A4LD mods (and 4R44/4R55/5R55)

[lil_Blue_Ford]

So I wasn’t exactly sure what to title this, but here’s where I’m at. I was surfing around on the web, think it was on a rainy day, and only like a month ago. Came across a thread or write up somewhere about the A4LD and it’s descendents the 4r44/4R55/5R55. Suggested the usual stuff, bigger trans cooler, regular flush/filter/fill, etc. Then it said something about how the shifts were sloppy which causes excessive heat and it can be easily fixed with a shift kit that can be installed without pulling the trans and a couple other tweaks that would improve performance and make it run cooler and explained the reasoning and all. Well, I read the whole thing, then left it as an open tab to refer back to. Well, I lost the tabs before I got back to it, my browsing history isn’t really a help, and my searches have come up dry.

A search for the shift kits has brought me two kits by Superior and one by Transgo. No idea which one was used or which one would be better. Wanted to try throwing one in the 92 and see what it got me, but no idea which to go with and why. My knowledge of the workings of these transmissions is rudimentary at best.

So I’m hoping someone would have some helpful information to share or be able to point me back to where I found it. I have scoured TRS in the past week and unless I’m blind or something, it’s not here. In which case I would like it here for others to benefit from as well.

 

[Dirtman]

I did the Trans-go kit with a few odds and ends from Sonnax in my 5R. (It's the same kit for the A4LD).

If you've never cracked open the valve body on a transmission it's a tad overwhelming. There are tons of tiny little balls, and springs, and clips, and part of the process involves drilling tiny holes through the valve body fluid passages in very precise places.

I'd recommend getting an A4LD ATSG (Automatic transmission service guide) before even spending the money. See what you're in for before making a decision on whether you want to open that can of worms. It's a good upgrade but not for the faint of heart.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I did the Trans-go kit with a few odds and ends from Sonnax in my 5R. (It's the same kit for the A4LD).

If you've never cracked open the valve body on a transmission it's a tad overwhelming. There are tons of tiny little balls, and springs, and clips, and part of the process involves drilling tiny holes through the valve body fluid passages in very precise places.

I'd recommend getting an A4LD ATSG (Automatic transmission service guide) before even spending the money. See what you're in for before making a decision on whether you want to open that can of worms. It's a good upgrade but not for the faint of heart.

Well, I have been known to go after stuff like that with a vengeance… it seems intimidating but I’m up to the task. Just need to decide if it’s worth the effort, and if I want to make what’s supposed to be my DD until the green one is back up my test dummy.

 

[Dirtman]

It definitely makes a difference. The kit usually comes with several options on what to do as far as how much firmer you want the shifts. In my case the transmission has "adaptive shift control" which modulates the pressure and somewhat negates the progress you made in that sense. (The A4LD doesn't have this stupid feature so you will feel the full effect of the kit). But the kit also does some stuff that you may not notice but is designed to "fix" some issues that will make the transmission last longer.

I say go for it but do everything extremely carefully. Spread out a good clean work bench before you even take the valve body off. Mark all the bolts as you take them out, there are alot of bolts on the valve body and they are not all the same length so it helps to make a cardboard template and put the bolts in the template as you take them off so you know how they go back together. Have several small magnetic trays handy and take pictures as you disassemble on the bench. Follow the directions to the letter.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

It definitely makes a difference. The kit usually comes with several options on what to do as far as how much firmer you want the shifts. In my case the transmission has "adaptive shift control" which modulates the pressure and somewhat negates the progress you made in that sense. (The A4LD doesn't have this stupid feature so you will feel the full effect of the kit). But the kit also does some stuff that you may not notice but is designed to "fix" some issues that will make the transmission last longer.

I say go for it but do everything extremely carefully. Spread out a good clean work bench before you even take the valve body off. Mark all the bolts as you take them out, there are alot of bolts on the valve body and they are not all the same length so it helps to make a cardboard template and put the bolts in the template as you take them off so you know how they go back together. Have several small magnetic trays handy and take pictures as you disassemble on the bench. Follow the directions to the letter.

