My problem is my 2 speed, Ford-O-Matic won't shift into second until it's warm. After that, it's fine. I only got 25k miles from a rebuild less than 5 years ago from Coast Transmission in Costa Mesa, CA. They want another $1100 to rebuild it again! Instead, I'm planning a C4 swap but have to gather up all the parts first. In the mean time I thought I'd dump something into the tranny and hope it helps (Trans-X, Lucas, etc). Can anyone recommend a particular brand or is it all just a waist? BTW, anyone have any C4 parts I might need for this swap? I'm pretty sure I have a Maverick C4 and bell housing, but have yet to actually get it. I believe I will also need a shortened drive shaft, yoke, torque converter and kick down cable. current set-up: 170ci Six Cylinder, 2 speed Ford-O-Matic, 8" rear end future set-up: 170ci Six Cylinder, 3 speed C4, 8" rear end Thanks
transX worked for me in the past BUT it'll swell up the seals big-time. it's a temporary fix..... can't tell ya about lucas...
yep lucas ! I have a 98 dodge shop van that was leaking and shifting lazy/ slipping ! been working fine since I used lucas 4 years ago.
Wow $1100 bucks? that sounds like highway robbery! for a freakin' rebuild? dam.. think of how many other transmissions you could have for less than that. My experiance with those trans fluid additives ..they are just hype..and will eventually ruin your seals
My kids F O Matic was doing the same. Added about a cup of brake fluid and ran it. Took a few days and it shifts fine now. Past owner had shift issue too. It will swell the seals, but ours had a leak. It's doing fine a year later.
change the filter and fluid first and add a cup of brake fluid when you do it. when you drop the pan see what and where the debris is that might help find problem area. make sure you drop a magnet in the pan helps keep any metal out of the system.
Realizing there is no such thing as "Mechanic in a can", I have had alot of success with the Lucas products...To date, Lucas has proven to Stabilize oil pressure in a car with solid lifters (it's unnerving as hell to watch your oil pressure needle jump around, but Solid lifters are set with a tiny gap between them and the pushrod wich equals 16 tiny internal oil leaks. Don't know what exactly the lucas did, but my needle is nica nad steady now.) Kept Ghetto Shelfs ford-o-matic on the road for a year while he was waiting to install his C4-and his was just plain 'ol wore out. silenced lifter noise on numerous non adjustable valvetrains. bunches. the power steering crap made my wifey's ford power steering pump FINALLY shut the hell up. the power steering stuff stopped a leak on my power steering pump flat out. I poured it in, it stopped leaking. that fast. So yeah...it's pretty good stuff. Ain't bad on Toast, either.
thanks for all the responses. I've never been afan of fix-it in a can. I was leaning toward some other addidtives that weren't "thick". Lucas is really thick. It's like putting peanut butter in the trans...scary!
I put a half a bottle of Lucas into a th350 that had been stored for about 10 years, then topped it off with regular fluid. The thing would squeek like crazy when I tried turning it over. Anyway I installed it with new front and rear seals and have run it for 2 years with no problems. I've tried other brands for leaks over the years, and most of them weren't worth it. Although I've never heard of the brake fluid fix before.
I have had it work...for a while. The cup O' brake fluid trick, well...it stopped my trans. in my F-150 from leaking, at least it seems to have...
Lucas products are top notch,,,,,,,,,have used for years in a wide variety of applications......... over the rocks on a hot day with a splash of lemon works also
Change the screen and fluid and add either Lucas or Seafoam .I have had good luck with both of them in the past.
you could just let it warm up?? but the lucas works really good my boss got a lot of extra life out of dodge truck trans with a new fliter and some lucas
When my mom and dad (and kids) were delivering newspapers, they were using a 76 Toyota Corolla wagon. They loaded the shit out of it every day. The trans was slipping bad, and since we were broke, and soon to be broker without the income, my dad put trans-X in it. They used it for 2 more years, and sold it to another newspaper guy when dad got a job. That dude used it for another 5 years. I've used it since, to stop leaks or slippage. Its a seal sweller like the brake fluid. To me, it works, but its not a fix-all. If it gets you down the road in a pinch, its worth the $8 it costs.
Lucas rules and it supposedly doesn't shorten seal life but it is not best for leaks. Brake fluid is the best for leaks cause it swells the hell outta seals but again this method is only borrowing some time. Before I built the hydramatic in my 55' olds it leaked and slipped, after adding lucas it shifted nice n' hard (and I drove the shit out of it) but still leaked, after adding only a little dot 3 brake fluid it barely leaked for almost two years but when the seal finally let go the car became undrivable as the fluid poured out and it took two big bags of cat litter to clean the mess it made.
Wife's old chevy was starting to slip when shifting. Put a can of trans-x and stoped right away. Sold it rather cheap and told the people it might not last. They drove it 5 years and it was still going.
I like Lubeguard... my dad put it in ever car he has owned for around 15 years now... 276,000 on a '90 pontiac transport, and 258,000 on a '94 chevy 2500 HD... both had the original transmissions and had never needed to be rebuilt... I had a sundance that had a bad transmission that shuttered pretty bad... I added some lubeguard, and it stopped the shutter... Jordan
Hey people 1100.oo bucks is cheap they want 2600.oo to do the one in my 95 Explorer & that realy sucks cause its only worth about 1500.oo
After a lot of questions and web research, I chose to add SeaFoam Trans Tune. http://www.seafoamsales.com/transTune.htm I liked it because it said is NOT a sealant. It does NOT swell seals. It is NOT thick. I dumped it in and the car shifts as if it had just been rebuilt. Perfect! I almost want to say, it's better than before. The shifts are so subtle, yet firm, I'm seriously impressed. I don't know if this is temporary, but it should buy me enough time to gather my items needed for the C4 swap. After I have my items collected for the swap, I want to continue using the 2 speed until it acts up again, assuming it eventually will. This will provide some research as to how long this additive will help extend a trans' life.
Lucas. Not an excuse to not change the fluid/filter. But it's the next best thing. If they labeled a bottle with "coffee" I'd drink it.
It's now been nearly a thousand miles and the tranny is still shifting perfect. I cannot believe it. This is awesome! After I added this to mine, a buddy at work dumped half a can into his late model, 100k mile Ford van to hopefully help with a hard shift. The result was instant and pefection ever since. This stuff really works!
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