I'm having a bit of a problem in my freshly rebuilt c4--no first gear! Here's what i've looked at so far: Valve body is not leaking internally Shift linkage is in the "drive" position, not misaligned Everything is new!! All bands are correctly adjusted When i first start the car up and drive it, it shifts 1-2-3 beautifully...from then on, even from a dead stop, it starts in second and shifts to third. Any suggestions welcome! I rebuilt the transmission my self and i don't know whether it had problems before or not (was out of a junkyard). Thanks! Chris
Will it shift into low manually etc.? Sounds to me like there is a foward clutch piston seal leaking or check ball sticking in the piston. Also, did you disassemble the one way clutch in the rear? The description you gave sounds like the fluid is cold and pressure is applied to the foward clutch but when it gets hot and thins out there is leakage at a seal and reduced pressure or none at all. Did you have a 4 or 5 disc foward drum? Did you set the clearance at the snap ring within specs? If you have access to a 300lb pressure gage and hose, check the readings in drive and 1-2. Should be in the 90 to 150 range. Check it cold and then hot in all gears. The valve body gasket is notorious for leaking in these tranny's. Also the vlave body attaching bolts must not be over tightened, about 20inch lbs is sufficient. Shift valves in the body must all work freely. Just a few idea's I had on the subject. Keep us informed.
Thanks for the response! Before i go any further, i'm trying something at this minute and hopefully it will work. See, i bought the TCI "Pro Super" rebuild kit, and it came with a valve body modification. In the instructions they show you where to drill two holes in the separator plate....or more like, the "general area". So i'm thinking that might have something to do with it...i bought a B&M shift kit that comes with a completely redesigned separator plate and i'm going to try that. In answer to your questions (in case this doesn't do the trick), no, it will not shift into first manually either. I replaced the forward clutch seals (boy, wasn't that fun! stupid huge spring), but that doesn't mean they're not leaking. I got a PEE transmission but it only had four clutch packs, so i left it at that. I checked the clearances on the drum and it was within spec. I think your idea about the fluid heating up makes sense, but then again it doesn't seem to matter how long i let the engine warm up....it can sit idling for 30 mins and then still shift beautifully....and then not. Also, the first stop sign is less than a half block away from my house--would that even be enough time for the fluid to get warm enough to bleed entirely through? If this doesn't work then i will get a pressure guage. Any ideas where to pick up a cheap one? Thanks for all the help! Chris
I think you may be on track with the seperator plate, those holes must be in the correct place for the proper operation. Also for a point of information the clutch pack you refer to with the large return spring is actually the reverse high clutch. The foward clutch pack has a conical steel spring on top of the piston and with a PEE code should have 5 discs but that is not saying it was not chgd. somewhere along the line etc. There is also a modification that can be made to the stock valve body with a cotter key and spring removal that will work as well as a high dollar shift kit. By the way, are you using a cooler on the trans?, well worth the money and trans will last a lot longer. Have run C4's in all my race cars and street Mav's with little trouble at all. Good Luck.
Old Guy.... Sorry to keep troubling you with questions, but this is really pissing me off!! Whoops, i'm mixing up my drums--the drum does have five clutches. So i'm really confused right now--the transmission came out of a '78 Mercury Cougar (big boat), 302. However, the tag on the valve body says "AA 83". Does this mean it is an '83 valve body? I know that the '83 valve body is different than the '82. I don't know if this means the transmission is an '83 or if the valve body was changed (junkyard tranny). However, it doesn't appear that many of the holes on the new plate line up with the current valve body (i.e. they rest on top of the lines and not in the grooves). If this is the case (having an '83 valve body), would it be possible to put a 70-82 valve body in it's place? Please please please tell me they didn't change the case designs!!!! I can get a 70-82 valve body pretty easily. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get this darn thing on the road, it's been over a week of messing around with it, and it's my only transportation other than friends and family.
Just an update: I took the valve body to one of the transmission shops that's been helping me out. It is a '78 valve body, i must have missed the casting #! Anyways, he suggested the governer is stuck so i'm going to take that to him to see what he can do. Thanks for all the help!
