Should i swap my 7.5 out?

[bobbywalter]

I can agree with this statement except for Ford's choice for transmissions on the Ranger/Explorer platforms. I've seen fleet 2.3 trucks go 300k miles on the original engine, but all of them were on at least it's second transmission.

Ford's choice of the A4LD, 4R44 AND 5R55 transmissions wasn't the best one. Would've been neat to have a 4.2L/4R70W version of a Ranger, similar to a 4.3L/700R4 S10.

i was referring to the current ranger offering. 6r80, 10r80 and even the 10r60 ...they have some built in issues i wish they would deal with but are just incredible units for what they do. but i will remain convinced that ford built in failure of this transmission. luckily there are some aftermarket guys out in front of it and they are very serviceable and upgradable by midline mechanically skilled crazy peopleszez.... they are stronger then anything that came before them.

truck to truck i would not say the ranger of the 80s was stronger than a half ton of the 80s, that is not a thing.... not to say you can not make them that way, i certainly have done that. nothing on a dana 28.....any stock ranger transmission save for maybe a c5....or any engine save for the 2.3 is even close to beating anything from the 1/2 ton market.

but the frames and hangers...they are more than par.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I can agree with this statement except for Ford's choice for transmissions on the Ranger/Explorer platforms. I've seen fleet 2.3 trucks go 300k miles on the original engine, but all of them were on at least it's second transmission.

Ford's choice of the A4LD, 4R44 AND 5R55 transmissions wasn't the best one. Would've been neat to have a 4.2L/4R70W version of a Ranger, similar to a 4.3L/700R4 S10.

Soo… I’m going to be the voice of dissent here… the A4LD and 4R/5R transmissions weren’t as bad as everyone makes them out to be. Nobody seems to realize they need to be serviced at regular intervals. Bands need adjusted at least every 50k and I would argue that it should be every 25k. Also fluid and filter should be any time the fluid gets dirty or every 50k. Additionally, they had some sloppy shifting which could be resolved with a shift kit, like most automatics. If you take care of it..

Also my dad’s 99 Ranger has over 200k on the original transmission. It still gave a full size Chevy that was trying to pass a hard time the other day. Like most things, it will likely last if you take care of it.

 

[sgtsandman]

Soo… I’m going to be the voice of dissent here… the A4LD and 4R/5R transmissions weren’t as bad as everyone makes them out to be. Nobody seems to realize they need to be serviced at regular intervals. Bands need adjusted at least every 50k and I would argue that it should be every 25k. Also fluid and filter should be any time the fluid gets dirty or every 50k. Additionally, they had some sloppy shifting which could be resolved with a shift kit, like most automatics. If you take care of it..

Also my dad’s 99 Ranger has over 200k on the original transmission. It still gave a full size Chevy that was trying to pass a hard time the other day. Like most things, it will likely last if you take care of it.

I would suggest fluid and filter changes at 30,000 miles, with a band check and adjustment while you have the pan off.

 

[Mechrick]

the A4LD and 4R/5R transmissions weren’t as bad as everyone makes them out to be

Dissent noted.

The chassis isn't the limiting factor when towing with a Ranger, the transmission is. I've seen many of them puke their guts when towing what most would consider mild towing loads. In particular, the A4LD seems to generate more heat than other transmissions from other manufacturers in the same classification. Remember, all the A4LD series transmissions were based on the C3, which was a step down from a C4...

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Dissent noted.

The chassis isn't the limiting factor when towing with a Ranger, the transmission is. I've seen many of them puke their guts when towing what most would consider mild towing loads. In particular, the A4LD seems to generate more heat than other transmissions from other manufacturers in the same classification. Remember, all the A4LD series transmissions were based on the C3, which was a step down from a C4...

Most of that heat problem can be resolved with some valve body/shift kit work and keeping it maintained. Slipping bands and sloppy shifting will build heat quickly. Personally I like to improve the cooling as well, my green Ranger has an auxiliary trans cooler out of an F-150 because it’s more than twice the size of the stock Ranger one.

I will grant you that there are stronger automatics. But usually the problem seems to be lack of maintenance as the root cause along with abuse. The people that put 100k on an automatic, thrash it around a bunch and never service it then say it’s a crap transmission when it dies. Well, what did you expect if you didn’t take care of it? The 5R55 that was in my green Ranger puked at like 165k towing a small trailer and my garden tractor. I know I didn’t maintain it like I should have but I was also looking for an excuse to 5.0 swap. My 92 Ranger had like 172k when I finally serviced the A4LD and did some valve body work. After that it would have stomped the guts out of my green 00 with the un-modified 5R55.

All automatics have their weak points and most die from lack of maintenance and addressing known weak spots. The loose nut behind the wheel is usually the biggest weak link.

