C4 type F fluid...

[Mountain Ram]

... Works better when on the inside of the trans... Right?

Went for a long ride in the Bronco today over to Boone, NC- about 60 miles of mountain roads. Stopped in Blowing Rock for lunch and as I am unloading the kids- I see a small puddle forming. Looked underneath and everything is covered in trans oil.

Checked the dipstick while running and it barely shows. I add a half quart before we leave for the ride back and it's totally shifting crazy, has a tough time coming out of first and when it does, it won't drop back into first.

Haven't found the leak yet either, but it appears I may be in for a rebuild. How difficult are these to do? Any special tools needed? How much would it cost to get done if I drop the trans?

Is there a bolt in OD trans that wouldn't need driveline changes- It's cheaper to rebuild the C4 than to do a trans swap with new driveshafts...

 

[pcf_mark]

The C4 is the easiest and cheapest transmission to rebuild. Search for a thread by ViperWolf to get the full parts list and get the DVD from Bad Shoe Productions. You can d the whole job for $300 plus a weekend of wrenching. Taking it in and out suck more than rebuilding it! The only special tool you need you can fabricate easy enough or get a shop to disassemble one clutch pack that is spring loaded. Maybe you can find the leak, top it off and be fine too.

 

[broncnaz]

Probably need more fluid then fix the leak usually not a big deal to fix other than having to remove the tranny. Probably the front seal its common for them to go out.
As for a swap I dont know of any automatic overdrives that wont require driveline mods. You'll also want to rebuild the new auto tranny before installing. Even without driveline mods you would still need adapters crossmemeber and possible other mods and or parts to make it all work not to mention possibly need to regear the axles to use the OD. So you can be into it for a lot more than you think.
Rebuilding the C4 is not all that expensive. About $200 for a kit then eithe you do it or you pay someone whick could be anywhere from $500 -1000. As for doing it yourself well lots of people have done it themselves and saved a lot of money.

 

[Mountain Ram]

Thanks for the input. I am a fairly decent shade tree mechanic, just have never done an auto tranny.

I didn't realize they could be done so cheap... And I hate to think about pulling this again, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. I hate that it's going to slow progress on my crawler

 

[lowbush]

The C4 is the easiest and cheapest transmission to rebuild.

I agree on the easy, but I actually think it's one of the more expensive transmissions to rebuild. In stock form it's not that stout of a transmission and if someone is going to go thru the effort of rebuilding one it really is worth spending the extra money to beef them up. A basic DIY rebuild on the C4 with proper parts is $700-$1000 that is contrasted with a C6 which can be DIY rebuilt for $100, $500 bucks builds an indestructible C6, you can get by with just putting in new clutches in a C4 but its a mediocre trans at best. Now when built up, the C4 is one of the best performance transmissions available because they don't rob HP and they can hold a lot of power. They are good and easy to rebuild but they are not the cheapest, the only trannies that I know that are more expensive to rebuild are the TourqeFlights, well that and the newer stuff like the Allison 1000.

The C4 is dirt simple, you should defiantly do it yourself, I am amazed at the mark up tranny shops charge for rebuilding these things and they are not putting in upgraded parts, they are not even putting in red frictions and charging close to a grand for a rebuild. It takes someone that has never rebuilt them about a day to tear it down and put it back together. The bad shoe videos are worth the price, http://www.badshoeproductions.com/ but before you decided to rebuild figure out if you have a pre-70's C4 if you do, just go get a post 70 salvage C4. The pre-70's are not worth rebuilding not when you can get a decent rebuildable core for $100 or less. The 70 and up are much stronger cases.


At the bare minimum get:

A kit with Red Frictions.
Broader Performances, #9 needle bearing kit.
Drill out the rear oiling hole to 1/4.
A kit with a valve body kit included or the trans-go kit.

 

[Mountain Ram]

How do you know what year the trans is? This truck had a 3 speed from the factory....

 

[Action]

Year ?

Not sure how to tell what year but pan fill 73-77 is all I know

 

[Mountain Ram]

It is a pan fill...

