92 Transmission Swap

HELLO,
I know this will sound as though I've copy and pasted my explorer transmission troubles from any of the dozens of other threads on this subject but risking charges of plagiarism, here goes....

My transmission in a 92 4x4 Ford Explorer with 160,000 miles on it had been working fine when last March it blew a seal and leaked most of the fluid as I pulled into a parking lot. When I got out of the truck I saw a trail of fluid leading through the parking lot to my truck.

My mechanic towed the truck and after checking it out said I could either have it rebuilt for $1,300 - $1,400 or he could replace the pump, torch converter, and seal for about $700. Of course after reading the stories on this sight I now know I should have opted for a rebuild but I went for the $700 repair because it had been working fine up until the leak, I was short on cash and didn't want to sink $1,400 into a truck worth not much more then that. He suggested that the problem could have happened because the U joints where so badly rusted that there was a bad vibration in the drive shaft that may have transferred into the trans wearing out the seal and pump. I had him replace them along with the rear axle bearings.

After the repairs everything ran fine and the transmission was great except I noticed it was reving a bit high when cold at slow speeds. After a mile or so it ran perfect. I asked the mechanic if there where adjustments he needed to make and he said no and suggested an additive.

About a month later my first sign of new troubles - It gradually began to take longer and longer to engage into reverse and then began to vibrate or jerk as I backed out of the driveway. Eventually I lost both reverse and drive as they began slipping more and more. I drove it like this for a couple months by only idling in reverse - never up hill of course - and by starting out in 2nd, then after getting to 4,000-5,000 rpms shifting into O/D, letting up on the gas and waiting till I felt it shift into O/D before giving it just enough gas to maintain speed, then slightly excellerating. I drove it like this until the Tranny died. I even replaced the fluid and eeked out a couple more weeks.

I returned to my mechanic when these new problems began and his rebuild price went up to $1,600. OUCH!

I've replaced manual trannys and clutches before but had no experiance with Automatics until now. I can't afford to rebuild or buy a reman so I went to a friends junk yard and found an a4ld out of a 94 4x4 explorer. I've read there where major changes made to these trannys in 93 and the new one has Oct. of 93 stamped on it. Hopefully this means it will be a bit more reliable...... Please tell me I'm right!

Anyway, I've removed my old trans and I'm ready to install the new trans but need some advise. First when I removed the old trans I didn't unbolt the torch converter from the fly wheel. It's still attached to the flywheel. Was this a mistake? I now read that I should have unbolted the converter first and removed it with the trans as one piece. I also read that upon reinstallation the placement of the converter into the transmission is fairly critical. Can I reinstall the new trans without removing the converter from the flywheel? the converter only has about 4 months and maybe 5,000 miles on it. Also, should I do anything to the new trans from the junk yard? I've completely cleaned it, drained the old fluid and replaced the filter and pan gasket. I have a new main seal. I'm not sure I should mess with the seal though. The old one looks perfect and I'm thinking I should leave it alone. Maybe I'm way off on that one? The new trans looks great and has no leaks. The fluid was in good condition and there was no metal or garbage in the pan, so I'm thinking it was in good condition when it was wrecked. I thought about taking the new pump that my FORMER mechanic intalled in the old trans and installing it into the new trans, or purchasing a new one but I'm worried about getting into removing the bell housing and such. I'm just not sure how far a back yard mechanic with limited tools should go into an automatic trans. what do you think? Are there any O rings or seals that I should replace - ones that don't require alot of disasembly? I did buy a manual on the a4ld and I'm willing to replace anything that isn't to terribly expensive as long as it doesn't require going to deep. After reading the manual stem to stern I'm a bit intimidated by the idea of cramming 5 thousand parts with tolerances of a knat's a$$ into what amounts to a 5 inch cylinder.

Thank's in advance for the advise!!

You must remove the converter off the engine or you will "crash" the front pump. Which means no go. The converter must be installed (all the way)into tranny prior to installing into vehicle.

If the old trans burnt to a crisp ( I'm sure it was) do not use the converter from it. It will contaminate the used tranny. Then the valves will stick and have late upshifts cold and start the ball rolling down hill all over again. Do not pull the front off of the used tranny. Its probably better than the one the other guy pieced together. Just change the filter, make sure the lock-up teflon seal on the larger of the two shafts sticking out front is in place. And ship it.

If you can, it would be good to clean the cooler and lines also. Lubegard makes a cleaner to flush the cooler and lines. The fluid in the cooler can also contaminate the new tranny also. This tranny hates particles floating around in it.

Good luck

Thanks!

I have two cans of Dr. Tranny LubeGard Kooler Kleen that I intend to use before reinstalling tranny.

Should I take the converter I have and have it tested before purchasing a new one? If so who would you suggest? If it's toast, anyone have any suggestions on what converter I should buy and how much it should cost?

One more question. The tranny I got came with the Transfer Case. Mine worked fine but I'm wondering If I should use the transfer case from the newer explorer or stick with the one I know still works fine? Where any changes made between 92 and 94 that improved the transfer case? They appear identicle.

Thanks!

The problem with the converter is the old fluid has contaminated the friction clutch inside of it. Long ago (before converter clutch days) you could flush a converter with solvent or brake clean. Now its not good to do this because the solvents will short live the clutch inside the converter. Any tranny shop can get you a converter. The price depends on quality of converter. Transfer case is the same other than some electric shift, some manual. And that is very obvious.

the newer trannys aint any stronger ive went trough 4 already in my 94 4x4 limited the 91-94 trannys suck im go with a 5 speed conversion it will last alot longer

Short of replacing the trans in my '92 Exploder, is there a bottle of somthing I can pour in for short term fix? My symptons are similar to his, but not as advanced.