AT Transmission fluid/filter change question

[NCguy]

I'm going to change the fluid and filter on my 94 ranger 4.0 4x4 AT trans.
Seems I had seen a comment before about checking for loose screws on various transmission components / modules...while filter is out. Anybody know what that could be?

 

[19Walt93]

Nope, and I've built transmissions for decades. Use Motorcraft fluid and a Motorcraft filter.

 

[NCguy]

Nope, and I've built transmissions for decades. Use Motorcraft fluid and a Motorcraft filter.

I would have but already bought an off brand filter and gasket and installed it. I'm going to do it again in a month or two and I'll use the good stuff.
By the way, when I removed the filter I was looking around and saw a gear on the driver's side of the trans. It looked kind of like a saw blade. It was in park and It looked like a small arm riding that blade was just short of a flat spot. My truck will go in park enough to crank but it still rolls. Is that blade with teeth where park catches in the flat? Sorry I don't have any technical terms.
Side note: after the fluid and filter change my trans no longer shifts hard in second gear.

 

[adsm08]

I would have but already bought an off brand filter and gasket and installed it. I'm going to do it again in a month or two and I'll use the good stuff.
By the way, when I removed the filter I was looking around and saw a gear on the driver's side of the trans. It looked kind of like a saw blade. It was in park and It looked like a small arm riding that blade was just short of a flat spot. My truck will go in park enough to crank but it still rolls. Is that blade with teeth where park catches in the flat? Sorry I don't have any technical terms.
Side note: after the fluid and filter change my trans no longer shifts hard in second gear.

No, that is not the park pawl. You described the "rooster comb". It is the set of detents that gives the various range selections their "feel" in the shifter. Without it, or the little roller, the trans selector will just flop pretty freely.

To have a chance of seeing the park pawl you would have to remove the valve body, (the thing the filter seats into) and even then I'm not sure you could see it on an A4LD.

 

[Transman304]

@adsm08 not going to see park pawl without extension housing removed.

 

[NCguy]

Amy chance that an adjustment of the shifter cable could solve the rolling in park issue?

 

[adsm08]

@adsm08 not going to see park pawl without extension housing removed.

Never had an A4LD apart. I mostly play with 6F35s.

Amy chance that an adjustment of the shifter cable could solve the rolling in park issue?

Possibly. If the cable is out of whack it may not be pulling the trans the whole way into Park. The easy test for that is to disconnect the cable at the transmission and see if you can rock the little lever any farther forward, and if so, does it then actually lock in Park, or does it still roll.

 

[NCguy]

Never had an A4LD apart. I mostly play with 6F35s.



Possibly. If the cable is out of whack it may not be pulling the trans the whole way into Park. The easy test for that is to disconnect the cable at the transmission and see if you can rock the little lever any farther forward, and if so, does it then actually lock in Park, or does it still roll.

Thanks for the tip. I'll try it and update tomorrow.

 

[19Walt93]

How far does it roll in park? If it's just a couple feet before it clunks and holds it's probably normal. The park pawl is spring loaded so if it happens to rest on a raised area of the gear, it will drop into a slot as soon as it rotates a little.

 

[Transman304]

Yeah the 6F35 is a money maker for sure. At least the OEM parts aren’t priced that bad”YET” LOL!

 

[adsm08]

Yeah the 6F35 is a money maker for sure. At least the OEM parts aren’t priced that bad”YET” LOL!

You know, I have the exact opposite opinion of it for the exact same reason.

You run your own independent shop, every job is cash for you. I only overhaul them under warranty. I get 7.4 hours to R+R, 5 hours to tear down, inspect, flush torque converter and overhaul unit. That includes time to figure out parts prices and submit my cost-cap and prior approval papers.

And they are an expensive transmission built out of cheap parts. All the individual parts inside the trans don't quite equal the price of a unit.

I just finished one Friday that I kind of expect to see back before too long. Pump was dying at 115K. Couldn't find anything wrong in the valve body, and did a soft overhaul, all clutches and seals, everything was in spec, new pump, and it was shifting a little firmer than I would have liked when it left.

I told the customer it was still learning (hoping that was true) and that unless it did anything truly odd like slamming into a gear or slipping really bad to give it a week or so to figure it's life out.

Next one on my agenda is calculating 1st gear as a 16:1 ratio.

 

[NCguy]

How far does it roll in park? If it's just a couple feet before it clunks and holds it's probably normal. The park pawl is spring loaded so if it happens to rest on a raised area of the gear, it will drop into a slot as soon as it rotates a little.

It will roll until there's no slope.

Yeah the 6F35 is a money maker for sure. At least the OEM parts aren’t priced that bad”YET” LOL!

So my trans is a 6F35? This is aggravating as it's my first ford truck. My chevys would at least stay in park. This pawl problem along with shifter column screws seems to be an inherent problem. No recalls or bulletins?

 

[19Walt93]

No, you're trans is an A4LD, a 4 speed overdrive descendent of the Pinto C3 that evolved into the 4r44, then5R55. It sounds like you should check the cable adjustment and make sure nothing is loose. Cable adjustment is critical to transmission life, too, it's important that the transmission detents line up with the shifter to avoid pressure loss.

 

[NCguy]

Thanks for the info.
I popped the cable of gear selector lever. It won't go in park even manually. While under there I noticed a new electric motor on the back of the trans/ t-case. Does that motor have anything to do with actuating the pawl?

 

[adsm08]

Thanks for the info.
I popped the cable of gear selector lever. It won't go in park even manually. While under there I noticed a new electric motor on the back of the trans/ t-case. Does that motor have anything to do with actuating the pawl?

Nope, that's for the 4x4 shifts, has nothing to do with park.

The park pawl is fully mechanical. As said before, it is spring loaded to return to it's engaged position. When the transmission is taken out of park it is pulled away from the gear it engages and held there by mechanical force. When that force is taken away (range selector returned to P) the spring pushes the pawl back down.

It's possible the parking gear is damaged, the pawl is missing/damaged, or the spring that returns it is damaged.