I know its not a maverick, but its the Maverick's daddy, and I wanted as much input as possible. I posted this on ford muscle forums also. 65 Falcon 170 inline six with around 60K miles 100% stock C4 Cruise-O-Matic 3 speed Green Dot Automatic Makes a clicking noise only in 1st gear, when cold. It does not want to shift up unless you let off gas or manually shift it. It revs over 5000 rpm (just a guess, no tach) in first and second with steady 1/2 throttle untill you let off the gas. When it is up to temperature after driving to east Orlando(20-25 miles), it goes into neutral when stopped in traffic and then jerks into gear when gas is applied. Fluid is full. Some gray-ish metal micro particles showing on rag after wiping dipstick, but fluid is still bright red and mostly clear, not cloudy. no burnt smell. No leaks. I believe the symptoms do not indicate a torque converter problem: No slipping or shuddering after its in gear. Trans was removed from car and taken to a shop in Cocoa about a year ago. Shop owner told us it was in good shape and only replaced all the seals, not a total rebuild. Charged us around $200. Car drove well for about 1000 to 1500 miles on trans since install with some daily commuting, and 3 or 4 150+mile road trips. Problem started in the last 200 miles. No warranty recourse with trans shop that did work because we got in an argument with the shop owner when he tried to charge us an extra $150 for a mistake HE made that cost him extra time. He told us that he broke off a bolt inside the trans using an impact and had to fix it. He turned into instant a**hole when my dad refused to pay extra charge and almost got in fist fight with my dad until my dad threatened to call the IRS and report him for doing cash under the table deals. The buttface told my dad to leave and don't come back. Alan can't remember the name of the shop. I have only met 1 trans builder in my life that I liked and thought was honest, his name is David Carpenter and he worked at Triangle Dodge in Graniteville, South Carolina, the rest have all been crooks... The fuel mileage has been getting steadily worse and is now in the upper teens range from a car that used to get around 30mpg. Thoughts? My cousin just recommended a reputable shop, but is there something we can do at home?
Yep, learn to rebuild it yourself. Do some research on Bad Shoe Productions (http://www.badshoeproductions.com/) and get a Haynes C4/C6 manual. I did mine this past winter and honestly found it to be a lot less intimidating than I thought it was going to be. Most parts can only go back in one way and as long as you keep things clean and organized it's not a big deal. Worst part of the whole job was removal, cleaning and reinstall.
will check modulator...thanks for tip RMiller. I'll let you know what I find. I've swapped out at least a dozen transmissions in 28 years of working on cars. I can replace a head gasket, or install a cam, or customize a steering setup, but rebuilding a trans is not something I want to get into right now.
Honestly your symptoms point to a lot of things and the modulator would be a good place to start. It controls the throttle valve in the valve body and works off of engine vacuum. It works in conjunction with the governor to control shift points. Check the vacuum line for cracks or leaks. Remove the line from the modulator. If any tranny fluid is present the diaphragm is ruptured. It could also be sticking. Drain tranny, remove modulator and the pin and apply vacuum to it to ensure the pin moves freely. The fluid being red and not burnt only indicates it's not running hot. The metallic particles indicate wear of hard parts and the contaminated fluid will be throughout including in the torque converter. Drop the pan to get an idea of how bad the wear is. When you say it goes into neutral at a light and jerks into gear, it's slipping and the torque converter should not be ruled out.
Update: Alan told me we paid $100 not $200. I replaced a modulator with a bad diaphragm in a 86 Cougar 3.8 V6 (probably an AOD) in 1996. When the diaphragm went the car started smoking REAL BAD. It sucked the trans fluid right up the hose and injected it into the intake. We are not getting any smoke from our 65 Falcon. Vacuum line going to modulator looks good. The gray stuff on the dipstick was very minor and seemed to be on the stick more than floating around in the fluid like I have seen in other cars in the past. I think we may end up taking it to a shop and get it rebuilt with a warranty from a builder with a good reputation. I wonder what that will cost?.....another $300?
$1066 and a week later the trans is rebuilt with warranty and the car drives great! Now for the driver's floor pan...
Good to hear it's back on the road. Did they tell you what went wrong with it? Did that price include a torque converter?
The main pump gear was cracked and the valve body gummed up with metallic sludge. The torque converter had to be machined where it was grinding, but was salvageable. They also upgraded the oiling system and added a shift kit. I know the price was a little high, but I was looking for a shop with a good reputation that would stand behind their work more than I was looking for a bargain. We are too deep into the Falcon to go cheap on anything now. It cost about $200 more than I expected, but I don't feel ripped off. I think the transmission will last as long as the freshly rebuilt motor, or longer. I will recommend this shop to people I like. It really does run and drive better now than when it was new. 170 block bored .030 (now 175), new pistons, new crank, new rods, Weber 2 bbl, big log head, DUI dizzy, We haven't dyno'd it but we think we are getting around 125 to 130 HP out of a motor that came out of the factory making 105. It handles like a completely different car in a curve too because we upgraded to disc brakes, added a sway bar, and all new shocks (coil overs in rear), and 215/60-14 radial tires. I can't wait to start this kind of major overhaul to my Maverick....but school comes first, sigh...
Sounds like it was a sick little tranny... Other than leaks(sucking fluid into intake), in 40+ years of messing with C4 I've never fixed one with a modulator valve replacement... If problem is modulator related it's likely the vac source... BTW a .030 over 170 is a 173(172.63899 to be exact)... Even a 170 is 169.8-something...
Wish I could say that for GM, my GTO needed two in a 20k mile period! They were both replacements so I guess it isn't a reflection on GM.
I sent my 76 maverick in for a transmission leak , they fixed the leak , but now has a shifting problem ... read your rebuilt tranny post and I will mention the pump gear crack and have them check it ... thanks for the info !!!!!
