I want to rebuild my C4. It's from a 73 Maverick and will go behind my 312 Y block in my 26 RPU. Have never done an auto trans before, but I thought that with a good rebuild kit and possibly a manual or video instructions I could do it. Anyone have any advice, tips or anything like that to help out ? I also wondered about cleaning the case, how does one go about cleaning this old trans so clean you could eat off of it ? How do the trans shops do it ? It has to be super clean for a good rebuild and then for painting of course. Thanks.
To clean my C4 case, I scrapped as much crud off as I could, then soaked it with spray on oven cleaner (do this outside) I let it soak for half an hour and then took the pressure washer to it. This gets about 90% of it clean. Then scrape some more and repeat with the oven cleaner. It will get the job done. Don't leave the cleaner on too long or it will stain the aluminum.
i can't help you on the details on rebuilding the C-4 , but i will say the the tranny shop i go to uses some sort of jet-blast cabinet to clean the bare case. not with an abrasive , but with high pressure water/soap and i believe it is heated. sort of a big dish washer
I rebuilt a C4 back when I was at Junior College in a transmission class. Cleaned it up in a parts washer, lots of scraping, scrubbing, rinsing, wiping again and again. You'll need some snap-ring pliers to get metal o-rings out of the clutch packs. Definitely have a good manual to go step-by-step, it should hopefully have a "special tools required" list. Have a large table space to spread the parts out in order to help you remember to put it back correctly. There will be some trial and error and repeating steps to get it right, so have a lot of patience. Otherwise, it's not that difficult, just a good test of your memory in putting it back together in the proper order. There's a few tricks my instructor told me to save having to buy a shift kit, perhaps a web-search could help you find accurate information. There's a spring you can stretch to help build more line pressure, a hole you can drill slightly larger in the plate for the valve body for a faster shift, etc. Or just buy a shift kit with those things already done for you. Mostly, just have patience and be willing to re-do some steps again and again until you get it right. It's just a big puzzle, not too difficult with a couple of special tools required. Good luck!
Have rebuilt a few C4's starting when I was in High school. Get a good pair of snap ring pliers, inch pound and foot pound torque wrench. Follow the manual. When washing parts don't wash or soak any clutch or bands with friction materails in solvent. Learned that the hard way on my first rebuild. The linings can deteriorate depending on the solvent you use. Good Luck!
Just a little tip,don't wipe parts with rags etc. Ihave cleaned out alot of valve body's,that have been full of bits of lint.This after trans has been overhauled. wash and blow off with air.
Spend the 29 bucks and buy #1204 Ford C-4 technical Video phone # 1-888-785-2604 , best money you can spend, clear concise and easy to use. Keep your bench spotless and everything spotless when working on the trans.
i never rebuilt one before i did mine.i got the hayne`s manual for them and it wasn`t that bad.lot`sa pic`s to follow.when i did mine i got the rebuild kit first then took it apart.did each section seperately so it wasn`t laying there for days and i`d forget how it went.they say to use some correct tools but you can do it without them.i used a plastic coke bottle for a seal compressor to get the pistons in the drums.you will need an inch pound torque wrench.my trans works great.
Rebuilt both C4 and C5 trans about 20 years ago. Had the Ford manuals and other than making a homemade compressor for one of the clutch paks, everything is pretty much like the previous poster's have said. Have good snap ring pliers, a clean bench, a good size cleaning pan or parts cleaner with lots of cleaning solvent. Use the compressed air to blow dry the parts. Be careful when separating the two halves of the valve body, as there are check balls with springs that will go flying if you don't pay attention. A good tip to success is to verify that the bands and clutches apply and release as they should. This is done with compressed air applied to the passages in the main case. A good manual will show you these passages. These boxes are probably one of the easier transmissions to rebuild, with only aluminum Powerglides, and ST-300's being simpler. Good luck
Thanks fellas all good advice. I appreciate the help. Will feel better tackling it now with the proper info in hand.
Rebuilding a C-4 is really not all that complicated, compared to modern transmissions of today. The most important factor is it has to be really clean. When I rebuild a trans, it is completely disassembled, including taking the valve body and gov. apart. All internal parts are washed and blow dried in parts cleaner (mineral spirits). The external parts are cleaned of heavy deposits and then washed in a hot spray parts washer, then washed in mineral spirits to get what the spray washer missed. I actually spend more time cleaning and detailing than reassembly. On restoration transmissions we then glass bead the case and external parts. To get a nice finish as close to new, I glass bead at a higher pressure to remove oxidation etc and to get an even finish. Then it is gone over at a low pressure which gives it some shine. After that its washed in soap and hot water and blow dried. I have seen some that I have done 10 or more years ago that still look great and have no oxidation. Here are a few pics of the latest one that I restored. Although its a Turbo400 for a 67 Olds 442, you can still get the idea of how they look when finished. I really do not like the painted look on transmissions, natural is the way to go. Good luck with the project.
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