 

[lowspeedpursuit]

Rangers specifically weren't guilty of this, but I think "lifetime fluid" as a concept deserves a lot of the blame for modern drivers not taking care of their automatics. I had an '04 VW that claimed the trans was "sealed" and filled with "lifetime fluid", when the pan came off just like anything else, and an actual reasonable interval was probably 60k mi.

"Once you've gone too long without changing your fluid, changing it will actually kill the trans" gets 2nd place.

 

[Mechrick]

"Once you've gone too long without changing your fluid, changing it will actually kill the trans"

Does happen occasionally, the most common one is a Dexron III 4L60 that gets fluid-swapped for Dexron VI which is lower viscosity, at which point the hardened lip seals stop, er, sealing. I've rebuilt a few of those...

An A4LD bullet-proofing thread would be a good addition to the forum. I've seen half-starts, but never a complete entry like what you can find over at TCCoA.com for the 4R70w. In particular, I would like to see a buildup of an A4LD that would allow one to survive towing a 6,000 lb load behind it reliably. Think race car on a trailer or a small travel trailer. This is as much towing capacity as I would need.

But that's enough thread drift. Let's get back to axles.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Does happen occasionally, the most common one is a Dexron III 4L60 that gets fluid-swapped for Dexron VI which is lower viscosity, at which point the hardened lip seals stop, er, sealing. I've rebuilt a few of those...

An A4LD bullet-proofing thread would be a good addition to the forum. I've seen half-starts, but never a complete entry like what you can find over at TCCoA.com for the 4R70w. In particular, I would like to see a buildup of an A4LD that would allow one to survive towing a 6,000 lb load behind it reliably. Think race car on a trailer or a small travel trailer. This is as much towing capacity as I would need.

But that's enough thread drift. Let's get back to axles.

I’m…working on that… My 92 Ranger I raided the Explorer forums for all of the upgrades. Super worth it but I’d like to do a deep dive at some point and do the FrankenTranny A4LD rebuild. I’d also like to do a temp sensor and monitor things. I have a bunch of video and information on my A4LD valve body/shift kit stuff but I’m having problems processing it into something I can post. I’m currently doing some stuff to my 4R70w in my green 00 Ranger and that video will get posted to my YouTube and I’ll try doing a write-up for here, but like you mentioned, it’s been pretty well covered elsewhere.

 

[sgtsandman]

I’m…working on that… My 92 Ranger I raided the Explorer forums for all of the upgrades. Super worth it but I’d like to do a deep dive at some point and do the FrankenTranny A4LD rebuild. I’d also like to do a temp sensor and monitor things. I have a bunch of video and information on my A4LD valve body/shift kit stuff but I’m having problems processing it into something I can post. I’m currently doing some stuff to my 4R70w in my green 00 Ranger and that video will get posted to my YouTube and I’ll try doing a write-up for here, but like you mentioned, it’s been pretty well covered elsewhere.

Yeah the last video I saw you do on that was opening it up. Has the poor truck been sitting all this time with it's guts open for the world to see?

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Yeah the last video I saw you do on that was opening it up. Has the poor truck been sitting all this time with it's guts open for the world to see?

 

[bobbywalter]

the a4ld is garbage the best builder at the time(Jim Bauer JB Trans Dryden/Armada mi early to mid 90s) about shit himself when I melted one with his super warranty, to one binding gear with only a few thousand miles on it.

i was being stupid blowing the tires off of it in low range with a stock 250 k mile 2.9. partying downtown Detroit. 456 gears 33 in tires.

he was relieved when I told him I was paying for it and was not an issue because I was a drunken idiot.

this is also when I began building transmissions....because wife was pissed. i was on 4th trans in 2 years....so I got to learn on the next one ....I had to take a few days off work but also got a great education. that trans went in two more trucks with teenage drivers, that were apparently smarter than I. at 264k I pulled the power train for fullsize stuff. and then I really started breaking shit.

the 5r55 is much better. as long as you do not increase power.

with that, I suspect and know the 5r55 will tow 6k reliably with a xammer.

but not trusting a 7.5 with that

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I can agree with this statement except for Ford's choice for transmissions on the Ranger/Explorer platforms. I've seen fleet 2.3 trucks go 300k miles on the original engine, but all of them were on at least it's second transmission.

Ford's choice of the A4LD, 4R44 AND 5R55 transmissions wasn't the best one. Would've been neat to have a 4.2L/4R70W version of a Ranger, similar to a 4.3L/700R4 S10.

Ford did handily outsell the S-10 with what they had.

4.2 is kind of a tough sell. Trading a mediocre trans for a mediocre engine is kind of a lateral move without much gain.

If you think thats bad they were still running the 5R55 behind 3v 4.6's in Explorers...

4R70W was an awesome transmission though, I loved the one in my F-150.