Wondering if anyone knows where to get a cheap A4LD.

[ivegotlittlebutmuch]

Hello, I just got a free 1990 ford ranger. The reverse gear is blown and the transmission has rust. Ive been looking on market place, local scrapyards, pick and pulls (none are really around) for A4LDs. I can't find any that are cheap, and I'd like to keep it as original as I can. (It was a gift and it feels weird to instantly manual swap it.)

 

[ShhhhhDougsHere]

Hello @ivegotlittlebutmuch welcome to TheRangerStation family.

I'm in a somewhat same boat as you are mostly.

I have a 94 4.0l automatic twd longbed.
And my transmission is also an A4LD and it too is bad.
I bought my truck however the price I paid for it ($200.00) makes me feel like it was given to me.

I live in Dayton Ohio and we have an pull your own parts junkyard here called LKQ and the last time I checked they had a 94 Ranger there with a automatic transmission but they want almost $700.00 for the transmission and torque converter.

And I don't even have a job. So I'm broke as broke can be.

I wish you luck in your search brother.

 

[ivegotlittlebutmuch]

Hello @ivegotlittlebutmuch welcome to TheRangerStation family.

I'm in a somewhat same boat as you are mostly.

I have a 94 4.0l automatic twd longbed.
And my transmission is also an A4LD and it too is bad.
I bought my truck however the price I paid for it ($200.00) makes me feel like it was given to me.

I live in Dayton Ohio and we have an pull your own parts junkyard here called LKQ and the last time I checked they had a 94 Ranger there with a automatic transmission but they want almost $700.00 for the transmission and torque converter.

And I don't even have a job. So I'm broke as broke can be.

I wish you luck in your search brother.

I got a job but 200$ a pay check ain't kind in a spendy state. I've been looking on carparts.com, FB, offer up, asking people if they don't want one. Also 4L A4LDs are on 1990-1995 explorers, Mazda b4000s, and 4L Aerostars. I hope you get a good find.

 

[ShhhhhDougsHere]

I've not been really looking because of the lack of funds.

I'm sure once I do get a job that things for my truck will work out.

I spent 20 years in prison.
I got out on 6-12-2024.

I'm fortunate that I have a family that are very good support system for me.
So to be truly honest I haven't even really started looking for work yet.
However I do feel bad because my family have been supporting me and I'm taking money out of their pockets.
I live in one of my brothers rental properties and that's for sure taking money out of his pocket and food out of his family's mouths.

However after spending 20 years in prison to be totally honest I'm pretty scared about even going outside someday.
I worry about making a simple mistake and going back to prison because I am on something called PRC that Ohio has which is a form of parole.

I appreciate your good wishes for me in my truck.
And I send you my good wishes for you and your truck as well.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

you can try car-part.com.....you might get lucky.

Best bet for cheap is to find one getting parted out or someone with one they are tired of tripping over.

But chances are good its probably junk too.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

So, not saying for sure it would fix things, but new reverse servo gasket and O-ring (you have to drop the pan to get to it), may help. Once that starts leaking, you start to lose reverse, then first gear, because both are hydraulically applied by the reverse servo.

When the pan is down, check it for glitter and sludge. Glitter is generally bad, but sludge is not so much. Actually I guess the first step would be to pull the dipstick and see what the fluid is like. Is it still red? Any glitter? Does it smell like burnt popcorn?

An o-ring, gasket, filter and fluid isn’t super expensive. If the fluid isn’t glittery or burnt, it might be worth a try. Tighten the bands for 2nd and 3rd while you’re at it (they’re on the drivers side of the outside of the case and there’s a procedure).

I used to have a sort of dislike for the A4LD until I went after the one in my 92 with a vengeance. It hadn’t lost reverse, but it was a mushy/slushy thing and I wasn’t sure I was getting full torque converter lockup. When I dropped the pan, I had sludge and was worried, but I had already bought parts and figured the worst that could happen is that I finish it off.

I threw the kitchen sink at it. TransGo shift kit plus all of the valve body mods I could dig up and a new reverse servo o-ring plus gasket. My only regret was that I didn’t have a numbered drill bit set and was nervous about drilling out to the maximum that the TransGo kit said you could. I should have drilled to the maximum. Took about a month to work all the air out of things and then it was an absolute animal. My green Ranger is getting a shift kit now because that was an eye-opening experience. My 88 will get a full mod when I get back to that project.

 

[ivegotlittlebutmuch]

you can try car-part.com.....you might get lucky.

Best bet for cheap is to find one getting parted out or someone with one they are tired of tripping over.

But chances are good its probably junk too.

I mean it's a Ford transmission, an automatic, can't be that good.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I mean it's a Ford transmission, an automatic, can't be that good.

You know, a lot of people hate on them and I used to. But after I did the work to my 92, it would light up both back tires from a stop if you hit the gas too hard from a stop and if you were really on it with an empty bed you could get it to chirp second. That’s kind of impressive for an automatic, especially an A4LD. I think once some of the flaws are addressed, if you take care of it (adjust the bands every 20-30k and fluid/filter at 50k), they aren’t all that bad

 

[ivegotlittlebutmuch]

You know, a lot of people hate on them and I used to. But after I did the work to my 92, it would light up both back tires from a stop if you hit the gas too hard from a stop and if you were really on it with an empty bed you could get it to chirp second. That’s kind of impressive for an automatic, especially an A4LD. I think once some of the flaws are addressed, if you take care of it (adjust the bands every 20-30k and fluid/filter at 50k), they aren’t all that bad

Maybe, I don't know yet. I'll be buying a new one, or 5 speed swapping it. I think most things are okay when taken care of.

 

[ShhhhhDougsHere]

I just got to my brother Andy's house so I can use his Wi-Fi for a few minutes.
Not having any data sucks.

I'm kinda still up in the air about my truck's transmission.

It's slipping for sure I know that.
I'm positive that when I put fluid in it " after changing the front seal that blew out " the fluid level is full.

The last time I did anything to it " which was over a month ago, I believe " I took the vacuum line off of that one part " I can't remember the name of that part that the vacuum line goes to" fluid leaked out of the vacuum line and that part that the vacuum line hooks to.

So I'm wondering if that part may be bad and that may be my whole problem.
I'm not positive if that would cause my transmission to slip or not.

I am very much a novice when it comes to your transmission.
The only way I would do anything internally to my transmission was with I had someone there that could hands on teach me what I'm doing.

Don't get me wrong I could read a book and look at pictures and maybe be able to get my way through it.
But I'd much rather someone be there to say hey you just messed up, if I do mess up.