well i finally got back out to the garage to work on my maverick again.. took a while but now i believe it is almost ready.. the engine is a bit rough but i believe that it jsut needs timing.. for those of you that remember.. i rebuilt the engine and have been going verryyy slowly getting it all back together... well the steering linkage is back on , fixed a vaccum hose to the trans modulator, put a new o-ring on the dipstick tube(which i hope fixes the trans leak problem i have been having), and ran trans lines to the radiator.. however.. i have a coupla questions that i hope someone can help me with 1. the trans lines i ran today were all rubber, do i need to find a way to bend some metal one or can these last me a while? 2. on this c4 trans the kickdown rod return spring broke in half when i tried to stretch it to put it on. where can i find a replacement? ( i lost the original one a long time ago and someone was kind enought o send me one.) 3. way back when i first put the rebuilt trans in the car it has serious problems shifting. it way overrevved before it got into second and never went into third. was this from the modulator hose being bad or the kickdown spring being broken? i appreciate any help and thanks in advance.. p.s. everything else is done. and although not the prettiest she could be on the road in very short time.
1. the trans lines i ran today were all rubber, do i need to find a way to bend some metal one or can these last me a while? Yes, get some metal lines, compression fittings work well in joining existing lines. Do not trust and do not abuse rubber lines in an auto trans, it will in the end bite you. I am of the opinion if you dont have the time to do it right the first time, then where will you find the time to do it correctly the second time? Rubber lines should only be used to get you home. 2. on this c4 trans the kickdown rod return spring broke in half when i tried to stretch it to put it on. where can i find a replacement? ( i lost the original one a long time ago and someone was kind enought o send me one.) Any autoparts store has linkage springs, get an asst. if you really dont know what length you need. 3. way back when i first put the rebuilt trans in the car it has serious problems shifting. it way overrevved before it got into second and never went into third. was this from the modulator hose being bad or the kickdown spring being broken? That could have been modulator, vacuum related for sure. Dan
thanks a lot dan... i plan on running metal lines in the near future but they will be rerouted thru the firewall and such.. the stock just comes too close to the fan and hang too low for me.. plus someone in the distant past had screwed them up.. they were more than 60% rubber for years actually i think the only metal was two straight pieces inthe middle.. as it is gonna be a sunday car and not a daily driver itll have to wait for the metal one.. good to know that it does need to be metal tho. i have tried to take the spring to a parts house with me and all i get is blank stares. its amazing really... does it have to be the exact tension or ony spring will work?? i appreciate knowing it was the modulator valve.. cause the spring was broken at the time and i late found out the hose to the valse was seriously leaking air.. i was wondering if maybe i had gotten a bad transmission..
Phil, I have gotten asst spring packs in the help section of autozone. Now, they may have long leads on them that you may have to trim and bend the end. But just get a spring that has about the same amount of coils to it. That should be close enuff. Dan
groovy.. i appreciate it guys... i think i have a pack of springs in the basement .. oh she is so close to being on the road i can taste it... i just hope i have that leak fixed on the trans
That is a strong statement by my respected buddy, Dan. I agree that steel lines are arguably better than rubber, however, any autoparts store will have hose made especially for the transfer of tranny fluid. All aftermarket tranny coolers that I've ever used come with lengths of rubber hose to connect to existing steel lines. Personally, I have yet to hear of a failure of the hoses. Also, I just put a tranny cooler on my 2002 Durango - it had OEM rubber lines going to steel lines directly to the radiator. I cut the steel lines off where they transistioned to the rubber hose and clamped the new hoses to the existing steel lines. Maybe I'm just hoping my 100% Rubber Tranny-to-B&M Cooler lines will hold up on my Maverick. I have friends who have used the same setup (hose from fittings on tranny to tranny cooler and back) for years and have not heard of any failure. Again, Mr. Starnes voices strong opinion to NOT do what I've done and have seen done for many years so do not go on what I offer up (as topic of discussion I suppose). And... congratulations. Sounds like your just about there!
On the point of tranny lines......definately go hardline. I've used rubber lines before, and on one car I have now, still do. However, when they don't work, it's a very bad thing! When I do have to use rubber lines, I always double-clamp every connection, but even that's not 100% effective. Once, my 67 Camaro's hardlines got wear-holes in them from rubbing on the frame.....I had to replace with rubber lines until the new hardlines I ordered arrived. In the week I ran the rubber lines, they popped off from tranny pressure 3 different times, dumping almost all my trans fluid all over the road, stranding me (these were the days before cellphones). Transmissions hold a whole lot of fluid....and it's a royal P.I.T.A. to have to pour all of that back into a trans on the side of the road somewhere once, much less 3 times. You're getting ready to put your car on the road, and you have a choice.....go hardline,......one less thing to worry about with all the things you have to watch with a fresh car, and it's done right the first time.
as Bums Steer, said...hard lines fail also if i am putting rubber to hard i flare the hard line as to give the clamp something to hold on to . ...frank...
I agree with Dan....error on the side of safety, smarts and overkill. But I am running mine like Rick and Frank have mentioned on PINKY. I will run the same specs when I put an aftermarket cooler on the yellow car.
The trans. cooler I have on my car came with rubber lines, and I have been running them for around 15,000 miles now with no problems. I do have metal lines up to where they end at the radiator, but the last foot and a half or so to the trans. cooler are rubber. 3 foot of 3/8 fuel hose is one of those "just in case" things I always carry around in my trunk. It can be used to fix many things on the side of the road get enough to get you home, includeing a busted trans line.
well seeing how its not going to be a daily driver for a long time im not too worried about it no being hardline. it will eventually be hardline just has to wait until i can get it right. the way i want it. unless someone knows where i can get preformed? every time i have tried to bend line (yes with a bender) i end up screwing it up. thats why i went with rubber for now anyways. p.s. jamie... you need and old axle and drum spindles.? i gotta get rid of them not in great shape but fixable with work. if not ill just trash them.
