C4 Governor mysstery

[pennyduke]

My C4 is not shifting into low when I stop. It also rev's when it tries to go to drive from second. Reverse works fine. Now I can't even get drive unless I rev it to high rpm's going downhill. Everything I googled said to check the governor. Dropped the Transfer case and removed it. It was a little dirty but both valves moved freely. I pulled the valves and compared them to another one I had on a spare C4 and this is what I found. (pic below) The one on the right is the one that was in there.


It's been running fine for the 50 miles I've been driving it until now. I bought it used and was told that it was rebuilt and had a shift kit installed. Any thoughts?

Oh, and I switched the Valve Body with the spare trans and still had the same symptoms.

 

[75MIKE]

Either the kickdown rod is pinched back and stuck "on" under your air cleaner or the vacuum hose has come off your modulator,fitting on the intake manifold, or there is a hole in the vacuum hose.

 

[pennyduke]

I use a Lokar cable instead of a kickdown rod. it works perfect. The Vacuum line is steel and is connected to manifold vacuum with no leaks. I even put a vacuum gauge on the end of it to be sure. I'm curious as to why someone shaved this piston and if it would affect the shifting somehow.

 

[75MIKE]

Darn. Those are the only 2 problems I've had with c4 gremlins. The only other 2 gremlins I've had is low on fluid and the bronco C4 filter with a flat car style pan.

 

[Viperwolf1]

I use a Lokar cable instead of a kickdown rod. it works perfect. The Vacuum line is steel and is connected to manifold vacuum with no leaks. I even put a vacuum gauge on the end of it to be sure. I'm curious as to why someone shaved this piston and if it would affect the shifting somehow.

That is the primary governor valve and it has been modified. It has little to do with shift points. It basically controls the minimum speed that shifts can happen. The secondary valve and spring is what directly affects the shift points.

It's possible the primary valve spring is getting hung up in the bore because the valve has been ground where the spring sits. This would cause the valve to prevent the shifts. There is no good reason to lighten the primary valve. Put your other one in and make sure the snap ring is secure. You should be able to push that valve out with your finger to test it.

Bronco secondary valve and spring is lighter than most others. Don't mix those up.

Also make sure you have the small filter basket in the governor distributor. It helps keep junk out of the governor.

 

[pennyduke]

Thanks Viper, I took it apart and cleaned everything 3 times. I put it back together with the other valve while watching the Bad Shoe Video. The valve seems to move a lot better than the one that was cut. I had some extra time so I went ahead and pulled the transmission and have it on the bench. The Pan and Valve body are off and I'm going to do the air checks and end play checks per the Videos by Bad Shoe.


Would you recommend pulling the pump and looking at the clutches at this point?


I really don't want to have to do this again anytime soon. Thanks for the help everyone

 

[Viperwolf1]

Would you recommend pulling the pump and looking at the clutches at this point?

I would. If everything is good it'll only cost you a pump gasket. If something is bad it'll save you the trouble of pulling it out again.

 

[pennyduke]

Good call Viper, The forward clutch fibers are all burnt almost to the metal. The direct clutch had one burnt disk and I could still see the waffles in the others but they were almost gone. Also one of the gears on the planetary has a washer missing on the side and has too much play. Time for a rebuild. Always something