Problems with a 90 Ranger

[Gwilly65]

I have a 90' Ford Ranger 4.0l XLT that i just bought for cheap. The previous owner took the engine apart, replaced the heads, injectors, lifters, and all new gaskets. It is put back together now, for the most part, and i am having some issues.

From what I can tell it is leaking transmission fluid from between the engine and tranny. The fluid is verry dark and kind of has a red tint to it. I have read some other forums on the A4LD that says it leaks there alot. is there a cheap way to fix it, or defined way i can tell what it is without taking the trans off?

When i take off the radiator cap or the oil cap after running for maybe five minutes, steam/smoke comes out. when i take the radiator cap off while the truck is running, there is no bubbling. My grandpa who is very good with automotive stuff said that there if it was bubbling it is a clear sign that there is a head gasket problem. I am lost at what to do with the tranny and "smoke". Please help.

 

[RonD]

Common issue with the A4LD, read why here: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=55566

No, no simple fix.
Front pump(main pump) is right there so high pressure at that bushing and seal.


If engine has been sitting then there will be condensation(water) in the engine, i.e. valve cover area and crankcase, so unless/until you drive it regularly you will see "steam"/evaporation of this water from oil cap opening during and after engine heats up.

Coolant at the top of the rad should stay cold until thermostat opens, 5 to 8 minutes after starting engine.
Then upper rad hose will start to warm up as warm coolant flows into the top of the rad and is then sucked back in to engine thru the lower hose.

If upper rad is warming up with the engine, no delay, then there is no thermostat in place or it is stuck open.

You can test for bad head gasket or cracked head using the Glove Test, it is easy and free, and very accurate.
Your grandpa may know it as balloon test, my grandfather taught it to me


Look here: http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=164247

 

[Gwilly65]

Thank you

Thank you for the advise, I plan on dropping the transmission this weekend and replacing it.

I am now having a new problem, the truck won't start. I replaced the battery, starter solenoid, cleaned all of the connections, and every time I turn the key it clicks one time. My thought was that it was shorting out somewhere so I took a multi meter out and took the negative off, bridged the game and it read .004. From what my grandpa told me it sounds like it reading .004 is a good thing.
I am now lost at what could be wrong.

 

[RonD]

What is the battery voltage with key off?

And then what is battery voltage when trying to start?

Generally voltage will drop 2v to 2.5v when starter motor is working, if no drop in voltage then starter motor cable or the motor itself is bad.


Just FYI, the starter solenoid is on the starter motor, the starter Relay is on the inner fender.

In the early 1990's Ford combined the solenoid and relay into one piece, located on the starter motor.
Older starters just had the one large cable connected to solenoid, no other wires.
Newer models have the one large cable and then a smaller wire, this smaller wire used to go to starter relay on fender, the "S" wire.
Since relay is now on the starter motor the "S" wire goes to starter motor.

So if your starter motor has 2 wires then the fender relay is just for power distribution.
Battery cable, alternator wires and fuse box power are all connected there, and starter motors large cable.

"S" wire comes from key switch, it only has 12v(power) when key is turned all the way to START, this power passes thru a Clutch switch(manual) or a Neutral switch(auto) to prevent starter motor activation when in gear.

On an automatic the NSS(neutral safety switch) is just above shift linkage, usually a 4 or 5 wire connector, this is also the Reverse Light switch.
You may not have plugged it in all the way or left it off, which would prevent starter motor from activating

 

[trail B2]

What I like to do is turn on my headlights try to start it.If the lights stay bright and it won't start nss or an open in the system.If the lights go dim I look for a bad battery connection, bad battery then I look for connection problems.

I have a tale of woe on the A4LD.One of the things I learned was make sure the cooling line is clear.By that I mean check for kinks and pinches if there is one of those inline filters put in two side by side.Any resistance raises the pressure on the back of the seal.

 

[Gwilly65]

I got the truck running, finally. It is running pretty smoothly right now. I am dropping the transmission pan tonight to change fluid, filter, gasket, and find out why park will not engage. Is there anything that is common to look for in this situation. It is an A4LD transmission.

Also it shifts rough between first and second gear along with when i shift from drive to reverse, could this be a major problem or is it just something minor that it does? thank you for all the advice, it has helped me a ton!

 

[RonD]

Ford Truck column shifters can loosen up, very common problem, the shift cable sheath can also split where it bends back after coming out of firewall to go back to trans linkage.
Either can keep shifter from moving trans all the way into Park

Google: ford loose shifter on column
It isn't Ranger specific, they all work the same way and all have the same issues

A4LD info here: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/a4ld.shtml
Service manual here: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/pdf_documents/A4LD_manual.pdf

Outside of a pan leak I don't think any automatic trans has an "easy fix".

 

[Gwilly65]

It's been a while since I've been on the forum, the shifter is still loose and it is now going into neutral at random. This first stated after school when i would go start my truck and start moving, as soon as i come to a complete stop it goes into neutral while the column is in drive. The only way for it to start moving that i have found was to rev it pretty hard then it will roughly click into gear and start moving. this does not happen after it has warmed up but it is still a little bit concerning.

my plan for this truck is to put in a 302 that is bored and stroked to a 351. along with a 5 speed manual transmission. The A4LD Trans is starting to make me mad with the shifting problems. is there anything big that i should look for before this conversion that can cause me problems?

 

[Shoddy Cologne]

Have you checked your trans fluid? The torque converter wont work properly w.o the correct amount of atf.

Sent from my LGL16C using Tapatalk

 

[Gwilly65]

I have checked the transmission fluid and it seems to be full.

I will be pulling a 302 from a 95 ford f150 and plan to rebuild it and put it in the Ranger. I also plan to swap it to a manual transmission so I don't have to worry the problems with this current trans. Are there any transmissions that will bolt right on to the 302 bolt pattern? Can the transfer case that I currently have connected to the trans too?

The 302 that I am pulling is a fuel injected and I would like to convert to a carburetor. Is there anything that is pretty difficult during this build?

 

[Gwilly65]

would an M5R2 5-speed transmission conect to a 302?
How could you find out what T-Case can connect to that transmission?

 

[RonD]

You want, 1997(and up) F-150 4.2l V6 M5OD-R2 and transfer case for the 302 conversion.
Ford switched to modular V6 and V8 engines in 1997

4.2l V6 uses same trans bolt pattern as 302.
And Ford used same trans and transfer case on this V6 as it did in the V8s, so strong enough for V8 power

You can use earlier F-series 4x4 trans/transfer case from a 302, but shifter is farther forward, it does work you just need to customize the shifter to clear the dash

 

[Gwilly65]

That's good to know, I just about bought a trans and tcase from a 89 f150. I work at the junk yard so I can get a good deal on these things, but I don't always no if they work alright. Is there anyway to tell without driving the truck if it works?

 

[RonD]

That's good to know, I just about bought a trans and tcase from a 89 f150. I work at the junk yard so I can get a good deal on these things, but I don't always no if they work alright. Is there anyway to tell without driving the truck if it works?

Not really.
Check fluid for color, smell and if there are metal fillings

 

[Gwilly65]

The sheet that was filled out said that it was a clean transmission. A co worker also said that the shift has two positions, so I could move it back. Have you ever seen this?