Hi folks,
Need to get my transmission rebuilt but want to check with y’all to see if a better, more reliable option is available or would fit a 1990 2.9 4WD. Not doing the 4.0 swap or other modifications, just want a dependable daily driver. Thanks!
So, personally, my opinion is that the A4LD gets a bad rap mostly from abuse and there are a few weak spots in the transmission. There’s a lot of upgrades from the later production A4LDs that resolve a lot of that and a good transmission builder should use those parts. Over on the Explorer forums they have a lot of information on it. So there’s a bunch of hard parts mods that can be done to beef it up.
Also, the bands need adjusted periodically, between 20 and 50k miles, I’d error on the lower side. They also prefer being cool, so extra auxiliary coolers in front of the radiator. My green Ranger doesn’t have an A4LD (or even the 5R55 anymore which was based off the A4LD), but I still modded and fit an F-150 cooler in there. The fluid should be changed along with the filter periodically as well.
The really important step is valve body work. I did a Transgo shift kit in my 92 and went almost full bore with everything (wish I would have gone all the way, but almost all the way proved good). There’s a few other things beyond the shift kit you can do and it was an impressive change. Even doing the purge procedure it took a week or two of driving it before it really started to smooth all the way out (there were hiccups early on), but once it smoothed out, it was amazing. Snappy, crisp shifts and getting on the throttle too hard from a stop would light up the back tires despite the limited slip rear (it would hook to the side so I know I was spinning both). That was impossible prior to the work. The crisp shifts instead of the sloppy, mushy shifts normally help reduce heat in the transmission because the sloppy shifts it’s essentially slipping and building heat.
Well I'm back. When I did the A4LD rebuild diary I rather shorted the Valve body rebuild portion. Tn Explorer did a great writeup and kind of filled in the void there, but I wanted to add one of my own. In this thread I will compare valve body rebuild kits (sometimes referred to as shift kits...
A4LD Rebuild and Internal Upgrades How to: The A4LD Transmission Rebuild Diary Part 1 A4LD Rebuild Diary Part 2 A4LD Rebuild Diary Part 3.0 - Reassembly, Part 1 A4LD Rebuild Diary Part 3.1 - Reassembly, Part 2 A4LD Diary Part 4 - Postscript K80's A4LD Rebuild Diary How To: A4LD Valve Body...
So, personally, my opinion is that the A4LD gets a bad rap mostly from abuse and there are a few weak spots in the transmission. There’s a lot of upgrades from the later production A4LDs that resolve a lot of that and a good transmission builder should use those parts. Over on the Explorer forums they have a lot of information on it. So there’s a bunch of hard parts mods that can be done to beef it up.
Also, the bands need adjusted periodically, between 20 and 50k miles, I’d error on the lower side. They also prefer being cool, so extra auxiliary coolers in front of the radiator. My green Ranger doesn’t have an A4LD (or even the 5R55 anymore which was based off the A4LD), but I still modded and fit an F-150 cooler in there. The fluid should be changed along with the filter periodically as well.
The really important step is valve body work. I did a Transgo shift kit in my 92 and went almost full bore with everything (wish I would have gone all the way, but almost all the way proved good). There’s a few other things beyond the shift kit you can do and it was an impressive change. Even doing the purge procedure it took a week or two of driving it before it really started to smooth all the way out (there were hiccups early on), but once it smoothed out, it was amazing. Snappy, crisp shifts and getting on the throttle too hard from a stop would light up the back tires despite the limited slip rear (it would hook to the side so I know I was spinning both). That was impossible prior to the work. The crisp shifts instead of the sloppy, mushy shifts normally help reduce heat in the transmission because the sloppy shifts it’s essentially slipping and building heat.
Well I'm back. When I did the A4LD rebuild diary I rather shorted the Valve body rebuild portion. Tn Explorer did a great writeup and kind of filled in the void there, but I wanted to add one of my own. In this thread I will compare valve body rebuild kits (sometimes referred to as shift kits...
A4LD Rebuild and Internal Upgrades How to: The A4LD Transmission Rebuild Diary Part 1 A4LD Rebuild Diary Part 2 A4LD Rebuild Diary Part 3.0 - Reassembly, Part 1 A4LD Rebuild Diary Part 3.1 - Reassembly, Part 2 A4LD Diary Part 4 - Postscript K80's A4LD Rebuild Diary How To: A4LD Valve Body...
So if I was to make a checklist of, say, the 4 or 5 most important things to make sure my transmission guy does during the job, what items would be on that list for sure?
So if I was to make a checklist of, say, the 4 or 5 most important things to make sure my transmission guy does during the job, what items would be on that list for sure?
^^ That. I’ll also say at minimum to do the Transgo shift kit in the valve body as well (it’s like $30-50 for the kit). If you really want to go full bore, then do all of the suggested valve body mods.
So the oil pan gasket needs to be replaced during the rebuild and the shop is telling me that since the transmission is out, they're going to charge me 1/2 the labor, 3.5 hours instead of 7 hours. Is 3.5 hours accurate for the oil pan? Seems like a lot since the transmission is already out.
Separately, they charged me for the labor to remove & replace, disassemble & diagnose but told me that price would go toward the rebuild. Then for the rebuild, in addition to parts, they're charging separate, albeit smaller, "rebuild labor". That seems like BS, but not sure if that's just typical pricing at a transmission shop.
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