A4LD to rebuild or swap out?

[e21pilot]

The A4LD in my 92 2wd is getting long in the tooth. The way I see it, I can have it rebuilt or swap it out in favor of another type of automatic.

If I rebuild, does anyone have a recommendation for a good transmission rebuilder in Northern California? I plan to tow heavy with this truck so I don't mind paying more for a really well built A4LD with the upgrades.

If I swap it out, is there a better transmission (I'm thinking of one of the later model Ranger/Explorer 5-speed auto units) that aren't to involved to retro-fit into a 92. I found at least one site that made a kit to put in a GM 700r4 transmission so maybe there is are non-blue option worth investigating.

 

[Road Angels]

If your going to tow heavy then get a F150, you can build the trans to the hilt but you still have a weak motor and brakes, if you are just towing alot but light weight stuff then thats ok for what you have, there are alot of local private trans shops in the bay area, avoid the places like amco, and the chain places, look in the Phone Book in your area, yes the phone book, look for one that is a long time est. business, and does custom builds, the price may scare you into buying a bigger ford truck, do the flex plate while they are in there. also the bigger GM trans will suck up horse power, just like when I put a 350 turbo in my elcamino in place of the 200 turbo, it to more HP to turn it, forget the five speed late model stuff way to costly and time consuming

 

[e21pilot]

An F-150 would be nice to have but in general the smaller Ranger has served me well in many situations which is why I like to stick with them. The book says my 4.0/A4LD/3.55 driveline has about 5000 lbs to towing capacity and I plan to tow up to 3500 lbs on occasion. My trailer has electric over hydraulic brakes also so I believe stopping should not be an issue.

Spoke to two local trans shops and neither had good things to say about the A4LD for towing but I will cast a wider net and see if I can find a shop who is confident they can build an A4LD with upgrades for my application.

I do plan to add an extra trans cooler, line filter and deeper aluminum pan to help the situation but there is no substitute for a good rebuild.

 

[jhammel85]

If you want to tow with the A4LD, I'd have it rebuilt and add a big cooler for it. That's really all you need! Keep it cool, just like everything else..