Bronco C4 rebuild cost $$$$$

[mlaird]

C4 has been acting a little funny for a while and every now and then won’t go in to D gear. Leaking a decent amount from the pan too ever since I changed the pan gasket. It’s 47yrs old and never been rebuilt before so I think it’s time. I’ve received 2 quotes from local shops that work on broncos and other classic cars and both quotes were for over $3000. I know everything has skyrocketed in price in the last couple years so just wondering if that’s in the current ballpark range. That includes going in and changing the gearbox seal as well.

 

[jamesroney]

There's another thread in the tech section regarding this exact question. https://classicbroncos.com/forums/threads/c4-rebuild-or-replace.316604/ I got lampooned by @Viperwolf1 for giving a ridiculous answer...but I'll give it again here.

Your C4 NEEDS a seal and gasket kit, ($50.00) and if it's been slipping, it needs a friction disc set ($45.00) and it needs installation. Anything else that you pay for is optional, and unnecessary. It takes about 2 hours of bench time to rebuild a C4. Do your own math, depending on your region.

All of the extra costs are going to warranty expense, and upgrades. You are paying for all of the other times that the transmission shop had to do the job over, or twice. (in the past, or in the future.) You are also paying for all of those other torque converters that needed to be rebuilt because they have consumable parts in them. (yours does not...) and you are paying for upgrades that most other transmission need, although as you point out...yours has lasted 47 years without breaking.

Unfortunately, the GM hydramatic Turbo 700R4 has taught every transmission shop that they can charge $2500 for a transmission, and people have learned to pay it. The Ford AOD is a pile of crap, and reinforced the lesson. As a result, shops will drop over $1K in "hard parts" in order to get those transmissions to survive. (keyword = Bulletproof) Then there are all of the 45RE's and E4OD's that disintegrated behind Diesels. So you "need" Billet converters, additional clutches in the converter, and additional upgrades to get them to hold up.

Basically, the transmission industry has trained the customer base that $3K is an acceptable price for a transmission. Sometimes it's a rip-off, and sometimes it's a good value. On a C4...it's INSANE.

If this keeps up, I might come out of retirement just to build C4's...

 

[sprdv1]

If this keeps up, I might come out of retirement just to build C4's...

I bet you could make some jack brother..

 

[jamesroney]

I bet you could make some jack brother..

When I was younger, I was mortified by the cost that rear end shops would charge to do a gear swap. So I told all of my friends that I would do one gear change for free if they let me keep the old gears. (for future swaps...) I was surprised at how many "friends" I had.

So then I started loaning my car hauler trailer to friends, if they would only give me a case of beer. One summer, I loaned my trailer out almost every week. I was drinking "trailer beer" until Christmas. It's funny what you learn about people. Some would offer extra, some would deliver extra without asking. And some would short change me on the beer. Some thought a 12 pack of "premium beer" was somehow equivalent to a 24 pack of "regular beer." It's funny how they would do a dollar equivalence and justify the difference...not comprehending that I was drinking the beer, and not selling it. I don't understand how anyone can think it's OK to monetize the equivalent payment without monetizing the value of the loan...but it tells you a LOT about people. It's an amazing litmus test. These are the same ass-hats that short tip the waitress.

I keep telling people that I don't want to work on their stuff, because it prevents me from working on my stuff. After 30 years in industry...I found that my projects were always being shuffled to the back. Now that I'm retired, I finally get to work on my stuff. (and select people that don't short me beer...)

...But if someone brought me a C4, and it was clean, and they wanted to learn something, I could make time for that.

 

[thegreatjustino]

To the OP, the last EB C4 I had rebuilt by a reputable shop in my area cost me $600. This was around four years ago.

This was with me pulling the transmission and taking it to them. If you drive the Bronco in and they have to remove and reinstall it, that'll add to the cost.

The $600 I paid included a brand new torque converter as well.

Tell the $3,000 guys to pound sand.

 

[Viperwolf1]

Try buying a stock, rebuilt C4 pump in the last 2 years. The last one I bought was $400. All C4 parts are getting hard to find.

 

[Broncobowsher]

The other issue is transmission shops are trained that factory valve bodies are not aggressive enough and need a shift kit installed, so the transmission will last. Stock unmolested valve bodies are getting rare.

Nearly 30 years ago I took a transmission class. The training transmission for people who have never rebuilt one before was a C4. It is a pretty simple transmission. The only issues anyone had were the vacuum modulator valve being backwards or a lost pin. They all worked at the end of class with no major rework needed.

 

[Kbpony]

My first EB project was rebuilding the C4 in my Bronco. $160 fora seal and friction kit in 1997. Still shifts tight enough to chirp the tires.