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by Lance Wiggins
LET’S PLAY BALL
I
n the last issue of Let’s Play Ball! I
had mentioned something about
how us tranny techs never take vacations. I sure hope at least some of you
were able to prove me wrong. Then I
went on to talk a little about your customers’ vacation instead and how we
could help keep their vehicles from
Burning Up in the Hot Summer Sun
from common overheating failures.
That was great fun, wasn’t it?
So, in this issue of Let’s Play Ball!,
we’re going to continue the fun by taking a look at the truck side of things.
Campers, boats, dune buggies, and trailers: How to keep it cool in the hot sum4
mer sun!
I’ve got a great story that goes way
back - my first trip to the Sierra Nevada
Mountain Range. Pine trees as far as the
eye can see, home of the Sequoias that
reach hundreds and hundreds of feet
high and have a base of about fifty feet
across. I remember the truck we were
driving: a 1975 Ford F250 Ranger, yellow and white, with the never-fail C6
transmission and a 390 cubic-inch
engine.
The trip was great, that is, until the
journey back home. We crossed over the
Grapevine Mountain Range in Southern
California, a road with a reputation for
taking out even the healthiest vehicles.
There we were just truck’n along and as
I peered out the window, I could not
believe what was passing us on the freeway: The Rangers right rear tire and axle
assembly! Of course the truck hit the
ground, showering the roadway with
sparks, and, gee, I guess the brakes
wouldn’t be working too well at this
point, would they? But we managed to
GEARS August 2003
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Burning Up... Part 2
Figure 1a
Figure 1a
get the truck stopped, and just like that,
the vacation of a lifetime became a
headache.
This type of thing happens all the
time, whether it’s the transmission,
engine, axles or something as simple as
running out of gas. As transmission
technicians and shop owners, you need
to be prepared for these vehicles… and
these customers.
Since it’s the summer, and the
vehicles are usually overloaded to
begin with, the most common source of
these emergencies is overheating. Let’s
look at some rear wheel drive transmissions, and examine some of the common failures caused by overheating.
46RE and 47RE
Figure 1b
Some Dodge and Jeep vehicles
with 46- and 47-series transmissions
may experience repeat planetary failures. To help prevent this, adjust the
geartrain endplay to 0.006" - 0.048"
(0.15 mm - 1.22 mm; Figure 1a, 1b).
To check the endplay, assemble the
entire geartrain (including the snap
ring) onto the output shaft. Use a feeler
gauge to measure planet endplay.
Check the lube hole in the case at
the rear cooler line fitting. If it’s smaller than 1⁄4", use a 1⁄4" drill to enlarge
the hole.
Many planetary failures are caused
by restricted coolers. If geartrain endplay is within specifications and you’ve
already enlarged the rear cooler hole,
replace the radiator… even if it seems
to have enough flow during flushing.
For further protection, you may want to
add a cooler bypass valve, Chrysler
#04874284.
Always make sure the inline check
valve in the cooler line is working. All
too often, this check valve will melt and
restrict cooler flow. As you already
know, no-flow equals no-go!
A4LD and 4R/5R55E
There was a time when the A4LD
was one of the most popular transmissions in the shop. These days, the
4R55E and 5R55E have taken the lead.
The lube problems they face, unfortunately, remain the same as their predecessor.
The A4LD has gone through many
changes. One major change is the
6
GEARS August 2003
29-TRANSTAR 7-03.QXD
6/4/03
4:47 PM
Page 29
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Burning Up... Part 2
Figure 7a: Additional bolt hole
redesign of the pump housing, pump
gears, and bellhousing. But even with
all the changes that have taken place,
there’s still interchangeability between
these units, as long as you use the entire
assembly. Mixing parts will cause planetary failures, due to variations in the
lube circuit.
Use the illustrations to help identify the differences in the parts. The difference between the bellhousing is in
the lube circuit (Figure 2), pump plate
(Figure 3), pump assembly (Figure 4),
pump gaskets (Figure 5) and pump
gear (Figure 6), see page 10.
