JStrider

My 93 ford explorer is giving me crap...
its
6cyl
auto tranny
has the automatic locking 4x4 if thats even relevent...

i was driving to a friends house and i hear a pop as im slowing down to a stoplight... i wasnt sure if it was me or another car so i kept going and as i approach a stop sign a couple miles down the road my car dies right before i stop... i hit the emergency flashers and wave people past while i start it again... starts fine... and as soon as i put it into gear it dies again... so some guy helps me push it to the side of the road and lets me call the AAA tow truck with his cell... i also noticed that theres some liquid splattered around inside my engine compartment... i couldnt see any obvious broken hoses or places for it to have sprayed the liquid from...

if anyone has any ideas on whats wrong... and what it takes to fix it... lemme know...

__________________
-=JStrider=-

~Clatto Verata Nicto

ElwoodBlues

hmm....car starts fine, dies when put in gear. has your transmission been slipping?

__________________
I think Pringles initial intention was to make tennis balls. But on the day that the rubber was supposed to show up, a big truckload of potatoes arrived. But Pringles is a laid back company. They said "Fuck it. Cut em up." -Mitch Hedberg, '68-'05

Bauer's the man.

Slims

It's gotta be the transmission

__________________
"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill

"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence

JStrider

no its not allowed to be the transmission... i just threw almost $800 into the tranny a little bit before spring break...



what if i find a virgin... and sacrifice her on the cars hood... do you think that would please the car gods enough to make them fix it?

__________________
-=JStrider=-

~Clatto Verata Nicto

Booty Man

A faulty Tranny won't cause the car to stall so it's not that.

vinnyferrozzo

find out what the liquid was...make sure it wasn't a fuel line popping

Zipperhead

Virgins don't work on fuel injected vehicles...

Did you check the fluids? Engine oil, coolant? The stuff that you said was splattered around under the hood, was it fresh? Like still dripping? I say if you identify that fluid, you'll be MUCH closer to finding the culprit causing the stalling.

Usually, this situation is caused by the torque converter clutch solenoid sticking in the "on" position. On some vehicles this solenoid can be deactivated which will effectively solve the problem but will prevent the clutch from locking when it's supposed to, such as at highway speeds.

See if you can find a mechanic who can disconnect that solenoid to see if it does, in fact, fix the problem.

The fluid you saw splattered under the hood is NOT a symptom of this solenoid failing, so all this stuff I said may be entirely useless.

Good luck.

Wade

JStrider

well the fluid didnt seem to be dripping any more... and i didnt see any obvious places for it to have come from... i checked the engine oil, the coolant.. the tranny and it all seemed fine... i went out just now with a white paper towel and tried to get a dab of the liquid... most turned out pretty brown and dirty... but one i got off of the coolant overflow resevoir looks pretty good... ill get a pic of it up asap

the guy that helped me push it out of the road said he thought it might be the linkage... whats the linkage.. .and whats it do?


what about 2 virgins... or goats... would goats work?

__________________
-=JStrider=-

~Clatto Verata Nicto

JStrider

ok got the pic of the liquid on the paper towel...

its a little more oarnge then what it looks like in the picture...

__________________
-=JStrider=-

~Clatto Verata Nicto

DEI37

Could be A/C Oil, P/S fluid (the steering would have been tough), or engine oil. That's tough to tell what you've got going on there.

__________________
Generally speaking, if you were to get what you really deserve, you might be unpleasantly surprised.

DEI37

Orange would be weird...the only thing I know of that is orange is coolant. Do you have green coolant in your vehicle? I'm gonna lean towards engine oil, though. Check all the fluid levels, and figure out which one is low.

__________________
Generally speaking, if you were to get what you really deserve, you might be unpleasantly surprised.

JStrider

i checked them all they all seem fine...

i dont think its engine oil... its not greasy between the fingers...

my coolant is green and is full...

the only thing i cant properly check is the tranny fluid... cuz your sposed to let it idle and then let it go into each gear... but if i do that it dies... with just leaving it in park it says its way over full...

__________________
-=JStrider=-

~Clatto Verata Nicto

Zipperhead

I'd be surprised if that fluid wasn't transmission fluid. Tranny fluid is often a pink or red color but might look orange. The good thing about that paper towel that you photo'd is that the fluid is not black, which would indicate that your transmission is on its last legs.

If I am right about that being tranny fluid (and there's an even chance that I'm not) the next question is where did it come from? I think that there are some recirculation tubes for this stuff as well as a breather somewhere. I read about somebody having a backfire in their engine and some of their hoses blowing off (may have been that "pop' that you heard.)

Check again to see if there are any hoses disconnected or if you can see any open holes or nipples where a hose should connect to. Check the bottom of the motor as well, particularly around the transmission casing. Also try to determine where the fluid spray came from using some of the "blood spatter" tricks off of CSI, LOL.

JStrider

well the tow truck came this morning... hes taking it to a transmission shop... so hopefully theyll let us know whats up today or tomorow...

i did try to figure out where it came from and all i can figure is it came off the lower side of the engine... but theres no broken or damaged looking hose or anything there...

__________________
-=JStrider=-

~Clatto Verata Nicto

Zipperhead

Good luck. Hopefully it won't cost too much loot.

air45

i am not skillful with the car and this is why i enjoy the taxi cab. yes it is expensive but also the driver has knowledge and opinions so you get some more for your money.

the taxi cab is superior and number one!

