The_Epsicle
New Member
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2015
- Messages
- 387
- Reaction score
- 2
- Points
- 0
- Location
- State of Boredom (Nebraska)
- Vehicle Year
- 1994
- Make / Model
- Ford
- Engine Size
- 4.0 Pushrod V6
- Transmission
- Automatic
- My credo
- All hail the mighty ziptie!
I drive a 1994 4.0 Extended Cab Ranger, auto 4x4, auto tranny, Dana 35 front Ranger 8.8 rear, 3.73 gears, about 220,000 miles on the vehicle. The transmission was "professionally rebuilt" 200 miles before I bought it (there was a rebuild tag, not sure why it was rebuilt or how much of it was rebuilt) and now I've put about 15,000 miles on the truck.
My problem first appeared a few weeks ago as I was driving my girlfriend home. I felt a surge every now and then, the next time it happened I glanced at my tach to see my RPM jump up to almost 3K (originally somewhere in the realm of 2.2K) at 70mph, bear in mind the needle on my tack may be slightly off. There wasn't much I could do so I just drove her home. The next time I drove, which was a few days later, it did it again but more violently. I noticed that when I was off the accelerator (and therefore decelerating) my transmission seem to stay steady in 4th gear, but as soon as I touched my accelerator it shifted to 3rd. I moved the shifter into 3rd gear and just drove the rest of the way home like that with no problems (well, besides a leaky heater core...). When I got home I checked my fluid level and it hadn't changed since I left (EDIT: The fluid level has never changed, the transmission is sealed up pretty tight as far as I can tell.) , the truck has been sitting ever since.
I haven't had much time to think about this, and transmissions are not my area of expertise (My only experience is helping my brother replace seals on his Pontiac) After doing some research (a few google searches and a look at my chilton manual) I have a few ideas, in no particular order:
1. It could be my torque converter not locking up properly. Maybe something to do with my speed sensor?
2. It could be my kickdown cable is out of adjustment. (I don't know what this cable is.)
3. Something is wrong with 4th gear, either broken or becoming broken (please excuse my specificity)
4. Rear speedometer sensor is bad, or some other electrical issue.
I believe the problem may be related to some previous issues with the truck, both of which are still issues.
1. Cruise control failure (It seemed to only work when the tranny was cold before it died completely). (CLICK HERE)
2. Fluctuating speedo (replacing the instrument panel improved things, but the fluctuation has steadily gotten worse.) (CLICK HERE)
3. Right when I bought the truck the Accelerator cable was stretched so the throttle only open 1/8 of the way with the pedal to the floor, I put some zip ties on the cable as spacers in order to get the throttle to open all the way. Seemed to fix the problem and I've had no issues since then, but I'll leave it here anyway.
Let me know what you think. I'm about to start an engine rebuild over the summer since she's leaking oil like a sieve (a quart every 200 miles or 1 month), so anything's on the table.
EDIT: The overdrive band was out of adjustment. I bought two new band adjustment nuts and adjusted the overdrive and intermediate bands at the adjustment screws on the driver's side of the transmission. I tightened the nut to 120 in lbs and backed of two turns.
My problem first appeared a few weeks ago as I was driving my girlfriend home. I felt a surge every now and then, the next time it happened I glanced at my tach to see my RPM jump up to almost 3K (originally somewhere in the realm of 2.2K) at 70mph, bear in mind the needle on my tack may be slightly off. There wasn't much I could do so I just drove her home. The next time I drove, which was a few days later, it did it again but more violently. I noticed that when I was off the accelerator (and therefore decelerating) my transmission seem to stay steady in 4th gear, but as soon as I touched my accelerator it shifted to 3rd. I moved the shifter into 3rd gear and just drove the rest of the way home like that with no problems (well, besides a leaky heater core...). When I got home I checked my fluid level and it hadn't changed since I left (EDIT: The fluid level has never changed, the transmission is sealed up pretty tight as far as I can tell.) , the truck has been sitting ever since.
I haven't had much time to think about this, and transmissions are not my area of expertise (My only experience is helping my brother replace seals on his Pontiac) After doing some research (a few google searches and a look at my chilton manual) I have a few ideas, in no particular order:
1. It could be my torque converter not locking up properly. Maybe something to do with my speed sensor?
2. It could be my kickdown cable is out of adjustment. (I don't know what this cable is.)
3. Something is wrong with 4th gear, either broken or becoming broken (please excuse my specificity)
4. Rear speedometer sensor is bad, or some other electrical issue.
I believe the problem may be related to some previous issues with the truck, both of which are still issues.
1. Cruise control failure (It seemed to only work when the tranny was cold before it died completely). (CLICK HERE)
2. Fluctuating speedo (replacing the instrument panel improved things, but the fluctuation has steadily gotten worse.) (CLICK HERE)
3. Right when I bought the truck the Accelerator cable was stretched so the throttle only open 1/8 of the way with the pedal to the floor, I put some zip ties on the cable as spacers in order to get the throttle to open all the way. Seemed to fix the problem and I've had no issues since then, but I'll leave it here anyway.
Let me know what you think. I'm about to start an engine rebuild over the summer since she's leaking oil like a sieve (a quart every 200 miles or 1 month), so anything's on the table.
EDIT: The overdrive band was out of adjustment. I bought two new band adjustment nuts and adjusted the overdrive and intermediate bands at the adjustment screws on the driver's side of the transmission. I tightened the nut to 120 in lbs and backed of two turns.
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