Might have ruined my A4LD

[appletonbill]

I had finally decided to jack up my truck and pull the hose off the vacumn modulator to see if there was any fluid in it. I went to O'Rielly and got one. It was an adjustable one. Anyway, I put it in with the control rod from my old one. Put in enough fluid to bring it up to full level, got the exhaust back on and was ready to roll. I left for work and everything was pretty good except for a harsh shift at about 20mph. It was like a downshift. After about 25mph it seemed fine. Well, I got on the freeway and went about 8 miles and all of a sudden my cab started filling up with smoke and I had to go about another 1/2 mile for an exit. At the stoplight at the bottom of the ramp it did not want to move right away and the engagement was delayed. I pulled over as soon as I could and popped the hood to check my fluid. It was not showing on the stick. I put a quart in and made it to work with hardly any smoke coming out. It must have been puking fluid into my intake.

Can anyone tell me if I crapped out my transmission or is there still hope for it. Why would a new vacumn modulator do that?

 

[appletonbill]

Update: I had my truck towed home to where I could work on it. I went down to the Ford dealership here and wanted to get an OEM modulator, one that is non-adjustable. Guess how much they wanted for it? $222.00, . I asked the parts dude if they were made out of gold or something. So I went to Autozone and got an adjustable one for $12.99 + tax. I took the control rod and put it in the old one I took out and measured how far the tip stuck out. I installed the new one with the rod sticking out the same distance. I started the truck and warmed it up to operating temp and shifted through the gears and then topped it off to full. The engagement seemed to be good. Today I will take it out and see how it goes. I have a new trans filter kit ready to put on if everything works good on the test drive. I even got a bottle of Lucas Transmission Fix to put in when/if I drop the pan. Wish me luck.

 

[jhammel85]

I don't think you killed it but It sure sounds like you have a bad, bad leak. Fill it up, turn it on and get under it. Hopefully you'll find the leak. Be careful because those cooler lines can have a lot of pressure..

The Vac Modulator does need to be adjusted but I'm unsure how. Try searching here or googling A4LD Modulator Adjustment. Make sure the modulator is set up as needed and go from there.

 

[jhammel85]

Just read you're update. It sounds like, Modulator wise, you're OK. Just take your time and you'll find it! I hate problems like that..

 

[appletonbill]

Thanks for the reply jhammel85. Will google for adjustment specs.

 

[appletonbill]

Update: Took it out for a test drive yesterday after I got everything bolted up again. Still has the dramatic downshift at around 20 mph with light accelerator pressure. It only lasts 1-2 seconds. It did start to smoke a little out the tailpipe again after that. I pulled in a parking lot checked the fluid level and it was good. I checked to see if there was fluid up in the vacumn tree like there was before, nope. Got back on the road and took it out on the highway for a couple miles at about 50 mph. Seems like shift engagements after the 20 mph were quick and smooth. There was no more smoke after that. Maybe it was residual fluid up in the intake burning off. I'm wondering if I should pull the intake off and clean it out with intake cleaner. I googled A4LD modulator adjustment and did not really find any good information on adjusting it.

Anyone have a good link for this?

 

[jhammel85]

I don't sorry. But that is good news. I'm not sure what the upshift is all about but the smoke is probably residual. I wouldn't worry about going through the intake and cleaning it, honestly.

 

[appletonbill]

I had been having coolant loss through the upper rad hose so I replaced the thermostat (195) and upper rad hose just before I was doing the vacumn mod. I don't think that has anything to do with it though.

 

[Explorin94]

The downshift that you are feeling may not involve the modulator at all. Check the kickdown cable for proper adjustment that may be the beast you are chasing. I am not sure at this moment on how to adjust it but you may be able to find it quite easily.

 

[appletonbill]

Ok Explorin, I'll try that too.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

To adjust the modulator you use the 2nd to 3rd upshift. First off from stopped with light throttle pressure it should shift into 2nd around 12 mph. That is the governor working correct. Then for the modulator from a stop give it medium throttle pressure you want it to shift into third at around 35mph with half throttle. Turn the modulator in 1 full turn clockwise at a time to make the 2 to 3 shift later. Just dont play with it too much take it in until it feels good or shifts a little late then back it out 1/2 a turn at a time until you get 35mps at half throttle 2 to 3 upshift. see how that works. The bitch is putting the allen wrench on it with a hot cat I go over the tranny mount and reach forward. Once you get it set coat the adjuster threads with permatex/loctite unless the vacuum hose goes in the center of the modulator. GL

 

[kimcrwbr1]

I will still use ATF on a older motor to get the valves spinning again. Get the engine hot and at around 2500 rpms pour about half a pint ATF in the carb at a rate to almost stall the motor then rev it up for a bit and then follow up with some water same senario and just run it around 3000rpms till it stops smoking. The only drawback is it will piss the neighbors off and it will ruin your cat. If you need to pass smog yea your cat is probably toast from all that oil. Just a heads up.

 

[appletonbill]

The weird part is at around 20 mph. For about 1-2 seconds it sounds like the engine revving in a lower gear. Other shift points are smooth.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Try and adjust the 2 to 3 shift point at around half throttle. From a stop give it around medium throttle and whatch your speed when it shifts into 3rd gear. The adjuster puts spring pressure on the diaphram. the more spring pressure the more vacuum it takes to upshift. What you need to do is balance between governor pressure and throttle pressure. At half throttle if it shifts into 3rd before 35 mph add spring pressure if it shifts after 35mph loosen spring pressure. You may want to adjust the bands first have you changed the oil and filter yet? A dirty filter will affect throttle pressure but try and adjust the 2nd to 3rd shift point first and make sure it has enough oil.

 

[appletonbill]

I have a new filter kit to put on. I wanted to wait and see if the transmission got toasted before I was gonna do the filter. I will be doing the filter when the weather gets better. I have not adjusted the bands yet, that's something to consider.