Sion

Ill bet the tranny is locked up. When in park or neutral, a transmission is essentially disengaged from the engine. But once in gear, the transmission is turning with the engine, even if you are stopped. So, if the tranny is locked up, in park the engine will run fine. Put it in gear, and the engine, because it is now mated to the tranny, is trying to turn the tranny and cant. So it dies.

The fluid is probably transmission. My guess is that when the tranny locked up, it caused a backup of pressure somewhere in the fluid cooling lines. (Most vehicles have a line that runs from the tranny to the (usually) lowere section of the radiator and another that runs back to the tranny. This allows the radiator to cool both the tranny fluid (and hence the tranny) as well as the antifreeze/coolant (and thus the engine). On of these lines likely popped due to the excess pressure that built up when the tranny locked up.


JStrider, sacrificing a virgin to the car gods wont help you avoid the roughly $1k it will cost to fix your vehicle. However, sacrificing said virgin to the mechanic who is going to do the job....

__________________
He's the best, of course, of all the worst.
Some wrong been done, he done it first. -fz

I jus' want ta thank you...falettinme...be mice elf...agin...

JStrider

hmmm... well i talked to the guys at the shop and they said they had done some checking of the electrical system and it was fine so this afternoon they were supposed to start taking oil pans off and checking for a mechanical problem.... they wanted to check some springs or somethin... a guy i was talking to said i should get a transmission cooler i think he said... he said it was like $30 to $40 and not hard to install but would reduce where and tear on my tranny...

__________________
-=JStrider=-

~Clatto Verata Nicto

FastShark85

It sounds like the tranny to me, too.

If so, have the garage that took your money last time fix it for free since they probably botched the job.

DEI37

Yes, transmission coolers are the shiznit. Most cars today have one built in to the radiator, but the better ones are external. Get one...you'll be glad you did.

__________________
Generally speaking, if you were to get what you really deserve, you might be unpleasantly surprised.

JStrider

a transmission cooler like a radiator for transmission fluid right?... where would i get one... would it be better to get one online or at an autozone or pep boys?

__________________
-=JStrider=-

~Clatto Verata Nicto

Ashton

Ashton

JStrider

ariekittens dad (hes a mechanic) said the same thing about the torque converter... im pretty sure that they worked on (or replaced im not sure) my torque converter when i took it in a little before spring break... i dont have the documentation here with me so i cant really check...

theyve had my car for 4 whole working days... and the weekend... and STILL dont know for sure whats wrong.... they said they checked the electrical system... and then were supposed to start opening it up and looking at the insides today... it just seems like its taking a really long time to even find out whats wrong...

__________________
-=JStrider=-

~Clatto Verata Nicto

Moonduck

If you have an automatic, and bought it in Texas, odds are fair that you already have a trans cooler. Your problem sounds more and more like a dead torque converter, and that is being optimistic that many other possible issues haven't cropped up in your trans. Good luck.

Ashton

JStrider

well it wasnt like i pulled the emergency brake... the engine just died and i put on the brakes to a stop...

as for the pop it was slowing down to a stoplight that turned green before i stopped... that stopsign was the first thing i was going to stop at after the pop... (the pop and the car dying were several minutes apart...)

I didnt buy the car in Texas... i bought it used in CA it was originally purchased in Virginia... or maybe it was maryland... it was east coast anyways...


after looking up Transmission coolers on the net and seeing some pics... im pretty sure i already have one... looks like a smaller radiator in front of the main one...

__________________
-=JStrider=-

~Clatto Verata Nicto

Sion

"after looking up Transmission coolers on the net and seeing some pics... im pretty sure i already have one... looks like a smaller radiator in front of the main one..."

possibly, but then again, what you are looking at is most likely the condensor (or is it evaporator? I always get those two confused) for the air conditioning. external tranny coolers are not a common factory installed option. usually they are added on later. but since you didnt buy the vehicle new, who knows. trace the lines that come from it and you'll soon find out what it is.

__________________
He's the best, of course, of all the worst.
Some wrong been done, he done it first. -fz

I jus' want ta thank you...falettinme...be mice elf...agin...

JStrider

ok... when i get my car back ill definently crawl underneath and will trace the lines on that little radiator back and see where they go.... and if i dont already have one...where is the best place to get one?

my dad talked to the people at the shop... they said they were almost positive it was a spring in the torque converter... and they would know for sure and have an estimate by this afternoon...

__________________
-=JStrider=-

~Clatto Verata Nicto

JStrider

well i got it back... they said the spring in the torque converter broke... and that it was being held closed... because the spring wasnt there to hold it open...

it cost $306 grand total... seemed pretty expensive for just a spring... but thats what it cost...

__________________
-=JStrider=-

~Clatto Verata Nicto

Ashton

Sion

what Ashton said, not to mention that probably half that total is labor. you dont just reach under the hood and yank out a torque converter like you would an air filter.

__________________
He's the best, of course, of all the worst.
Some wrong been done, he done it first. -fz

I jus' want ta thank you...falettinme...be mice elf...agin...

Zooksport2

Unless you live in high temp country, or regularly tow a trailer, you don't really need a tranny cooler. I lived in the northwest of Oz for 15 years, average temps in the high 30,s (around 100. F) and never had any probs with my cars or (F100) and all were autos without a cooler. Only one car I ever owned had a cooler. And that was factory fitted... And I never gave any of my cars a peaceful life!

post script: No warranty from original repair?

__________________

cpomdima

The 94 explorer xlt has a tranny cooler, stock. Your's might too.