It sounds like you broke something internally - probably expensive. It is possible that you have a stuck valve or a broken spring on the limit valve but unless I get long distance x-ray vision I can't be of any real help to you.
Thanx PaulS, I was about to send it to the shop today, but decided to just throw in the AOD that I just got. My buddy insists that it has less than 2k miles on it. He told me to changed front and rear seals and I'll be good. I still will have to get a Lokar TV cable and brackets, and new floor shifter (I like B&M's line), because of the extra gear position. Oh! and I will have to modify the tranny cross member. I did get the driveshaft yoke with tranny. So I guess next year, I'll just throw in the roller motor and rearend . Thanx again PaulS and everyone else.
Transmission Morning Sickness I am experiencing the same symptoms with the slow shifting into drive. My only concern is the guy I bought the car from seems to have made some type of homemade shifting device from the steering column to the side of the transmission. I got underneath there and the bolt up that connects to the transmission is very loose. Also there were a few open connectors that did not have anything connected to them. Is there anywhere that I can find a diagram of the C4 transmission to see what plugs up where? At times when I finally take off the shift lever will jump. Thanks for any and all helpful input
Does it always shift slowly into drive? A bit more information would really help. When is it shifting slow? does it shift into the other gears slowly too? Does reverse work the same way?
It will not go directly into drive only after it sits for a while. Example: When I start it up in the morning, the engine must be warmed up pretty good before it will shift into drive, otherwise it will only shift in reverse right after startup. If I let the car warm up for about 10 minutes it will shift into drive pretty quick, but if I let it warm up for only a minute or two, it will not engage at all into drive. could I have a vacuum leak or seal problem like someone stated earlier in this posting? When it does engage it shifts as smooth as silk and drives really good. I just put it in drive and hold my foot on the brake until it engages into drive. I talked with a guy from AAMCO and he stated that my timing could be off or the idle speed could be set improperly but worst case would be an $800 rebuild of the seals and "vital" components.
Barber, Your C4 is suffering from "Morning Sickness". The piston apply seals in the forward clutch is hard and shrunk allowing oil to leak past until it warms up and becomes more flexible. A rebuils will fix it and a cooler will keep it from happening in the future. If you rebuild it for a few dollars more you can install a TransGo reprogramming kit (shift kit) 40-2 it will give you better shifting and longer life. For the same $800 you can buy a really good C4 from Broader Performance instead of a rebuilt from AAmco.
If you arent able to get a tranny from PaulS I will put in a good word for Broader performance, he built my c4 and did it a short time. He is a Ford guy and a straight shooter, told him what I wanted to use tranny for and motor specs and got convertor from him as well. Had it for a couple years now and race just about every weekend in the summer and have had no problems at all with it.
Normally I would never suggest this as a tech. Lucas makes a great trans additive that will buy you some time for seal issues. I dont like any of that mechanic in a can stuff. The Lucas product does actually work. We have used it for customers and used it myself in a 604 V6 Acclaim. The seals were to the point it wouldnt move cold. The Lucas got rid of about 90% of the shifting problems. I was blown away. In the end its going to need surgery but if you need some time it does work.
Thanks to everyone who posted. Would the shift kit be something a beginner like myself could do? Would it be best to buy the parts and have someone take the tranny out, rebuild, then replace the tranny? What would you do? I don't mind trying, I just don't have anyone physically here to show me what to do. on a scale of 1 to 10 how difficult would it be to rebuild the tranny for someone with some technical abilities?
C4 are very basic but you dont want to have to do it more than once. I would suggest someone with experience in Automatics. All it takes is a nicked seal or missed thrust washer ..... The shift kits are following instructions. Fairly simple.
First, fix the transmission problem. Use the "mechanic in a can" to buy a bit of time but don't put a shift kit in the transmission until it is rebuilt. No shift kit made will make a worn out transmission new again. There is a Haynes "Tech Book" on rebuilding Ford automatics that makes it fairly easy to rebuild your C4 and a good video is available from "Bad Shoe" productions that shows in detail each step. Once the C4 is rebuilt you can easily install the valve body kit before you reinstall the valve body. One quick note on master rebuild kits: They do not come with a new "Green Stripe" modulator, front band, rear band servo piston/seal unit, or any thrust washers or bushings you might need to replace. (you WILL need to replace the first three items on the list - bushings and thrust washers are anyone's bet but you should replace the #9 thrust washer as it takes all the load under acceleration. I usually repace all the thrust and most of the bushings to bring it all back to minimum tollerance.
C4 Morning Sickness Thanks everyone, but I have parked the Mav until I get a transmission. I put in the Lucas transmission fix and drove it for about 2 days and the following day I had a puddle of tranny fluid under the car that my wife noticed. (so I had to hear the whole speech about why did I buy that old car anyway). I plan on buying the one from broader performance. there are alot of used c4's for sale from 100 to 250 dollars but I don't want someone else's problem. i will always try to buy high performance parts from now on. they just outlast the autozone and advance auto parts. thanks guys. i'll let you know when i'm back running again.
great info having a hair pulling time with my tranny, it wont go into any drive gear, but has reverse and park. ive replaced the filter and tranny fluid and didnt find any shavings. any help is appreciated.
