why hate on the a4ld?

[RatDog8o8]

If I can't pop it in gear myself, I'm not interested.

B&M Hammer shifter on the 'stang's AOD....best of both worlds.

 

[country0001]

I've had 2 fail, and had numerous mechanics tell me that t hey are not worth rebuilding. I'm going for a M5OD behind my 4.0.

Someone put it like this in another thread. Forget where.

Auto tranny's are resposible for the pussification of America.

 

[4.0B2]

i still think you should have to take your driving test on a manual, and change a tire to have a license.... but that's a different point.
this thread is not about auto's pussifing anything..

it's about why hating on the a4ld when i've had such good one's. like i said earlier, i have my eye on a md05 but probably won't change it out till the auto takes a dump on me...

 

[LearjetMinako]

the chrysler 727 (?) was a heck of an auto.. we never broke that one. R to D never letting off the gas in mud...

My dad's 91 Dodge 2500 Cummins had a 727. Till one day, coming home from a fishing trip. It started to slip real bad from a dead stop. Made it home only to find it lost all the gears except 3rd. Now he did a retro fit of a rebuilt like of 727 with an OD unit. Can't remember the transmission number or name. Seems to have a shift hunting problem when towing, especially when climbing grades. But OD is a push back in the seat when it kicks in. If not careful, it is a good 15mph jump with the Cummins torque.

 

[bduke23]

all of these in just 3 pages of which truck to buy
http://therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=101429

this is what got me curious b/c of the "bad rep" compared to my 1st hand knowledge.

I said that it will likely give you problems based on my own experience. When I had my 85 Ranger with A4LD, the tranny blew after a few months. I then swapped in a low miles one out of donor (70 000 original km), and that one alse blew a year later. Luckily I had sold it two weeks before that happened...

 

[4.0B2]

Luckily I had sold it two weeks before that happened...

yeah yeah, lol...
i just talked to a guy i know with an ex on 35's that he wheels, and he said he's never touched his a4ld other than fluid/filter change..

 

[adsm08]

you missed the AXOD(early Taurus) and the ATX (Escort), but I'm not sure the AX4N belongs on your list, theone in my 3.0DOHC (Duratech) Taurus always seems to shift when I mentally think "shift NOW"...

AD

To be perfectly honest, I wasn't picking particular transmissions, I was just listing any auto trans I could think of. I drove a 78 Olds Omega with an original, never out, never rebuilt 350 hydromatic, and that was an awesome trans too. Well, as awesome as a 3-speed with a non-lockup converter can get.

 

[86 slo-vo]

ive had a few a4ld...still have one in my expo...

i absolutely hate them, they shift like shit and turn any 4.0 into a turd.

while i do like a 5 speed over auto i dont mind them and if i had a choice of a good auto to swap into the expo it would most likely stay auto but for gads sake i hate the a4ld i hate the way they shift and feel when driving

oh and the previous expo i had the trans was shit i could feel it slipping after only about 10k on a rebuild and acted funny all the time and again sloppy compared to a good auto

 

[straycat]

i'm confused... i understand that it's an auto, but let me ask a serious question...

why does everyone hate on the a4ld? how much of it is hear say, how much is first hand knowlege? i've ran 2 of them in my b2, one 88 b2 and other 93 ex (swapped with motor b/c i had it)-- but neither one of them caused me problems. i've beat on them, overloaded my b2, not changed fluid as i should have, and so on... trails, mud, slight rocks.... and it just keeps turns fine.
and my mom has one in a 92 ex that's a 2wd... never been messed with other than fluid/filter change. never had issues with is either.

i'm just curious guys. i see everyone hating on it, like in the choice of 3 trucks thread. and under construction stuff- everyone is complaining about it.

I have never had any issues nor has any of my buddies ever have any issues with this transmission. Most people think that an auto in a 4wd is a sissy thing!! I have known a lot of real rock crawler people who at first said an auto is for a wussy..until that had a mishap trying to shift up a steep incline and slammed dunk their ride....then they switched to and auto trans...but it is just a chosen thing. Either you like it or your don't.

