Used A4ld transmissions

[Denisefwd93]

They "are out there" Just doing the search.. brings them up..

Now that I finally have the manual 4wd Ranger I've wanted for sometime now.. I'm thinking of... (I know, I'm a masochist LOL) finding a "used" A4LD for the 93 4.0 4WD rather then selling it just yet.

the BIG question on used parts and especially automatic transmissions is "is the good as sold, actually a good transmission?

Running take out would be a better find.

Can the average person even guess if a AT is still good when not in a vehicle? I say no.

I'm not sure it's worth the effort but I type pretty fast and love posting on forums so I'll ask ya'll to share some collective wisdom.

 

[adsm08]

I am going to say that nobody can really make an educated guess as to the quality of an automatic just by looking at it on the ground.

This comes from watching my one buddy buy three transmissions for his Jeep, all sold as "good" and finding metal shavings all through all of them when he went to put his shift kit in. And he was one of the transmission guys.

 

[RonD]

Last A4LD was installed in 1994 Rangers, so minimum 24 years old

That being said there are still 1994 and earlier Rangers driving around with A4LDs

Maybe one will popup, but even if you can test drive it doesn't mean it will last.

 

[Denisefwd93]

Last A4LD was installed in 1994 Rangers, so minimum 24 years old

That being said there are still 1994 and earlier Rangers driving around with A4LDs

Maybe one will popup, but even if you can test drive it doesn't mean it will last.

When you think and look at how old these Transmissions are and how some are still running basically okay like the one in my truck, maybe they're not so bad LOL

 

[RonD]

A4LD was not a bad transmission considering it was Fords first light duty Overdrive trans, the AOD came out in 1980, A4LD in 1985
And its basic design wasn't changed much for the 4R55E and 5R55E used until 2012 in Rangers, Ford just added more solenoids for full shift control, and a 1st/OD ratio combo to add a new 2nd gear for the 5R(5-speed version)

If you want to spend $900 on a standalone transmission controller you could put in a 5R55E, lol, although for the money a rebuilt A4LD might be a better direction, BUT......
The standalone controller is programmable so can be used on many types of transmissions, so could be reused or sold after the 1993 gives it's final mile.

 

[Denisefwd93]

A4LD was not a bad transmission considering it was Fords first light duty Overdrive trans, the AOD came out in 1980, A4LD in 1985
And its basic design wasn't changed much for the 4R55E and 5R55E used until 2012 in Rangers, Ford just added more solenoids for full shift control, and a 1st/OD ratio combo to add a new 2nd gear for the 5R(5-speed version)

If you want to spend $900 on a standalone transmission controller you could put in a 5R55E, lol, although for the money a rebuilt A4LD might be a better direction, BUT......
The standalone controller is programmable so can be used on many types of transmissions, so could be reused or sold after the 1993 gives it's final mile.

LOL even if somebody like me wanted to spend the money Ron it's really Beyond the average person's ability. But I'll probably want to do some more reading about these transmission controllers. This was an interesting read although somewhat confusing to me. http://www.therangerstation.com/Magazine/spring2017/put_a_700r4_in_your_ford_ranger.shtml

 

[RonD]

No automatic is "good" in most DIYers opinions, just because we/they don't really feel comfortable rebuilding them, where most would at least try to rebuild a manual trans, if it EVER broke, lol.

The GM 700R4 had its share of failures as well, you can read here: http://etereman.com/blog/general-mo...before-you-buy-a-gm-with-a-700r4-transmission

Not a bad transmission as far as automatics go, but neither was the A4LD, IMO

 

[bobbywalter]

i would run the mustang shit if i wanted an auto with a 4.0 for some reason.