A4LD - No forward or Reverse Gears

[87xlranger]

Hello Everyone,

It's been a while since I've posted and for good reason, I didn't have a Ranger! I just bought a 1990 XLT 4.0L V6 Auto and it has every option checked. I purchased it for a song since it has a transmission issue.

This will be my 3rd Ranger, the other 2 had 5 speed manual transmissions and I can rebuild those in my sleep. I do have Automatic Transmission Rebuilding experience but it was for my daughters 1998 Nissan Altima, which is FWD and much more complicated trans than the A4LD is.

My question is: If I have no Forward & no Reverse Gears and it is not noisy when I try to engage any gear in the trans where should I start when I take it out and split it open? I think it is odd that there are no noises because if there is a hard-part failure it is usually accompanied by a noise, in my experience it's similar to putting a fork in a blender and hitting frappe'...

I've read that it could be Torque converter splines sheared off, that would be a simple fix... has anyone else experienced the same here and could maybe lend me some advice before I start this journey?

Thanks again for your time, glad to be back!

 

[RonD]

No forward or reverse means no ATF fluid pressure, or very low pressure, at the valve body, I assume increasing engine RPMs "in gear" doesn't help it engage
Did you try 1st gear?

Check fluid level engine OFF
Then check it engine running, should, of course, drop down if pump is working

You could drop the pan and have a look for metal debris, and then drop valve body and look for blown out seals or gaskets

1990 A4LD has 2 solenoids, Torque converter lock up(TCC) and 3/4 shift(OD), neither controls pressure but a blow out would reduce pressure


If trans looks like its been removed recently, then maybe it was re-installed without seating torque converter, so pump was broken when they tightened up the bell housing bolts, checking fluid levels should show that

 

[87xlranger]

Thanks for the reply Ron! The fluid looks burned but it also looks over-full... I'm wondering if an overfill condition would cause the same concern?

 

[RonD]

No, it would blow out the vent if it gets too full, but trans would still work

Does the level drop when engine is on vs engine off?

 

[87xlranger]

No, it would blow out the vent if it gets too full, but trans would still work

Does the level drop when engine is on vs engine off?

I will check this as soon as I get home from work, it makes sense the fluid level would drop when it is running. At least I would know that the pump is working, then I'd probably inspect linkage and the TV cable adjustments etc.. then if I'm not successful drop the pan and inspect it. If I get no fluid movement I'll still have to drain the fluid before I take the trans down, I'll post some photos of what I find. Thanks again Ron, I appreciate it.

 

[87xlranger]

Well, I have some encouraging news... I couldn't get the truck started (Bad Fuel Pressure Regulator - Parts on the way) but I did crank it a few times trying to get it to and checked the level anyway. Looks like the level dropped a bit which means the pump appears to be working, it is SEVERELY overfilled though. So I think I'll drop the pan and start poking around and inspect the linkage to see if I find anything before I drop the trans out of it.