Sounds worthy. I rebuilt a couple plow pumps in the gravel driveway awhile back just laying parts out on shop rags, so I feel like this may not be much different, just more valves to deal with and maybe less o rings.

Any recommendations on what kit? It looked to me like the Superior had more parts than Transgo, but there were two Superior kits that one had what they called a boost valve and one didn’t. Not sure how important hat may be or if it’s worth the like $30 extra for that

 

[ford4wd08]

Get the Transgo kit, support is VERY good, just an email away. I put it in my '85 A4LD, had some issues and they were able to diagnose my issue (something not related to the kit) from just an email description.

The diagram and instructions are worth more than the ~$20 you pay for the kit. It is a little overwhelming dropping a valve body the first time, but it isn't bad if you take your time.

Make sure you have a clean table where you can work on everything in front of you.

Check out explorerforum.com for Auto trans stuff. Most of the Explorer guys were stuck with the A4LD or later auto trans as they're only option. They learned to live with it and make it better.

 

[Dirtman]

I got the transgo. Never used the superior kit so can't say if one is better than the other.

I did buy some extra parts from Sonnax like o-ringed end plugs, and some other things I forget. They are little parts that are suppose to fix some known issues. I'll have to look in my records and see exactly what extras I got and if they are even relevant to the A4LD.

For my work table I got one of those big trays for the bottom of a rabbit cage so nothing rolled away....

Ignore the royal purple ATF, I only used that crap to lube parts before assembly so I didn't waste any precious motorcraft Mercon v.

 

[Dirtman]

Oh and I do not know if this is even available for the A4LD but on the later 4R/5R trans you can get a one piece bonded valve body separator plate instead of a plate with 2 paper gaskets. These are much stronger and seal way better against internal leaks or catastrophic blowouts.

Something to look into but again, no idea if they exist for the A4LD.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

So the difference I’m seeing between Transgo and Superior is the Transgo pretty much just has springs for the A4LD, the Superior has a couple new valves in addition to the springs. Wondering if maybe the valves you get equate to the extra parts @Dirtman got

 

[Dirtman]

Well, the parts included are not the entirety of what you do. You don't just change out some springs. On mine there were "tools" to change a pressure relief hole to a smaller size, you move some of the check balls around, drill a hole through part of a fluid passage, change a little screen thingy. There's a whole bunch of stuff to do even without actually putting in new parts.

I know the one thing I changed was the end plugs on the side of the valve body. From the factory they are just kinda loose. So the upgraded plugs are o-ringed to prevent any pressure getting passed them.

This is the end plug kit I used

4R44E 5R55E transmission Sonnax 37947-13K 4R44E 5R55E transmission

Sonnax 37947-13K 4R44E 5R55E Valve end plug kit, Reduces delayed forward engagement, Order Sonnax replacement transmission parts, pump parts, valve body parts, valves, sure cure kits, reamers and tools,

www.transmissionpartsusa.com

Here's the boost valve

4R44E 5R55E transmission parts,4R44E 5R55E boost valve,Sonnax 37947-01K

Sonnax 37947-01K, 4R44E 5R55E boost valve & sleeve kit,Reduces delayed reverse engagement, Sonnax® transmission parts, pump parts, valve body parts, valves, servos

www.transmissionpartsusa.com

And this was the kit I used

A4LD Transmission Band

4R44E 4R55E 5R55E transmission valve body kits 4R44E 4R55E 5R55E transmission parts 4R44E 4R55E 5R55E shift kit

www.transmissionpartsusa.com

I also replaced the reverse servo o rings and gasket on the reverse servo cover while I was in there.

A4LD 4R44E 4R55E 5R55E Transmission reverse servo cover gasket A4LD 4R44E 4R55E 5R55E

A4LD 4R44E 4R55E 5R55E transmission rebuild kit with gaskets A4LD 4R44E 4R55E 5R55E transmission gasket A4LD 4R44E 4R55E 5R55E transmission reverse servo cover gasket

www.transmissionpartsusa.com

A4LD 4R44E 5R55E Transmission reverse servo piston D ring kit,TransTec O ring kit

A4LD 4R44E 5R55E transmission reverse servo piston O ring kit A4LD 4R44E 5R55E transmission servo piston A4LD 4R44E 5R55E transmission servo cover o ring

www.transmissionpartsusa.com

Get a bottle of lubeguard red while your at it. I don't believe in most additives of any kind but lubeguard red works and is actually recommended by Ford...

