1985 ford bronco 2 stalls when put in gear

[85FordBronco2]

Hello, I’ve been reading through old posts about similar problems & I appreciate the help.

I have a 1985 ford bronco 2, 2.8 automatic transmission. Truck was running great up until one day it started stalling when put in gear.

Truck will start and idle fine but once shifted into forward or reverse It will stall and die.

Attempts to fix:

• replaced torque converter
• replaced torque solenoid valve
• went through all vacuum lines & verified against diagram under hood
• cleaned valve body and filter under the pan

Truck is still doing the same things after all of this. Any help or info on the next steps to resolve the issue will be helpful.

thank you!

 

[RonD]

Welcome to TRS

You don't mention setting spark timing or adjusting idle

So you assumed torque converter was locked up, did the vehicle lurch forward or back when put into gear?

 

[85FordBronco2]

Thank you for the reply.

yes, the truck will lunge forward when put into gear. I can rev the engine up and drop into gear and it will move a few feet at the time.

I assumed torque converter from reading similar problems online & discussing with a local mechanic. But the torque converter is replaced & truck is still doing the same thing.
I have been back to talk with mechanic & he now says it’s the transmission but I am not so sure of that.

thank you

 

[Uncle Gump]

This one should have an idle control motor.

I'm sure it is active with A/C on... probably active out of park or neutral.

I don't see TCC solenoid... I'm also not positive it doesn't have one.

I know I've seen this symptom before... just can't remember the fix I did.

 

[RonD]

1985 should have 1st year A4LD automatic

It will have a 2 wire plug in just in front of the shifter for the TCC(torque converter control) solenoid
Unplug this connection
See if problem goes away
This is a Ground control solenoid, it gets 12volt with key on, the computer grounds the other wire to Lock Torque converter, once above 30MPH or so
If the control wire is shorted to ground or computer is grounding it, then you will have that symptom, always locked

If you unplug the 2 wire connector that will take shorted wire and computer issue off the table as the cause, unless its now unlocked, then one of those issues is the problem

If it still does it then yes transmission issue, i.e. the TCC solenoid valve is stuck open

 

[Uncle Gump]

Lol... I was thinking it should have. Now we know.

Interesting... after RonD post... I looked again. Not in the schematic... and they mention it but blanks for making the publication.

Even having the EVTM doesn't always help.

 

[85FordBronco2]

Thank you. I will try to find and unplug this connection & see what the result is.

I appreciate it

 

[Uncle Gump]

They have it drawn out for the 2.3... not the 2.8. Gets key on power... goes active with a command from the ECM.

 

[85FordBronco2]

Is the TCC solenoid valve the same as the solenoid that is located under the pan of the valve body?

we replaced this solenoid when replacing the torque converter but the part that came from auto zone was not exactly like the solenoid that we pulled out originally. I think I can order the exact one from O Reillys.

the original one that I pulled out was definitely stuck.

 

[Uncle Gump]

I believe it's the only solenoid.

Test it...

 

[RonD]

The TCC solenoid MOVES the valve that locks and unlocks the torque converter but the valve itself is inside the Valve body, if the valve was stuck then putting on a new solenoid wouldn't help

Valves in the valve body are spring loaded
A solenoid is just a short electric piston that is in when off and pushed out when on
The spring holds the valve "closed" when a solenoid is off
When solenoid is on it pushes the valve in against spring pressure, rerouting fluid flow inside valve body
When off spring pushes valve "closed" again, rerouting fluid flow

 

[AndyB.]

I’ve never worked on an automatic transmission.

Does the original solenoid look like this?

NEW - OEMford E7SZ-7F037-A Automatic Transmission Control Solenoid 1987-89 A4LD | eBay

All our parts are (NEW OTHER) unless otherwise specified. They may have been in storage anywhere from 1-30 years. Rubber parts, gaskets, hardware may need to be replaced and may not be useable. There may be minor corrosion, scuffs, torn or missing boxes, scratches from storage, etc., none of...

www.ebay.com

 

[85FordBronco2]

My bad, I may have interchanged the terms by accident. Let me clarify:

all of the valves under the valve body were free. The original solenoid that we pulled out and replaced was stuck. We replaced with the part from auto zone but they looked different from one another. I will unplug that solenoid & see what the result is.

a bad ground wire is very likely, like you mentioned.

 

[85FordBronco2]

I’ve never worked on an automatic transmission.

Does the original solenoid look like this?

NEW - OEMford E7SZ-7F037-A Automatic Transmission Control Solenoid 1987-89 A4LD | eBay

All our parts are (NEW OTHER) unless otherwise specified. They may have been in storage anywhere from 1-30 years. Rubber parts, gaskets, hardware may need to be replaced and may not be useable. There may be minor corrosion, scuffs, torn or missing boxes, scratches from storage, etc., none of...

www.ebay.com

Yes that is the what the original one looked like. The one that I put back in from Auto Zone looks a bit different.

 

[85FordBronco2]