Transmission rebuild advice F4NA-EL

[candumaz]

Hi Folks,

I have a 2001 2.0 FS engine premacy with the FN4A-el transmission.

the transmission is causing me some grief, I have repaired it once myself but... it only worked great for a few days.

So the area's that I didn't get involve in when I first took it apart are related to replacing all the bushings. Which without a means to measure them seemed okay and it takes me 5-6 weeks to get parts I can't find them here or at a price I want to afford (like $1500 for a used transmission with no warranty/and not history)

Currently reverse works all the time, codes are related to incorrect ratio (slipping in d). once warmed up everything works. and cold here is +24C.
I just took the valve body out which is fine and rechecked all the solenoids also good, Transmission shifts correctly - no load wheels in the air.

I would like to check the transmission fluid pressure however I have so far been unable to locate a gauge to use

Previously I replaced the (pistons, seals, friction discs and steels), 2-4 brake band, installed rebuilt solenoids, and a shift correction kit (why not).

I am currently planning to order a set of bushings, another seal kit, a selection of shims, C clips, strut bolt re proper clearances (none of which are available or known about locally) a ford end cover/adapter, connection tube solution
and a transmission gauge which I hope I don't need (as that would mean the pump is shot...)


Well if your still here, thanks your advice is welcomed

Thanks and have a great day.

 

[Vasy]

You actually did not say what is wrong with it or millage.
You might have worn out clutch pack or torque converter or both, hard to guess with out knowing what is wrong or how many miles on the car.

 

[candumaz]

You actually did not say what is wrong with it or millage.
You might have worn out clutch pack or torque converter or both, hard to guess with out knowing what is wrong or how many miles on the car.

The car has 140,000 km's on it, but where I'm currently living in the tropics, maintenance is not high on the list... It drove fine when I first purchased it (then I serviced the transmission, fluid was a bit thick - I believe customized..)

My original problem shortly after servicing the transmission was that the car slipped in 1st and 2nd gear when cold, If I went very easy on acceleration I would work i.e. not slip in any gears after the initial shift and then once in third etc on the hwy all warmed up and no more problems until it cooled down again.

Eventually it was barely moving in first and at that point I stopped driving it and pulled the transmission.

In my initial rebuild I replaced all the clutch packs and steels, (the reverse frictions where separating from the backing, but reverse was fine), replaced all the pistons, cleaned the valve body, and replaced the solenoids with rebuilt units (everything shipped from the US). At this point all I could do with the tools I have (not much) was physically inspect clr's. the 2-4 brake band I replaced locally for $80.00 but the strut bolt is an unknown here even at a dealer so I had to go with the existing length.

The transmission worked great for 3 days after the rebuild, and then started to replicate the previous symptoms with the flare into second and eventually the slipping in first.

Since rebuilding the transmission (partial rebuild as I didn't replace the bushings) I have put maybe 1000 km's on the vehicle

My thoughts are against a torque converter problem because even when it slips in D, or Hold 1 or Hold 2 it always works fine in reverse (thereby if the torque converter had failed it would slip in all gears)

there are two sets of plastic rings in the transmission that are meant to seal in oil two just behind the pump and two at the rear cover, I'm leaning towards the bushings at the pump being oversize and allowing oil pressure to leak when cold, but once warmed up sealing sufficiently to create enough apply pressure and that's why things work fairly well after warming up the car (loaded up in reverse) but not from a cold start.

Thanks for the feedback, sorry my response took so many words but there are allot of parts to describe.