I dont know anything about automatics, but please keep on, you are giving me inspiration to try rebuilding my 2 c-4's. Good luck!
I've done two and they were/are easier than TH350/400. One note - the four cast iron rings on the pump shaft I believe they are the same outer diameter but different thickness. The four grooves on the shaft have two that are deeper obviously for the two thicker rings. DON'T MIX EM UP!
Just a tip. Anythime you have a automatic that has burnt up clutches. that clutch drum and piston has been very hot. so its likely warped. I throw them away and find a good used one. The C4 factory reverse clutches are better quailty than the forward drive clutches. you can use the reverse clutches in the forward drive drums. I used to take a whole bunch of C4,s and tear them down . I would use the best used parts to build one. Those fords have to be clean clean cleaner. you need to have the conveter flushed on a machine. and the cooler in the radiator needs to be cleaned. The ford trans filter is just a screen large particles can pass through it. OldWolf
The clutches don't appear to be burnt. Though I'm no expert. Would they be black if they were? I put a straight edge on the drums and there's no discoloration or warping. I didn't know that about the reverse clutches. I'm going to run all the hard parts through a parts cleaner and then through a steam cleaner at work to wash the parts cleaner residue off. I plan on buying a rebuilt converter, new lines, and flushing the cooler with some carb cleaner. Thanks for the input.
GO to the ford transmission forum.I read a lot and was gonna rebuild my cruiseomatic in my 62 but chickened out.I paid a guy 700.00 to bench rebuild it.That was 5 years ago.Still going strong.I did rebuild my 390 fe engine though.Mike
I was thinking on doing my own C4 as well, but when you start talking end play and thrust washers and bore size and all that stuff I start wondering. Hell I want to just pull it apart and change old parts with new parts. Can't use a tape measure to check what you have been talking about Maybe I should pay to have one built or just buy one already done ! Like the poster above.
I built a clutch spring compressor Friday night. It's not pretty by any means, but it gets the job done. This is the clutch drum from the $15 transmission. It's in much worse shape than the other one I have. I used a piece of 1/2-13 all thread, two nuts, two washers, a piece of 1/2 tube cut into three smaller pieces, a piece of exhaust adapter, and a SBF harmonic balancer pulley. As I said, it's not pretty. I flattened one end of each piece of tube and notched the other end. This is the setup assembled. I put the all thread and the bottom nut in the vise. The bottom washer then went on, followed by the pulley, the clutch drum, the "compressor", and finally the top nut. Tightening the top nut compresses the spring and exposes the snap ring. The snap ring comes off with a pair of snap ring pliers. Done Here's the clutches and steels laid out. Like I said earlier, I'm no expert, but even these clutches aren't black and don't smell burnt to me. Maybe you can tell better by the pictures, maybe not. They really aren't as dark as they look in the pictures.
Dude, it's really not all that. Keep your eyes open for a cheap dial indicator and magnetic base off Craigslist. Here's a video on checking endplay. Ignore the bore size talk from earlier. It turned out to be nothing. The thrust washers are used to close up the endplay, as you take the trans apart, you'll find them in between components, it'll make more sense then. Watch this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As5lBDy107c
I pulled the valve body apart last night, cleaned it up, and put it back together tonight. When I pulled it out of the transmission, it was pretty nasty. As I said earlier, the trans sat outside and was full of water when I opened it up. The valve body was no different. All of the white dots are beads of water. Yummy! Downshift valve and spring and servo modulator valve and spring Accumulator Valve Pressure regulator valve and pressure booster valve and sleeve. Check out the rust. Coasting valve and boost spring 2-3 Backout valve 2-3 Shift Valve 1-2 Shift valve on the right and cutback valve on the left Throttle booster valve and spring The other half All the valves, cleaned, bagged, and tagged. The shift kit is in the lower left corner.
The Jalopy Journal