 

[lowbush]

It is a pan fill...

http://www.pigseye.com/sadie/trans/c4.htm

Pan fill is going to be a 70's. It a good rebuilder, only thing better is a C5 case with a C4 bellhousing, converter and valve body swapped onto it.

 

[Mountain Ram]

Just throwing Viperwolfs data from another thread in here... So I can remember where it is!

None of those pre-packaged kits include everything you'll need. This is what I normally use on a rebuild. Ignore the filter.

Makco Transmission Parts, LLC (www.bulkpart.com)
4336 Helton Dr
Florence, AL 35630
Phone 256-767-2840 - 1-877-916-2526


Code Name Quantity Price/Ea. Total
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
26006C Master kit, C-4 1970-81 combo kit 1 $63.80 $63.80
B26022 Band C4 / C5 Intermediate 1 $11.91 $11.91
N26024 Band C-4 / C-5 rear low / reverse 1 $35.39 $35.39
26064 Bushing C4 / C5 case 1 $2.26 $2.26
26160G Modulator: C4 / C5 GREEN stripe Push-in 1974-86 1 $18.19 $18.19
A26912 Piston, Rear servo, C4 / C5 1 $10.69 $10.69
A26654K Sprag kit, C4 / C5 Spring & roller kit 1 $7.72 $7.72
26200C Thrust washer kit, C4 / C5, 1970-86, 1 $27.58 $27.58
T26165F TransGo Shift Kits C4 / C5 73-86 1 $26.66 $26.66
26126X Steel, C4, OVERSIZED, Forward / Direct 2 $3.60 $7.20
36034 Bushing C6 pump body (BABBITT) 1 $2.94 $2.94
26046A Bushing C4 / C5 Direct drum 70-86 1 $4.87 $4.87
12010C Filter, A727 / A518 / A618 / A904 LARGE DACRON 1 $5.67 $5.67
Shipping: Basic UPS Ground Continental U.S.A. Only (excludes Canada HI & AK): $13.99
Sales Tax: $0.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: $238.87

 

[Viperwolf1]

http://www.pigseye.com/sadie/trans/c4.htm

Pan fill is going to be a 70's.

Not necessarily true. Pan fill C4s were first made in '65 and shared all the weak internal parts until '70. There is a Ford engineering number cast into the trans above the shift lever along with a case pour date.

 

[lowbush]

Not necessarily true. Pan fill C4s were first made in '65 and shared all the weak internal parts until '70. There is a Ford engineering number cast into the trans above the shift lever along with a case pour date.

Good to know, I thought I read that all pan fills where 70 and up. I always look at the cut of the case, and for the rear of the bellhousing bolts on the later ones after you see a couple of each you spot the difference right away I then check the case for a first letter code of D or E, but I though all pan fills where after 70 and thought that was the quick way of cutting to the chase with pan fills. Sorry for the misinformation, I won't repeat it.

 

[Viperwolf1]

Good to know, I thought I read that all pan fills where 70 and up. I always look at the cut of the case, and for the rear of the bellhousing bolts on the later ones after you see a couple of each you spot the difference right away I then check the case for a first letter code of D or E, but I though all pan fills where after 70 and thought that was the quick way of cutting to the chase with pan fills. Sorry for the misinformation, I won't repeat it.

To add some confusion, the C4 was introduced in '64 and thus had C4 as the first 2 characters of the part number. That is how it became known as the C4. Same thing with the C6 in '66.

The pan-fill C4 was introduced in '65 and originally had a part number starting with C5. It should have been referred to as a C5 but strangely wasn't. Ford didn't refer to a transmission as a C5 until the C4 was redesigned with the lock up converter in '82.

 

[Rustytruck]

I have a 1969 pan fill in my possession. They were used mainly in the vans. The 67-69 C4 was much better than the 64-66 C4's The 70 and newer were the best of the bunch until Ford made the C-5 cases.

 

[SC74]

I pulled and re-installed it, but had the local racing trans guru re-build 2 different c4's for me. I think they were both in the $400 range for parts/labor. That was a deal for me - no need for me to wonder if I did it right and possible re-remove etc.