94 awd 2 problems

recently i began noticing my dash gauge reading lower than the usual 14 volts when my headlights were on. this was intermittent and seemed to be gone. more recently i noticed a drop to 12 volts or less anytime a load was placed on the system such as power window, wipers, cigar lighter. last night it seemed it was even affecting the transmission shift. this a.m. all seemed normal again. i put a voltmeter on the battery , it read 12.6 engine off, 14.5 volts with the engine running. turning on the wipers headlights, and cigar lighter dropped the reading to 14.2 volts , but again this a.m. everything including transmission seemed normal. battery is one year old , alternator about 3-4 years. am i dealing with a loose or corroded connection or can an alt/ voltage regulator act up intermittently? also for some time i have noticed the volt gauge twitch with the turn signal but i dismissed it as everything else was fine. the car starts great -20 degrees 1 week ago and it started the instant i turned the key

second problem- last friday i lost the right front wheel when the studs sheared off. i had driven a mille in town and was turning into driveway when it happened. AGAIN- the first time was about 6-7 years ago on the highway doing 65, which made for an exciting ride to the shoulder. since i dont use an air wrench and tighten the wheel with a lug wrench, it isn't because they were overtorqued. any reason this could happen to the same wheel- TWICE?

Electrical could be any number of things. Poor or loose connection, positive or negative. Alternators can be intermittent. Might want to have the battery load tested, there might be a weak or intermittant short in a cell.

As for the sheared studs...only one thing causes that to happen...under torqued. They need to be torqued to 100 foot pounds.

recently i have developed transmission troubles on my 94 safari it started slipping badly in reverse, and more recently it won't shift fom 1st to 2nd without letting up on the throttle. i have avoided the highway since this started, but i remember feeling like it wasn't going into od when i last did drive on the highway. around the holidays i noticed my fluid was low when it started shifting erratically. rather than top it off i changed over to mobil one as an upgrade. at the time the old fluid looked dark and in need of replacement. for a month or so the tranny worked great, then started losing reverse. the fluid level is good, but the fluid is getting dark again. from what i have been reading, the reaction sun shell is a common failure withe the 4l60e tranny. i'm guessing thats probably my problem, but i certainly dont want to invest in a rebuilt for a van with 168k milles on it even though the engine runs as well as the day i bought it. my first thought was to swap out a used tranny which i can get for about 300 bucks, but i'm thinking i'm replacing one problem for another one waiting to happen. more recently i've been toying with the idea of doing the repairs myself if my diagnosis is correct. there are excellent instructions on a different thread on this forum, and my atsg repair manual arrives tomorrow so i can further read and decide if it's feasible. i'm thinking of taking to a local tranny shop for evaluation to see if its something minor like a stuck valve or piston in the valve body, or a bad solenoid, etc. for about the same money as a used tranny, i could upgrade to hd clutch plates, servo, band, beast sun shell, etc. i use the vehicle for towing my fishing boat, ice fishing including driving through deep snow ( i run allterrain tires) for which this vehicle has been great, but i'm afraid this has taken its toll on the tranny. the upgrades i'm considering would be good for this usage. my wife is flying to her mother's in about a week, leaving her vehicle for me to use while i tear down my tranny. should i take the van in for evaluation to see if it's a minor problem and spend the money, or is that an unlikely circumstance, and replacement/rebuild is my only option.

update on initial post. checked for codes-none. driving it i've decided that it is upshifting fom first to third- only upshifts once to drive range. starting from a stop in 2nd feels like its really first gear. took it out on highway for a few miles, tried downshifting fom od to d3, no change in engine rpm, which definately feels high than fourth should anyway. after reviewing atsg manual, i've decided to rebuild tranny, since its probably due irregardless. working on my car is a hobby anyway, and i'm looking forward to the challenge. what the heck, ice fishing is winding down, my boat is buried in 1-2 feet of snow in the yard. no nfl, not a big basketball fan, what else is there to do? there is agood video on youtube regarding a rebuild of a 700r4 put out by gmen performance transmission shop. you can also rent a 2 hour dvd which looks excellent go to smartflix, it rents for 10 bucks for a week. ordered high energy band, corvette servo, raybestos z pack, beast sunshell, all new frictions and steels, thrust washers and bearings, seals, front sprag, etc. will replace torque converter, and any other worn parts i find when i open up the tranny and see what i need. i've made a makeshift transmission jack out of two scissors jacks mounted on a platform with spare lawn mower wheels. this setup worked well when i replaced my son's clutch. the separate jacks allow you to adjust the angle to ease reinstallation alignment. i'll let you know how it goes. wish me luck.

thanx master. i was told in past wheel studs broke from OVERtorque. under makes more sense. in regards to electrical problem, hasn't happened since transmission started crapping out. mentioned voltage drop was accompanied by tranny shift acting up. i now think tranny was affecting voltage not vice versa. now that i lost 2, 4 and 90% reverse. voltage has been perfect. read newer post re 94 awd tranny
ps: wheel stud are torqued up now!

Over torque will break them too, but that usually happens while tightening them ;)