Yep, I finally killed it! Tranny swap time...

Alrighty... I knew this was coming and I happened to be blessed by a local mmb member with a backup transmission, so I'm not quite as bothered by this as I might be. However, as the title implies, my transmission is done. I have to rev it like an Indycar just to move it in and out of the garage, and I just know it's going to decide to grip at about 4500 RPMs and put me in the kitchen. Good times.

So yeah, it's slipping bad. Here's my plan. I'm going to clean up this relatively low-mile, later model Comet transmission. Probably going to put a kit in it, upgrade the modulator. I'll put a trans temp gauge in. (because I happen to have one) Maybe get a higher stall converter if money allows. (I assume either way, it's a bad idea for me to reuse my current converter. What should I look for? Are there different C4 converters as far as fitment?)

I'll install that, and later as time and funds permit I'll rebuild my other transmission for the experience.

Here's where I need help, and I know this is basic, but humor me... I have swapped a few transmissions before, but only GM. I know there are four flexplate bolts instead of three, and that is about the only difference I know about. What am I going to run into? Any tricks I need to know? My exhaust looks like it won't be much of a problem, so the operation SEEMS simple... Just put it on jackstands, drain it, take off the dust cover, the flexplate bolts, driveshaft yoke, linkage for the shifter and kickdown rod, cooler lines, bellhousing bolts, crossmember, pull it out and that's it, right?

Also, is it a bad idea to use barb fittings and replace the trans cooler lines with rubber? At first it seems ok, but I notice I don't see anybody doing that, so I have to wonder... Just seems like that would be a cleaner way to run an external cooler. (I ONLY have an external cooler, which is one reason I want that temp gauge. It's a big one, but I don't have one in the radiator.)

Thanks for the help!

 

TransGo 40-2 kit en route! Now about that converter...

 

if you switch the tranny lines to rubber they need to be hydrolic (sp?) lines. Fuel lines wont last with the atf. on the converter call a company like huges conveters and tell them what you got and are doing with the car and they can set you up with the best converter for your car. have as much info on your car ready when you call them like the car weight, engine size, cam profile, rear gearing, and tire hight.

 

Faceless,
You will want to drain the transmission before you remove it. There is not usually a drain plug so you have to pull the pan. The trick is to pull the rear bolts first then work your way up the sides to the front bolts. Just loosen them untill the fluid starts to gush out the rear of the pan - usually missing the too small pan put there to catch the oil. There is more than five quarts in the C4 so do yourself a favor and use a BIG drain pan. Put the pan back upwith the bolts so you can use it to rest on the jack and it doesn't leak oil all over you. The exhaust will have to be disconnected at the header / manifolds at least. If you have a spare yoke use it to plug the rear of the transmission because they always leak when you pull them out. If not then tape a heavy freezer bag over the tail housing to contain the oil. Other than that you have a pretty good hold of getting the C4 out and on the ground. A good floor jack will work to take the C4 out but you will be ahead of the game if you get a helper to steady the transmission unless you have a very good transmission jack.
NOTE: you will have to jack the front of the car very high to have enough room to pull the transmission out from under it. Get it as high as you can and use good jack stands or cribbing to make it rock steady while you are under it. You don't want to be a memory that makes others think about how well they have blocked the car before they crawl under theirs.

 

Good advice, Paul. I have a good transmission jack lined up. My jackstands seem plenty sturdy, but they aren't any taller than most typical jackstands I've used. I'm out of town right now else I'd measure them and find out for sure if they'll be adequate. Any particular place on the car you suggest as ideal for putting the jackstands?

 

Put the stands on the bottom rails - where the subframes end. Get that car as high as you can. If you have to put it up as far as the jack will take it and then block the jack to go the next step just don't let it fall on you. It is safer to jack the front and then the rear rather than one side and then the other. I have stands that go under the tires and it lifts the tires and frame 12 inches off the ground without losing any stability. That puts the fram about 19 inches off the ground.

 

Well after about 3 weeks I finally have an update. Car has been up in the air all this time and I ran into a snag or two, (I really thought I wasn't gonna have to pull the exhaust...) then life started getting in the way, had to go out of town a few times for work, etc...

I'm back to it now. I'll be ordering my converter shortly, correctly stalled for my cam, and I'm prepping the '77 tranmission this weekend. (Trans-Go "reprogramming kit," new lines, temp gauge, miscellaneous adjustments and checks... Everything short of an actual rebuild.)

So it turns out my '77 transmission has the larger bellhousing for the 164-tooth flywheel. Good thing I was paying attention to all that stuff. (Is that stock? Somehow I thought all Mav/Comets had the 157 tooth.) I need to swap bellhousings, no big deal. It also has a different dipstick tube and that's really what I need to ask you guys about. Look at these:



In these pics, the tube I pulled from my car (a '74-dated trans) is on the right. The '77 tube (larger bellhousing) is on the left. The dipstick I have is what came with the car, and I have no idea if it's stock or not. (For whatever it's worth, the engine dipstick was NOT stock and that caused me much annoyance.)

