A4LD Decision time...

So either the pump is bad or the torque converter is out. Either or, here are my options...

Fix it.

Replace it with another A4LD.

Replace it with another A/T that will fit up with the 2.9


I don't have a lot of cash, and I do everything by myself. So take that into consideration when contributing your expert opinions here. I'm not building a wheeling machine, I just want it to work like it's supposed to.

Thoughts?

Brought home my uncles 93 ranger several years ago, transmission was out in it which is why my grandfather brought it home. $2500 to have the transmission rebuilt at AAMCO. About 13,000 miles later it failed again. Those A4LD's aren't the greatest I'd find a different transmission rather than mess around with these piles of garbage.

After researching compatible transmissions, I think I'm stuck with the A4LD. I don't have the tech knowledge or the means to do a trans conversion at this time, I also have absolutely NO help.

I thought about converting to a manual, but again, I'm working on extremely limited funds.

Well...thanks for your input Wildbill, I really appreciate it.

wildbill23c said:

Brought home my uncles 93 ranger several years ago, transmission was out in it which is why my grandfather brought it home. $2500 to have the transmission rebuilt at AAMCO. About 13,000 miles later it failed again. Those A4LD's aren't the greatest I'd find a different transmission rather than mess around with these piles of garbage.

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I would blame that on a crappy rebuild by Aamco, not the A4LD. I have 182k on my A4LD and it still shifts perfectly.

I don't think it was a crappy rebuild the A4LD's have been known to be garbage I sure wouldn't waste my time or money on working on one.

Lasting only 13k means whoever built it didn't know what they were doing. Explain the thousands of factory A4LDs that went well over 100k miles with no problems. 13k is not anywhere close to the expected lifespan of that transmission, crappy reputation or not.

Speaking of crappy reputations, I've heard countless horror stories about Aamco. Coincedence?

^^Well when you have a very limited income the last you are concerned about is wasting $2500 on a rebuild that didn't make it past 13k. You need to realize that when you spend that much money on something, and it fails soon after, it don't matter if it was a bad rebuild or what, it leaves you a bad taste for that particular part and I will never own anything else with that transmission in it.

I'm not even sure what really failed all I remember when mine failed was I had backed into my driveway and unloaded a couple bags of feed, went to pull back out of where I had parked put the truck in drive and heard a bang and wouldn't move forward anymore, still had reverse but barely. Same exact problem as before.

If you know how to do a rebuild maybe you can do it yourself, but I don't have the tools, the patience and knowledge to attempt it so I sold the truck as is right after that.

Lost Bushman said:

So either the pump is bad or the torque converter is out. Either or, here are my options...

Fix it.

Replace it with another A4LD.

Replace it with another A/T that will fit up with the 2.9


I don't have a lot of cash, and I do everything by myself. So take that into consideration when contributing your expert opinions here. I'm not building a wheeling machine, I just want it to work like it's supposed to.

Thoughts?

Click to expand...

Get one out of an explorer, they were built a bit stronger to handle the added power of the 4.0, after you get one, throw a big aftermarket tranny cooler on it. The biggest threat to an auto transmission is heat and the a4ld is no different. If treated nice with a good cooler and regular fluid changes they can last.

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

lost bushman said:

so either the pump is bad or the torque converter is out. Either or, here are my options...

Fix it.

Replace it with another a4ld.

Replace it with another a/t that will fit up with the 2.9


i don't have a lot of cash, and i do everything by myself. So take that into consideration when contributing your expert opinions here. I'm not building a wheeling machine, i just want it to work like it's supposed to.

Thoughts?

Click to expand...

m50d....

wildbill23c said:

You need to realize that when you spend that much money on something, and it fails soon after, it don't matter if it was a bad rebuild or what, it leaves you a bad taste for that particular part

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Personally, that wouldn't leave a bad taste for me. The shop that messed it up WOULD leave a bad taste, but not the part. My 8.8 rear axle failed at only 48k miles. I don't blame the part and say all 8.8s are crap; I blame the shop that over-torqued my pinion nut a few years prior, which I'm sure is what eventually caused its failure.

Twister said:

Get one out of an explorer, they were built a bit stronger to handle the added power of the 4.0, after you get one, throw a big aftermarket tranny cooler on it. The biggest threat to an auto transmission is heat and the a4ld is no different. If treated nice with a good cooler and regular fluid changes they can last.

Click to expand...

Will it bolt up without modifications? What year Explorers are we taking about here? I might do a 4.0 swap when I get back home to AZ and have help and better tools and equipment at my disposal, so a 4.0 compatible trans would be beneficial later.

Lost Bushman said:

Will it bolt up without modifications? What year Explorers are we taking about here? I might do a 4.0 swap when I get back home to AZ and have help and better tools and equipment at my disposal, so a 4.0 compatible trans would be beneficial later.

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I think you may need a 4.0 flexplate and starter, but I'm not 100% sure. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will chime in.

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TrexMex said:

m50d....

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Hit the junkyard for pedals, resavoir, transmission, flywheel/clutch, and driveshaft. Probably what, $500 in parts? A manual won't break unless you abuse it.

simpler=better said:

Hit the junkyard for pedals, resavoir, transmission, flywheel/clutch, and driveshaft. Probably what, $500 in parts? A manual won't break unless you abuse it.

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True. The only things holding me back from that is that I have the Eddie Bauer, so everything is automatic, (Except the hubs, which I changed out). I'd rather not have a mismatched setup.

I also destroyed my left knee, so driving a manual can be a nightmare for me. And IMPOSSIBLE when it's cold.

exbass94 said:

Personally, that wouldn't leave a bad taste for me. The shop that messed it up WOULD leave a bad taste, but not the part. My 8.8 rear axle failed at only 48k miles. I don't blame the part and say all 8.8s are crap; I blame the shop that over-torqued my pinion nut a few years prior, which I'm sure is what eventually caused its failure.

Click to expand...

Do you know much about the A4LD's internal workings? I'm scratching my head on it as I've read several places they are prone to certain failures and seems to be really common that its the same failure. All I know is the auto trannies are way over my knowledge base as far as trying to repair one, which is why I just got rid of the truck, the transmission cost more than the truck was worth LOL.

Unfortunately by the time the 2nd transmission failed it was out of warranty of course or I would have just taken the truck back and demanded a different transmission or my money back and went somewhere else, but can't think of any other place other than AAMCO.

Thanks for your insight. Are all A4LD's prone to failures or just certain model years?