1995 Windstar AX4S Transmission Rebuild

[mhillmst]

Good day all,
First time ever on a forum. First time rebuild. I have a ATSG AXOD-E/AX4S manual w/video to help. The procedures are to measure the height with the rear #9 needle bearing and #8 selective thrust washer first, remove both #9 & #8 after measurement then install #5 thrust washer, take measurement then determine difference between the two measurements. The spocket support height needs to be not less than .000 and not more than .033. The old height is .076 with the original parts. With the new #8 and #5 washers the height is .048, still need to drop .015+. The two washers I replaced, #8 was the max .085-.089 and #5 was the minimum at .086-.090, are the min/max thickness on the chart. I did replace some hard parts and redone all clutch packs. I taken out the clutch packs a few times to check the height, all repeat the dimensions. Would anybody have a solution as to what I need to fix the height difference. Thank you.

[wiswind]

Welcome to the forum!
I will tell you right away that I have never rebuilt a tranny, so I'm of no help on that.
I WILL tell you, in case you don't know already, that 1995 was the worst year for the transmission.
There were upgrades over the years, some that you can incorporate into your '95.
I had a '96, and when it went south I had a genuine FORD remanufactured unit that had all the upgrades done to it.
The '95 had some soft parts that broke off......if you can upgrade those, you would be further ahead.

ALSO....special paragraph on this because it is SUPER important!!!!
When a transmission goes south......it can put out a lot of junk....that gets trapped inside the transmission fluid cooler that is inside the radiator.
THIS can restrict the flow of transmission fluid and cause your repaired tranny to overheat and fail.
SO...a flow test is in order.
What I recommend is that you run the hose from the fluid OUT of the transmission into a container and measure how fast a container (like 1 quart) fills up.
THEN, connect that line and run the hose that has the fluid flowing OUT of the COOLER into a container and the time to fill a quart should be very close to the same time.
If there is a restriction......you end up having to replace the WHOLE radiator (not so bad if you can remove and tear down a transmission).
FORD found that they were having a lot of replacement transmissions failing due to restricted coolers, so this IS IMPORTANT!!!!
One of those 5 quart Mobil 1 containers that one can get at Walmart has 1 quart markings on it...with a window that you can see the fluid level in it.

Another thing that I would advise is that you add a Magnefine inline filter to the hose that flows fluid INTO the transmission from the cooler.
THIS will catch any junk that comes loose from the cooler.
They recommend this location if there is more than about 5K miles on the vehicle.
The magnefine filters down to a nominal particle size of 30 to 35 microns....which is 2 times smaller than the BEST of the in-pan filters.
Also, this filter has a big magnet that I found catches a LOT more ferous material than the in-pan magnets.....due to the fact that all the fluid is flowing over it.
The Magnefine has a bypass in the unlikely case that the filter media becomes clogged.
My pictures show the Magnefine installed on my '96 Windstar on the transmission and the power steering.
The hose sizes are...... 5/16" for the transmission and 3/8" for the power steering.

Also, I installed a auxillary transmission fluid cooler inline with the in-radiator cooler.
The fluid flowed from the transmission, through the in-radiator cooler, through the auxillary cooler and back into the transmission.
I installed a Derale cooler on the Windstar.
I now like the True-cool that I have on my Sienna.
I bought the true-cool through the bulkpart website (they also sell a lot of tranny parts).

Another thing that I recommend is that you verify proper radiator fan operation.
You can do this in the driveway.....
Set your climate controls to have the A/C ON. and have the engine running.
Raise the hood....the radiator fans should be running and STAY running (if the outside temperature is above 40 degrees F).
If they are NOT constantly running....the most likely issue is the low speed radiator fan droppping resistor.
The low speed radiator fan dropping resistor is mounted on the metal bumper.....below the passenger side headlight.
It is common for this part to break.
Not an expensive part and not hard to change.....you tranny will thank you!!!!!

For transmission fluid.....if you want super good......I used Redline D4 that I bought by the case online.
The total system capacity is 12.25 quarts.

You need a fluid that meets the Mercon V specification.
FORD updated the statement about NOT using Mercon V to say to use it in all years of Windstar.
This is different than your manual states.
If money is an issue, a synthetic fluid is best....but make SURE that it states that it meets the Mercon V specification.

The transmission fluid change interval is at LEAST every 30K miles (21K miles for "severe service").
I used to just do it once a year, but that was at around 20K at the time.....
I did it by the cooler line method that is shown step-by-step in my pictures.
Keeping fresh fluid is CRITICAL in keeping a tranny happy....and your wallet less empty.


T

[mhillmst]

T,
Thanks for the imput. I know what you mean about the tranny for those years, I did alot of reading prior to deciding to commit. My tranny had been upgraded at AAMCO from previous owner in 2005. I did look at the inline cooler w/filter, good idea. I have new radiator. I will change the fan resistor since it's most likely original part. Thanks

MMH