taurus gt man

HEllo, I have just purchased an 89 lx mustang with a 2.3 4 banger and I dont have the car yet but ive been told it was retrofitted with a newer model transmission and because of that the computer cant link properly to the transmission and it causes it to not have 4th gear. I know im not listing the specific transmission as im not sure really, but any ideas? Thanks, Chris

By the way, it was evaluated and they said the 3-4 solinoid couldnt link up and something about the wiring. Anyone know what is wrong or what needs to be changed to fix it?

hollister

It's an A4LD transmission, what probably happened is the tranny took a crap and they replaced it with the wrong year.
I can't remember which is which, but some of them have two wires and some have three, and it's dependent on whether
your car was one of the first to have the A4LD, or one of the later ones. I went through that same thing with my car
which is an '89 2.3 conv.

hollister

Sorry, failed to mention that the only way to properly fix it is to get the right year, I think our cars only have two wires.
I tried to find a way to rig mine when it went out because a junkyard gave me the one with three wires, but even if you wired it straight the newer tranny has (I think) a 3-4 solenoid where the older one wasn't operated by an electric signal, and if it doesn;t get that signal then you'll never get O/D whereas if you get the older tranny then you don't need a signal and you'll be fine. But beware, those trannies aren't cheap.

taurus gt man

Thanks for the response, it helped alot. Chris

taurus gt man

Is there a posibility that I could just change the computer and the wiring to the transmission? Thanks, Chris

hollister

It sounds possible, as long as there is nothing different about the wiring to the motor, anyone else have any input?

taurus gt man

If anyone else knows if say a 93 computer and wiring will work the same for my 89 engine wiring and dash wiring it would help alot. Thanks, Chris

4bang93stang

i think u can change the computer but u will need a new wiring harness too, i think i hit my final shift at like 80mph, so you will be fine your rpms will just be higher at 60 like im at like almost 2 grand, or a bit more, wheres u will be at 3,if u know the year of the tranny u know what year ecu to get, just so u know 92-93 motors are differant, and i think 91 as well, they have no distributor and 8 sparkplugs and coilpacks that run them, that ecu wont run or plug into ur motors distributor, im sure the motor could be converted too but it would prolly be easier to get the right year trans.so a 90 ecu is prolly what u have to have

taurus gt man

Thanks, that really helps. Chris