that maybe I can get away with swapping the govenor or doing the modulator? Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? On the plus side, I rebuilt the tranny that I swapped out of this truck and put it into my first exploder. Turns out the clamp on the OD band had snapped right off so I put 2 new bands in it, all clutches & planetaries looked fine. She shifts like a dream now.

 

[Viper Command]

85 redranger shift kit should be the first and formost mod. you should do.

slip knot sounds like one of your a or b shift solenoids. if you shift it by the coloum and it does what you want. replace your solenoids and do a shift kit when its out, but its not mandatory. it would extend the life of your soft parts.

 

[94RangerMike]

The number one problem with these trannies seems to be the electronic pressure regulator (available over the internet for $50 to $100) where it no longer controls properly, and can become really apparant after services.

What is this thing and where is a link to buy one? I am almost positive that I need one.

 

[Aerostar65]

Hi I have a 1990 Aerostar van, 3.0 V-6, 2wd with the A4LD trans. First a little history... This van has approx 150k miles on it and the trans was replaced by the previous owner, from a junkyard. [Supposedly had 107k on it from the junkyard...] When the last owner installed the trans, he forgot to hook up the kickdown cable, and decided to pull a pop up camper with it.

Well, when I bought it, the trans groaned a bit when you dropped it in gear. I discovered the kick down cable problem and hooked it up, the way it's supposed to be and it seemed to work fine. Even the groaning has slowly been going away. When I drove it to the store it, shifted just fine on the way there. BUT, when I went to leave it briefly worked across the parking lot, then completely died. It was like you stuck it up in neutral. No response from any shifter position, not even a shudder or a try from the trans to engage. I pulled the dipstick and looked to check the fluid/condition. In the light from the headlight, I could see some foamy bubbles, very tiny, but the fluid did not smell burnt and was reasonably red. I could see no signs of leaks anywhere and the trans has been fine before this happened. It is like someone pulled the power plug to it... I even checked to see if the shifter cable popped off or something, but it was all there, including the kick down cable to the TB. So I had to drift it into a parking spot and walk home.

Any and all suggestions are welcome as I am at a loss, as I have never really had to fool much with these types of Ford transmissions. I read thru the A4LD trans problem section and found nothing like this mess. Please help!

 

[Viper Command]

aerostar65 Was the fluid level good? and there was no fluid on the ground?
you may want to drop the pan and see if there is any hard part damnage, (metal shavings and or chunks).

 

[Aerostar65]

I pulled the pan off this evening and things don't look good. There were no big pieces, but there was a lot of tiny flakes.. stuff like you see in metal flake paint, a fine glittery powder. The local trans guru's theory was the torque converter came apart...[ this was apparently the "front pump" noise I was hearing earlier. It was the converter slowly grinding itself to teeny pieces.] .. and flushed the fine gunk thorough out the trans. Now he'll rebuild it for 11 or 12 hundred... of course. I guess I'm going to remove it tomm. with a friend of mine and get it ready for whatever trans I can find to replace it with. It seems the window of donors is only from 88 to 91, so that puts the kibosh on an easily found part. It will be fun in the junkyard which has turned into a sea of deep mud and all vehicles sitting on the axles. Oh the joy... I'll keep you posted. M.

 

[jdt18]

I bought a 92 ranger, drove it 300 miles home, overdrive worked great till the last 20 miles. it was kicking in and out, and if i lifted completely off the throttle and got back into it hard it would slip, like it was in neutral.
Anyways, i got it home checked the fluid and it was half ways up the stick, i check it like 10 times in a row and it was constantly very high on the stick.
I drained it out to the proper level, and now i have no O.D. at all.

Could the overfill of fluid damage certain parts of the O.D.?
Which would be the parts that would be damaged?
overdrive servo? 3-4 valve, 3-4 solenoid.

I know for sure that the tc locks up, and i put the 3-4 solenoid wire on a switch and got nothing. Not sure where to go next. Any help would be appreciated. thanks

 

[jdt18]

I bought a 92 ranger, drove it 300 miles home, overdrive worked great till the last 20 miles. it was kicking in and out, and if i lifted completely off the throttle and got back into it hard it would slip, like it was in neutral.
Anyways, i got it home checked the fluid and it was half ways up the stick, i check it like 10 times in a row and it was constantly very high on the stick.
I drained it out to the proper level, and now i have no O.D. at all.

Could the overfill of fluid damage certain parts of the O.D.?
Which would be the parts that would be damaged?
overdrive servo? 3-4 valve, 3-4 solenoid.

I know for sure that the tc locks up, and i put the 3-4 solenoid wire on a switch and got nothing. Not sure where to go next. Any help would be appreciated. thanks

O.K., well i changed the oil in the truck today. And since i was under there i got to looking around. I saw fluid leaking around the overdrive servo. not sure what to replace on the servo.....? would a leaking servo cause o.d. not to work?

 

[Viper Command]

jdt18, There is two way for the servo to leak. 1. servo cover "o" ring, result in pressure drop and slipping o.d.
2. leak at the servo (blow by) and that would be a good reason why you dont have o.d.
if it was sliping for awile you will need to ajust and or replace the o.d. band.

 

[Damein]

I have an a4ld in my 92 ranger it stalls the truck when pulled into gear how do i fix this is it fixable?

Damein

 

[Viper Command]

Damein, be shure its the trans, first I would check the vacuum modulator, the hose could be disconnected its on the passenger side just above the pan, timing, vacuum leaks at the t.b. and manafold, also week fuel pump. all of thies can be the problem.

 

[Viper Command]

jdt18 just wondering when you start the truck when its cold, does is sound almost like your power sterring pump is empty but with smooth clicking or rattle???

If it is, ist your torque converter over heating the fluid and boiling and blowing it out the breather vent and squirting it towards the bell housing.

 

[jdt18]

jdt18 just wondering when you start the truck when its cold, does is sound almost like your power sterring pump is empty but with smooth clicking or rattle???

If it is, ist your torque converter over heating the fluid and boiling and blowing it out the breather vent and squirting it towards the bell housing.

It always sounds like the power steering pump is whining! Cause it is a little bit.
I have no clicking and rattling, i have a fluid leak at the block and bell housing. I just thought it was oil(rear main). I'll have to take a better look.
Pretty sure the fluid is not boiling, my cooler works great!

The trans overall works great, shifts great! Way better since i adjusted the bands. There's just no 3-4 shift.