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Kinda surprised @RonD , @adsm08 and the like haven’t had anything to say yet. Almost expected @Jim Oaks to chime in too because I bought a Bronco II years ago that the owner said Jim helped him with modding the A4LD in it.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Well, the parts included are not the entirety of what you do. You don't just change out some springs. On mine there were "tools" to change a pressure relief hole to a smaller size, you move some of the check balls around, drill a hole through part of a fluid passage, change a little screen thingy. There's a whole bunch of stuff to do even without actually putting in new parts.

I know the one thing I changed was the end plugs on the side of the valve body. From the factory they are just kinda loose. So the upgraded plugs are o-ringed to prevent any pressure getting passed them.

This is the end plug kit I used

4R44E 5R55E transmission Sonnax 37947-13K 4R44E 5R55E transmission

Sonnax 37947-13K 4R44E 5R55E Valve end plug kit, Reduces delayed forward engagement, Order Sonnax replacement transmission parts, pump parts, valve body parts, valves, sure cure kits, reamers and tools,

www.transmissionpartsusa.com

Here's the boost valve

4R44E 5R55E transmission parts,4R44E 5R55E boost valve,Sonnax 37947-01K

Sonnax 37947-01K, 4R44E 5R55E boost valve & sleeve kit,Reduces delayed reverse engagement, Sonnax® transmission parts, pump parts, valve body parts, valves, servos

www.transmissionpartsusa.com

And this was the kit I used

A4LD Transmission Band

4R44E 4R55E 5R55E transmission valve body kits 4R44E 4R55E 5R55E transmission parts 4R44E 4R55E 5R55E shift kit

www.transmissionpartsusa.com

I also replaced the reverse servo o rings and gasket on the reverse servo cover while I was in there.

A4LD 4R44E 4R55E 5R55E Transmission reverse servo cover gasket A4LD 4R44E 4R55E 5R55E

A4LD 4R44E 4R55E 5R55E transmission rebuild kit with gaskets A4LD 4R44E 4R55E 5R55E transmission gasket A4LD 4R44E 4R55E 5R55E transmission reverse servo cover gasket

www.transmissionpartsusa.com

A4LD 4R44E 5R55E Transmission reverse servo piston D ring kit,TransTec O ring kit

A4LD 4R44E 5R55E transmission reverse servo piston O ring kit A4LD 4R44E 5R55E transmission servo piston A4LD 4R44E 5R55E transmission servo cover o ring

www.transmissionpartsusa.com

Get a bottle of lubeguard red while your at it. I don't believe in most additives of any kind but lubeguard red works and is actually recommended by Ford...

Ok, so the boost valve is part of it too then. Sounds like a pretty good overhaul of the valve body, I take it there was a pretty noticeable improvement in function? Sounds like it should make it work entirely different than the typical sloppy A4LD

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Officially bit the bullet. Roughly $250 in parts later… we shall find out if it was worth it soon enough

 

[Dirtman]

Officially bit the bullet. Roughly $250 in parts later… we shall find out if it was worth it soon enough

Take pics of every single step from removing the pan to reinstalling. Not just for your own sake, but you could make a good write up later...

Again, take your time, keep everything super super organized and clean.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Take pics of every single step from removing the pan to reinstalling. Not just for your own sake, but you could make a good write up later...

Again, take your time, keep everything super super organized and clean.

I’ll see what I can do, was thinking of trying to do a video but not sure how well that will go. There’s a great write up on the Explorer forums by someone who apparently knows a lot more than me about this stuff, but I like a good challenge so…

I originally had figured it would just be buying a $50 shift kit, slap the new parts in and run. I’m not getting into a total rebuild of the valve body, but close. Was tempted to buy new solenoids, but the trans place I ordered from wants $180 for the pair. I’ll pass, the trans was working. I’m into reserve funds anyway at this point.