I just ordered a transmission rebuild kit and am planning on rebuilding it myself and was wondering if any one here has some experience and might want to share some tips. Also, a link to a guide or how to would be great. I have a 1970 Maverick with a 250 I6 and a 3 speed automatic transmission.
get the manual on how to rebuild your ford transmission. i think i got mine at pep boys. believe it was an HP book. not sure off hand.
By all means get the Haynes manual on Ford Automatics. It will help a lot. If you don't have the tools to check the end play rent a Magnetic mount dial indicator. The clearances in Automatics are measured in thousandths of an inch. You will need a good set of feeler gages to check clutch pack play. Get a jar of Vasoline Petrolium Jelly to lube seals and bushings with and be prepared to clean parts, blow them dry with air (a compressor) and take the tranny down to the U-wash car wash to clean the case off before you start. You will need a few good shop towels - buy a bundle from your local parts house. You need a STRONG bench and a lot of room. Read the manual a few times through before yu get started so you know when to stop and make drawings of where the check balls are, which way that sprague clutch goes together and the details that don't get spelled out in the manuals. Of you have a digital camera - even one that came with your computer - take pictures of everything - linkages to clutches - you may need them when you start putting things back together. Keep things clean - use lots of newspaper to put your clean parts on and lay them out so you can get them together right. Paul
paul's right it was a haynes manual. pretty thorough. good idea about the pics and i placed 2 6' tables end to end and placed the parts in order as they came out.
www.bulkpart.com is a great supplier for parts an info. Bottom of page they have ATSG manuals on all trannys. Get the ATSG manual, follow PaulS info, take your time and you got it done! Good Luck!
i paid 650 to have mine completely rebuilt.. and i had a 4 disk clutch pack put back in and kevlar bands and a shift kit.. i would recommend having a professional do it.. 2 reasons 1. warrantied 2. if you screw it up, you will have to pay double to have it fixed.
if possible, stand the trans on end with the tail pointing down (with a bucket under the tail). reason: there are several thrust washers between the drums & planetary. when you disassemble horizontally on the bench, they fall out of position. if you disassemble on end, they stay in position so you can SEE where & how they install. yes the book will have a diagram, but it will make more sense if you see them in position. yes, you reuse them unless damaged. good luck.
First thing you have to ask yourself: Do you rely on this car as daily transportation? Do you know your way around mechanical stuff? If so, than you can figure out an automatic transmission! Having it built professionally is nice because there is warranty usually. If something goew wrong, in most cases they will take care of it for you. If you do it yourself and it doesn't work afterwards, than you are out another couple days' work and whatever parts are necessary to repair the problem(s). That said, if it's a "toy" (anything other than a daily driver) and you feel confident in your mechanical aptitude, by all means go for it. C4's are easy to build and they are cheap. Last kit we bought for a C4 was just over $60 and that was retail cost. Most garages and/or trans shops will get the same kit for around $44. All seals, clutch plates, gaskets, O-rings. No steels or bands were included but most times they're not required anyway. Figure it takes about a day's worth of work to do the actual overhaul and another day or so to get it in/out. So, it's a good weekend's project for most folks. At one time we were doing them AT the dragstrip in less than an hour. Getting too old for that now! So what's inside one? Well, basically it's like a combination of several things. 2 planetary sets that are VERY simple. 2 wet clutches that are very similar to a motorcycle disc clutch if you're familiar with those. Then there is the actual hydraulic system (the brain of the system). Hydraulics never were a forte' of mine, so when something goes wrong, I "can" figure it out....but I'd rather just ask someone to show me LOL. The rest of the transmission is fairly self-explanatory once you figure out how it all works together. Think about doing it yourself. Most are charging between $500-$2500 to overhaul a C4 depending on the stage of overhaul. The actual overhaul kit can be bought from a supplier, either online or locally, for around $60 give or take. So, if you feel up to it and you're like me and WANT to know how stuff works, it's a good option that might save you some money down the road. I usually will buy core C4's (and C6's and Powerglides) at the scrap yards, we usually keep one C4 built (for any one of 2 race cars) and one PG (for the other) ready just in case one dies. Usually we can get the core transmissions for less than $50. Many times they are just worn out. Burned clutches, stuck valves, etc. I picked up a powerglide a while back that was immaculate. Fresh overhaul, had Raybestos clutches, 6 disc reverse clutch and a steel high hub. It was in my car for 2 years after I freshened it up before the torque converter gave up the ghost & filled the rest of the trans with metal. All I did was modify the case for the transbrake and put in a servo and valvebody. BTW, the Haynes manual is available at Autozone and many other parts houses....and covers the C6, C4, C5, and AOD auto transmissions. Comes in handy and no matter how many C4's we've built, we always seem to end up referring back to that manual.
As you can see there are lots of small details that all have to be right - the first time. It will he;p to do each component and finish it before going on to the next. You will need to soak friction clutches and bands in ATF (type F) for abour twenty minutes before you install them. A small bucket will be fine but I have a plastic one with a cover - no dirt is good! Seriously, if you have mechanical aptitude and can be mindful of details then the transmission will be a challenge but not too hard for you. If you have no mechanical aptitude or you can't remember details you should not attempt to build a tranny. Paul
if i had someone near me that could walk me through it i would do it.. im not sure mine needs a rebuild it might have 2500 miles on it since the rebuild... when the car is cold, the tranny doesnt want to go in reverse right away.. but i am think that is due to cold thick tranny fluid not moving very well
I agree with mavman on this... I have 2 or 3 extra C4s laying around in the garage myself. 2 are still intact, one i took apart just in case I ever needed "hard" parts and I didnt want to take the time to fully disassemble another tranny. They are very cheap to rebuild. I've only seen one of the transmissions that Old guy rebuild fail in daily driving... and that was due to it being in a 76 F-100 LWB that had 33'' mudtires, and pulled a trailer a whole lot (and the kid driving it was a total moron also and tried to tear crap up) Id definately try to rebuild it yourself first, will save you quite a bit of money
If you're looking to do it yourself try this DVD on ebay, I found it helped a whole bunch more than just the Haynes manual. http://cgi.ebay.ca/DVD-video-on-Overhauling-the-Ford-C4-C5-Transmission_W0QQitemZ230058193289QQihZ013QQcategoryZ33727QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Good Luck!
You will need some tools such as snap ring pliers, dial indicator and magnetic base, feeler gages, and a press or "C" clamp vise grip pliers. All available at Harbor Freight for cheap. Clean all the internals as well as the case etc. Don't need any high dollar discs and bands for your application, just a stock rebuild kit, steel plates included. You may need to find some oversize snap rings and a couple of thrust washers, to get the proper clutch pack clearance as described in the Haynes manual. Having a spare tranny for parts helps on cost too. If possible, try to get a four or even a five disc foward clutch drum assy if yours does not have them already. Standing the tailshaft of the case in a bucket, definately makes assy of the gear train a lot easier. Before installing the front pump assy, tighten the front band up snug in case you have to remove it again for thrust washer changes (clearance's) keeps the drum assemblies from coming out of engagement etc. First auto I tried to do, was a 63 Old's "Slim Jim" hydramatic. A million parts and internal torque converter. Laid it all out in order on the floor as disassembled, got copies of overhaul procedure from books in the public library, back then, and it worked fine after assy. To quote a line from a Adam Sandler movie "You can do it, man" Good luck and remember, the C4 is one of the most simple one's to work on. Just a big hydraulic pump that turns some clutches and stuff to make the rear wheels turn foward or backwards.
