Well, this day finally came. I knew it would. I was just hoping I would get a few more months and the whole car would have been torn apart. All the people I was relying on to get things lined up have not come through. Now, do I fix the problem or move forward and tear the whole thing apart? In 1984, I bought a used C4 from a junk yard and replaced my three on the tree. The C4 probably had 100,000 miles on it and I put another 170,000 on it. I knew the clock was ticking. I can’t complain. Today, I was getting her ready for the upcoming smog check. I changed the oil and re-jetted the Weber a little leaner. She was running well. The rear sway bar I installed yesterday was working nicely. I was out for a short drive. I pulled into traffic and gave it a bit of gas and then let off because the light changed. When she shifted into third, it sounded like something bound up in the trans and then snapped. She kept running but the shift points were a little higher. I got her home and pulled in the garage. I could not get it to shift into neutral or park. Not good. I hoped the linkage was the problem, so I disconnected it, but could I not manually move the selector into neutral or park. What happened? Any suggestions? Found a listing on Craig’s list for a C4 out of a Maverick: http://reno.craigslist.org/pts/3914040829.html I picked it up for $75, thought what the hell. He said it was working when he pulled it out of the Grabber he was working on. (He is putting a 427 in it) Now, I’m just not sure what to do. I just needed to make it a little longer before I transplant the FI 331 and the AOD. But this will be part of a complete disassembly of the car. I have an attic full of parts waiting to go in. I was hoping to have everything lined up before I disassembled the car but others have failed me and I have just a couple of things I have not resolved. The engine rebuilder has not even started. My custom front bucket seats are not done. I’m not sure if I can get the time off of work to do what I want to do. I might find myself working for the next six months to a year out of the area. The Maverick was my daily driver. I have a company car that I can use just for work and a trailer queen that sits there. The Maverick was it for 31 years. Right now, mom is letting me use the 1979 Fairmont, it was what Grandma and Grandpa bought to replace the Maverick. I don’t want to invest any money in a transmission that I have no intention of using in six months. I’m not sure if my $75 replacement trans is any good. How do you tell? I hate to install it only to find out it is a POS. Just a few months more was all I needed. I guess I will continue to console myself with Stella and Johnnie Walker. Damn it!
If you have any doubt's take the 75 dollar trans to a good trans shop, they may have a way to bench test it before you do the install...
I would think if you had the trans rebuilt ( the one you bought ), that then you could have your car up and going in no time! You can always sell the trans when you are ready to. Lots of folks would like to get a low miles rebuilt C4!
Ken & SM, After sleeping on it, I’m going to rip out the old one this morning and try to find a decent shop to take a look at the $75 replacement. I want to spend as little money on this as possible. I just need it to last a year at the most. So, I have no desire to have it rebuilt and deal with selling it later. I’ll have them throw in a front and rear seal plus the shifter seal. My old one leaked like a pig. The only other thing that may cost me is the converter. The seller could not recall where he put the one that came with the trans. He is still looking. I don’t know if the spline count is the same as the converter in the car. I hope so. We shall see.
When you are unable to move the shift lever through full travel, it's usually because the intermediate band is busted so pieces are laying on the valve body... It's possible to pull the valve body, dump the pieces and reinstall, you just won't have 2nd but all the other gears will function... Cost, a little fluid... But since you already have a replacement I'd pull the pan, if clean install it and see what happens... You probably won't get much more from a shop unless you pay them big $$$...
Probably isn't advisable to reuse the torque converter without having it gone through, but in this case, I'd certainly try to flush it out as best as possible. Dump a quart of fluid in and slosh it around, dump it back out and make sure no crap comes out with it. Repeat a couple times. Make sure it comes out clean and clear with no burnt odor.
Since you already bought another c4, just go on and put the trans in, if you wish to drive the car. Rent a transmission jack, although a couple simple car jacks CAN work with a couple people doing the job. -Drain the transmission, unhook the lines and linkage, unbolt driveshaft, unbolt from bell housing, and remove the crossmember. The swap should take a solid day if your doing this with your average run of the mill tools on a driveway. ---I would just remove the pan from the $75 unit, check for any tell tell signs of things are wrong. (A lot of sludge, metal, etc) In the end she should get you to the big swap your planning down the road. Just expect a days work and be ready to buy Type F fluid and a c4 trans pan gasket (cork).
I agree 100%. Anybody who doesn't own their own garage with a lift needs to invest in 4 Jack stands like I have pictured on the right. Then invest in some concrete blocks as a secondary protection.
Well, the old one is out. It took me about 5 hours by myself. It’s hot here and I’m tired. All the fluid looked great, not dirty or burnt. There was nothing in the filter and no parts in the pan. I think the converter is fine. On the replacement trans, the input shaft does not appear to engage anything. The old one clearly does. I’m not sure if I trust the replacement. I’m going to take both of them to a trans shop. I will have them check out the red one. Between the two of them, I hope I can get a decent working one for cheap. Micah
Something to check is make sure that they are both column- or floor- shift, whichever one you currently need. The gear selector shaft will be different.
You're braver than I am trusting the stand on the right. As for concrete blocks, just make sure to be clear here, use concrete blocks and not cinder blocks (which are often mistakenly refered to as concrete blocks)
The broken part of the intermediate band would be on top of the valve body, not in the pan... Have to remove the valve body to get it out...
Well, this is how it all played out. I got the old one out. I was just not sure about the $75 one. It is a PIA to get a trans in and out and I did not want to go through all that just to find out it is junk too. I took both of them down to a shop. There, I was told that it would be better to take a look at the old one since at least I knew the history on it. So they tore it down. Apparently what happened is fairly common. The second gear band broke. There is even a patch that could have fixed it in the car. Oh, well. A part fell off and was blocking the linkage to get it in park. So, for $400, they replaced the band and put all new seals in it. The even bought the other one for $75. Friday night, I was on my back until 1:00 AM working by myself to get it in. One of the biggest hassles I had was the cooling lines. I converted from manual to auto years ago and just used rubber lines. For some unknown reason, I recently grabbed a set of steel ones from a car that I was stripping. I tried for over an hour to fish their way in but could not do it. Finally, I just cut them and replaced the front with steel and the back to rubber lines. Saturday, I finished connecting everything and fired it up. All appeared well. I was getting a leak from the rear servo. I tightened up the bolts and it was better but still dripped. I figured I would take it by the shop for a new gasket. I went out for a 15 mile test drive and all was well. It shifted real nicely. Back at home, I decided to back it out of the garage to work on Grandma & Grandpa’s, now Mom’s 1980 Fairmont (the Maverick’s original replacement). I backed the Maverick out and saw a river of trans fluid running down my once virgin clean driveway. I was pissed. So, I talked with the trans shop this morning, They said sometimes the O ring around the reverse servo pops out during install. He said not to put it in reverse but drive it down. They replaced the seal and all appears well. I just hate the driveway. BYW, Krazy Comet, you actually nailed it!
