New owner looking for some insight

[GAJoe]

I recently purchased a Ranger 6 cyl, 4x4, with automatic which I believe is a 1994. It is currently stored about 350 miles from me right now so I can't confirm what the door stickers have on them. It will be about a month before I will get back to it.
Anyway, I am new to Rangers and I have spent the better part of two days reading as much of this forum as I can. Here is what I could use some assistance with: How do I know if I have the dreaded A4LD tranny? If I do, should I bring it to a reputable (not AAMCO) transmission shop and have a shift kit put in it to help the tranny last?

 

[Curious Hound]

Hi! And welcome to TRS. As far as I can tell, if your '94 has and automatic Overdrive transmission, and it most likely does, it will be an A4LD.

In addition to our forum, we have a wonderful tech library with helpful info. You may find the info you need in one of the articles here;

Transmission, Transfer Case & Driveshaft - The Ranger Station

Ford Ranger & Bronco II transmission, transfer case, and driveshaft guides. Manuals, troubleshooting, rebuilds, and swap tips for 1983–2011.

www.therangerstation.com

And here is a chart I screenshot from one of those articles.

 

[19Walt93]

I worked at a Ford dealer from 1975 until 2017 and did all our automatic transmissions for years before being "promoted" to service manager. We had a lot of trouble with A4LD's in Aerostars but not nearly as much in Rangers and Bronco II,s. A shift kit might help some but at least change the fluid and refill with Motorcraft- not some aftermarket fluid that claims to be universal. If the fluid is discolored change it a second time after driving a few weeks. Drain and refill, not a flush.

 

[Shran]

95 up will have an A4LD variant (4r44e, 4r55e, 5r44e, 5r55e)
94 and older back to '85 will have an A4LD of some sort, they went through a couple revisions but are all very similar

I don't think a shift kit will help it live longer. In my experience these all are either in pretty good working order or they're totally burned up, not much in between, with the exception of losing overdrive. That was a very common problem. Drain & refill like Walt said is a great idea. You can get new pans for these that have a drain plug, just be careful not to buy Ultra Power ones that are painted inside, the paint flakes off and clogs up everything. Dorman pans may have the same problem. Draining the pan removes approximately 3-4 quarts, you may have to drain & repeat several times to get totally fresh fluid. I did that I think 5 times on my '94 before I was happy with the fluid color.

FYI I put the Superior shift kit in my wife's 95 when I had it rebuilt and I don't think it did much. It shifts kinda hard when it's warm and definitely not as clean & crisp as my stock 94 trans. YMMV.