 

[shane96ranger]

My friend who owns and operates a transmission shop has told me on more than one occasion that the A4LD is one of the transmissions that got him started. He's built more A4LD's than any other transmission. Everyone of them I've driven (never owned one) clunks into 3rd and 4th gears. I would much rather have the 4R55E that's in my Ranger......but I'd rather have an M5OD than that.

But +1 on the CD4E those are Total crap!!

I don't have a single complaint about my CD4E in my Escape. In my opinion, it is the best shifting transmission I've had. It always downshifts when I want it to, shifts firmly under heavy acceleration, and smoothly under normal conditions. I love it.

EDIT: I must add though that my 4R55E does need the valvebody gone through though, which should happen this summer.

 

[2wdmuddin]

i dont know how many miles are on mine but theres 200000 on the truck, and im not the easiest on anything, hell i blew out my blazers 700r4 fresh out of highschool, but ive been worse on the ranger and its ben a great transmission. if it ever goes though i will probably be doing a 5speed swap, only due to money. but for all the people who hat on the a4ld, just think it was one of the most mass produced od transmissions around and a whole lot of people depend on and beat on them everyday

 

[4.0B2]

well my a4ld shifts good, not hard, not sloppy... it shifts great...
i've gone thru a couple a4ld's in my life, its a really simple auto... fixed one a couple years ago for a buddy and it's still running just fine.

i don't see auto as a sissy thing... its a preference thing. i'd love a 5 speed, but i'm glad i can be lazy and not shift somedays. when i drive a 5 speed, i do it almost 2nd nature and not think about it.. but still.. i can drive either, that's not why i'm taking up for the a4ld.

i was hoping this wouldn't turn into a man vs auto, which it really aint, i'm surprised honestly lol..



i've had better luck with my a4ld than the axod, 4l60e, and the one in the cherokee (95 auto, idk the trans)

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

The one in my 91 is original. It gets regular fluid and filter changes, and I installed a TransGo shift kit into it at 170,000km's along with a heavy duty flexalite towing transmission cooler. It now has 223,000km's on it and still going strong and I've beaten the piss out of it.

 

[bobbywalter]

My dad's 91 Dodge 2500 Cummins had a 727. Till one day, coming home from a fishing trip. It started to slip real bad from a dead stop. Made it home only to find it lost all the gears except 3rd. Now he did a retro fit of a rebuilt like of 727 with an OD unit. Can't remember the transmission number or name. Seems to have a shift hunting problem when towing, especially when climbing grades. But OD is a push back in the seat when it kicks in. If not careful, it is a good 15mph jump with the Cummins torque.

sounds like a 618. i would do a pressure switch mod on it.


a4ld is a turd. a properly built a4ld is really an ok choice, finding a builder that stands behind these with 33-35 in tires is where the problem is.

there was a builder in Dryden mi (jb trans at one point), if you were geared right was building them. i wrecked 10 before they figured out how to make em idiot tolerant, but they did it right on the last one. i have set some of these up and it is definitely a challenge for me. finding a tight vb or aftermarket vb to build along with all the latest hardparts is key with the little bastards.

 

[jhammel85]

The one in my 91 is original. It gets regular fluid and filter changes, and I installed a TransGo shift kit into it at 170,000km's along with a heavy duty flexalite towing transmission cooler. It now has 223,000km's on it and still going strong and I've beaten the piss out of it.

That makes me feel great about this trans.

When I 1st got my truck I was pretty scared of the cracking 2.9 heads and the granading Trans.

Frankly, I'm pretty happy with it. I've had a few friends and family members that had the trans and it worked great for them. If mine is original, It has about 149K on it. In a perfect world, I'd like to swap in a 5 speed if it dies. But I would have no problem at all putting in a brand new AL4D. Not rebuilt unless it was everything. Not just a soft rebuild.

Overall..I just always worry about an auto since they just seem to die more often then a manual. Plus I love driving a manual. But like I said...It works plenty well and gets the job done (slowly..man it sucks the life out of my 2.9)