As you can see, when installed in the shorter tube, the dipstick protrudes a little over an inch. In the longer tube, the dipstick doesn't quite make it out the end. Which (if either) is correct?

My first assumption would be the tube and stick combo I had in the first place is right. BUT, I always kept thinking my transmission was overfilled and I wonder now if this was the reason.

Another thing you might notice is neither dipstick tube has the mounting bracket on it. I don't know about the other one, but the one I pulled off lost the bracket in the bloody battle to remove the transmission, and now it's got a hole in it. So maybe I'll fix that it unless somebody tells me the other one is correct.

Or here's the best idea yet: Anybody wanna sell/trade/donate a proper dipstick and tube for this combo?

Thanks as always...

 

Well if this is an accurate picture, then the stick should indeed protrude a little. I didn't know this part was available aftermarket, I guess I'll just buy one...

 

Alright, my box from Summit arrived today, and if a friend from work comes through on his offer to loan me a transmission jack, I'll be under it tomorrow night. Either way I'll have it done by the weekend.

I have a Hughes ~2500 stall converter, a new Ford Racing dipstick and tube, a sender for my B&M temp gauge, and an aluminum deep sump oil pan. (thanks Streetrod77) Also have plenty of the correct 3/8" transmission hose for my cooler, which I'll be upgrading in size, and I've done away with the metal lines in favor of barb fittings on the trans. (Those metal lines were kinked, leaky at the ends, and disturbingly close to the power connector on my mini starter anyway.)

I tore it all open and installed the TransGo reprogramming kit. That was actually pretty fun, and for better or worse (probably worse) I'm no longer intimidated by the idea of tearing apart an automatic transmission. I have a much better understanding now of how these things work, or so I tell myself.

The one thing I don't have ready to go, is enough Type F transmission fluid. I searched two Auto Zones an Advance and a Wal-Mart. The most of a single brand I could get my hands on was nine quarts of "Super Tech" which I believe is Wal-Mart's store brand.

First question. Considering the deep sump, the 15x7" cooler and the fact that the transmission is utterly empty right now, how much more fluid do I need? I was ballparking probably a total of 12 quarts.

Second question... Normally I would be leery of a Wal-Mart store brand of anything, and I've got a lot of time and money wrapped up in this thing. So I have to wonder if "Super Tech" is good transmission fluid. BUT, I also know that there are standards it has to meet to be called "Type F" and it's not like Kathy Lee Gifford has a horde of 8-year-old boys in Thailand making transmission fluid out of discarded fish sauce. It's surely just repackaged Castrol or Pennzoil, etc.

So does anybody think I should run back to Wal-Mart as fast as I can with my receipt and get rid of this stuff or is it perfectly decent like I think it probably is? And for the other 3-4 quarts I probably need, do you think it's okay to mix brands or should I hit up another Wal-Mart and buy some more Super Tech?

Thanks as always... Pics coming soon!

 

I've got the wal-mart type F in the garage. I use it to fill my street cars trannys. In my racecar I use Castrol type F. this is what Hughes tells me they use in all their trannys. I get it at Autozone. Sometimes it's hard to find so I usually buy 2 cases at a time. Be aware though it's pretty expensive. Last time I bought it was $2.19 a quart.

 

Yeah, about 25 cents more than Wal-Mart brand. Robbery! Actually the Castrol is what I was trying to get, I just couldn't find enough of ANY one brand of Type F in any of the four places I went today.

You'd think they just didn't make cars that use Type F anymore...

 

I don't know why you couldn't mix and match different brands for a street machine. I typically use the Castrol oil myself but when you buy a used car, and you change oil in the transmission, you never know what brand is in it. I never feel bad about mixing it when I change oil the first time. Even when you drain a converter you can't get it all out. As long as it is all type F then it should be fine.
As for store brands, they are re-labeled brand name oils. I see no reason not to use them.

 

Well last night after work I got it bolted in. I was going to borrow a transmission jack this weekend, but I had a stroke of genius, or insanity, anyway a stroke of some kind that involved two small floor jacks and several wooden blocks in assorted sizes. I thought it out, took my time and to my surprise it lined right up and slid right together. A bystander might have even thought I knew what I was doing.

I was expecting to get started this weekend, so that random burst of MacGuyverism really put me ahead of my plans. The bellhousing, crossmember and linkage are all bolted up. Not bad for two hours, one guy and no trans jack, I think.

All that remains is everything else - flexplate bolts, starter, (I love my mini-starter) cooler lines, temp sender, driveshaft, exhaust and fluid.

I may be setting myself up for failure by even saying this, but if all goes well I just might be driving it tonight.

 

As a promised several posts back, here are what few pics I've taken. Maybe there will be more if I can make myself keep the gloves on while I'm under it tonight...


Old one on the left, my best effort at cleaning the new one on the right:







This horror show was a night of Zen for me. Pic taken around 2am weekend before last. That's either a can of Amp or Red Bull, not sure which - I was drinking both. Battery charger can be seen in the foreground, connected to the Mav so the stereo can play Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall all night.





And tonight is the last night it will look like this:

 

Way deeper than I would ever go. I sure hope it works for you.