If you install an A4LD pump and
plate on an unmodified 4R44/55E bellhousing, you’ll end up with no cooler
flow. But you can easily modify the
4R44/55E bellhousing to work with the
A4LD pump and plate. This is a oneway interchange: Once you perform
this modification, don’t try to reuse the
bellhousing with a 4R44/55E pump.
To use the bellhousing from a
4R/5R55E with an A4LD pump, extend
the lube circuit passage through the
additional bolt hole in the 4R44/55E
bellhousing (Figure 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d).
Use the pump plate to make sure the
lube passage is completely clear.
E4OD
Figure 7b: Open area with drill
Figure 7c: Slot lube passage
8
Overdrive planetary failure may be
caused by a melted drainback valve,
located under the orificed cup plug in
the rear of the stator support (Figure 8).
If the valve is damaged, you can purchase a new valve from Ford, part#
E9TZ-7H132-A. But you may also be
able to purchase this valve from some
of your local suppliers. Ford doesn’t
include a new orificed cup plug with
the valve, so if you purchase the valve
from Ford, you’ll have to reuse the old
cup plug. ATRA Bulletin #080
describes the procedure for removing
and replacing the drainback valve.
You should consider drilling the
pump for line to lube during your regular rebuild procedure, and it’s something you should always do on heavyduty truck applications. Refer to the
MAY 2002 GEARS performance issue
for the details of this modification.
Auxiliary coolers are always a big
improvement. Many companies offer
coolers for all of the transmissions
GEARS August 2003
Precision 8-03 newSPACESHIP
7/8/03
12:18 PM
Page 9
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Spaceships? We haven’t helped repair one of those yet. But who knows
what tomorrow will bring!
CAUSE: The front pump seal may have been installed too
deeply into the converter housing. This can cause the seal
to block off half of the drain back hole in the pump, leading
to an increase in oil pressure behind the seal. Which, in turn,
can make the front seal pop out of the housing or
oil to blow past the seal between its lip and
converter hub.
SOLUTION: Precision International’s
redesigned Vamac® front pump seal
number 63704. It’s pre-notched and indexed
to avoid blocking the drain black hole. You can
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Burning Up... Part 2
Use the illustrations to help identify the differences in the parts. The difference between the bellhousing is in the lube circuit (Figure 2), pump plate (Figure 3), pump assembly (Figure 4), pump gaskets (Figure 5) and pump gear (Figure 6).
Figure 2: Lube Circuit
Figure 3: Pump Plate
Figure 4: Pump Assembly
Figure 5: Pump Gasket
Figure 6: Pump Gear
10
GEARS August 2003
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Burning Up... Part 2
Figure 7d: Finish should look like this.
we’ve talked about. Make sure when
you install a cooler that you don’t block
other cooling elements. An example
would be a 2000 F350 with a 7.3L
diesel; of course it’s turbocharged,
intercooled, propane injected, exhaust,
brake, CB radio… you get the picture.
This particular unit will have five separate coolers on board):
1. Radiator
2. A/C Condenser
3. Power Steering Cooler
4. Turbocharger Intercooler
5. Transmission Cooler
Mind you, all of these are stacked
one in front of another, like a sandwich.
If any one of these coolers gets clogged
or damaged from road debris, all of
them will suffer. It’s a wonder we don’t
see more of these in the shop for overheating failures.
These are just some of the common
overheating failures that can and will
occur during the family vacation. Some
additional checks you can make for
your customers are:
Radiator Inspection: Make sure
you have the proper concentration of
coolant, and that the coolant is in good
shape. Make sure the hoses are in good
shape, and aren’t swollen, mushy, or
cracked. Remember to take an extra
12
Figure 8
gallon of water with you before you
leave the house.
Engine and Transmission Oil: If
you haven’t already done so, change
the engine oil before you leave. And
have the transmission fluid inspected
and serviced at least once a year,
depending on the driving habits of the
customer.
I can’t tell you that problems won’t
occur during your customer’s vacation,
but being the hero when you prevent
those problems is priceless. By now
most of you will be sending your kids
back to school and the rest will be
scheduling their vacations, and if
there’s one piece of advice I can give
you on your vacation it would be this:
“All Aboard!” …and That’s the Game!
GEARS August 2003