1992 Explorer possibly bad trans pan gasket

[Apinkston]

Hello,
A family member of mine has a 92 explorer with the A4LD transmission that has been sitting for a few years. I have been told the only issue with it was the trans pan gasket. Supposedly it would blow when the pressure builds up enough, dump fluid, then reseals when pressure drops enough. Doesn’t sound right to me and was hoping to get some input on the matter.
Thanks

 

[snoranger]

Hello,
A family member of mine has a 92 explorer with the A4LD transmission that has been sitting for a few years. I have been told the only issue with it was the trans pan gasket. Supposedly it would blow when the pressure builds up enough, dump fluid, then reseals when pressure drops enough. Doesn’t sound right to me and was hoping to get some input on the matter.
Thanks

Sounds more like it’s blowing out of the vent tube.

 

[Apinkston]

Sounds more like it’s blowing out of the vent tube.

I don’t know too much about cars, so is that a bigger problem for me to fix?

 

[Shran]

Yeah that or the front seal... Also common. That requires pulling the transmission. Vent tube can be serviced fairly easily, it's kinda squeezed in there in a weird spot though.

 

[broncobuckinaround]

Sounds like the trans is over heating. Make sure the trans cooler is working properly. Its in front of the radiator. Looks like a small radiator

 

[Apinkston]

Sounds like the trans is over heating. Make sure the trans cooler is working properly. Its in front of the radiator. Looks like a small radiator

Is there a way I can tell the difference between the trans cooler or the vent tube being the issue on this or is it more guess and check

 

[broncobuckinaround]

The vent tube will be higher above the trans. Look for atf dripping out of it.

Run the car until it starts to leaks and see how hot the fluid is.

You can flush the cooler for good measure.

 

[broncobuckinaround]

If you have a laser temp gun. You can check between engine and transmission. They should be close in temp. But you'll have to drive it around or wait a while til the trans gets to temp

 

[Apinkston]

If you have a laser temp gun. You can check between engine and transmission. They should be close in temp. But you'll have to drive it around or wait a while til the trans gets to temp

The front tires are shot and it’s registered nonop at the moment so I can’t drive it. Will try just letting it sit running for a while to find the leaks

 

[Apinkston]

I was able to get some work done on the car recently. Two new front tires and a new belt. I got the car out of the driveway and into the street to let it idle for a couple of hours. After 2 hours of idle, I didn't see any fluid leaks or signs of overheating. Took it around the block a few times and no issues there. I did however run into a worrisome issue getting it back into the driveway. The car backed into the driveway just fine, but when I put it in park and shut it off, the car started slipping forward. There were thuds and clunks that sounded like it was from the wheels which leads me to believe it's the brakes. Before I was able to get the car moving I did have to disable the drums in the rear passenger wheel as they had seized up. Driving around, the brakes felt weak and almost not there. I did test the parking brake on the street by letting the car run and trying to push it while in park, no problems with that. Any ideas or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I am not going back to do any work until tomorrow.

 

[Shran]

How exactly did you disable the rear brakes? That could be why your brakes feel weak..... and the parking brake on your Explorer basically just engages the rear brakes, if you have disabled them then your brake "test" really told you nothing.

Idling is not going to generate much heat in the transmission. You need to put it under a pretty good load to leak test it... go out and drive it up some steep hills or something like that but please fix the brake issues before you do much more!

As far as it slipping forward in park - how far did it roll? Are we talking inches or feet or ...? It is somewhat normal for any vehicle with an automatic transmission to roll a little bit when you put it in park, before the parking pawl catches...especially if it's parked on a sloped surface... but I am talking maybe an inch or two at most.

 

[Apinkston]

The rear passenger brakes had siezed up and I was not looking to properly free it up since I planned on replacing the brakes anyway. I disconnected the hardware for that wheel and slapped the old drum back on. New shoes, drums, and hardware are already ordered. When it slipped out of the driveway, it was by feet. When I replace the brakes I will try again. At the moment I’m waiting on rotors for the front and hardware for the rear

 

[Shran]

OK... I am guessing that your weak brakes are from the wheel cylinder on that corner pushing on nothing. Do not drive it like that, in fact don't even push the brakes until you have fixed it or you will blow the wheel cylinder out and have fluid everywhere and NO brakes. I am shocked that hasn't happened already.

Interesting that it rolled that much. Without seeing it, I would guess that perhaps the shifter cable is not adjusted correctly and it didn't go into park completely, or the parking pawl was stuck, or broken. Keep us posted on that, maybe it was just sticking from years of sitting.