Transmission Trouble

[Jimmy Neutron]

I am pretty sure it is a C4.

If someone could lead me as to how to check, I will...

I jumped in her to pull her out of the garage so I can get some other cars in there to work on them for some income. I started her up and shifted into reverse, backed up without a problem. Shifted it into drive, nothing happend.

The fluid is brown, needs to be changed along with the filter, but at the correct fill level. (I was not able to check it while it was hot, kinda hard to warm it up when all you got is reverse!)

What else could it be?

I really do not want to put a whole lotta money into the transmission. I want to replace it with a AOD soon... maybe sooner than later! Does anyone here have one for sale?

 

[Bronc76]

The C4 has an 11 bolt pan, you might want to replace modulator first. if fluid is brownish, that is caused by overheating, you probably have band failure, you might have to get that AOD or rebuild the C4.

 

[Jimmy Neutron]

I will crawl underneath it tomorrow and count bolts. I will also find that engine block number while I am under there...

I have not worked on any automatics before, but there is a first for everything!

How much should these parts be? Is this something I should tackle, or should I give it over to the pro's?

I have looked around online for complete running vehicles with the AOD in them. Some are selling for $1,500 or less. The cheapest price on a rebuilt AOD that I found was $1,700. I guess the question that I should as now is if an AOD is worth swapping or should I just fix the C4?

 

[Bronc76]

if you have never done one before, like myself, i let a pro do it. it ended up costing me $800-875 including a shift kit and valve body (5 yrs ago). to save cost i pulled the tranny myself probably saved me a couple hundred. i've never had an AOD swap but i'm sure it can be done (not sure how much more $$$). someone else thats done it could probably tell you more. you can always rebuild the C4, its already there.

 

[Jimmy Neutron]

It is probably the idiot in me that would rather put the money toward the AOD... I just cannot see the point in spending that kind of cash on something I really don't want.

I guess we will see if I can find a complete vehicle for cheap. Who knows? Maybe I will be able to part out the rest of it and get close to breaking even... or maybe scrap prices will skyrocket again...

 

[BamBam95670]

How long has it sat. It sounds to me the o-ring on the servo to old and hard and allowing the fluid to pass by without activating the band to engage forward gear.

You could try adding some Lucas Auto trany treatment. I did this with our old Aerostar van and it worked. This isnt a permanent fix but could buy you some time..

Charlie

 

[sweetD]

I am looking at swapping mine out for an aod also, only I have the 3 speed manual. I pulled AOD out of 90 bronco, (recommend rebuilding, leave it to the pros unless you want to take it to them in a box 2 years from now) It will swap out with conversion kit. 300-500 dollars. Also swaps easier with T shift transfer case. J shift can be used but requires a lot more customizing. I would definately spend money on what you want or you'll never get it.

Also I'm sure you have but have you checked your linkage?

 

[Jimmy Neutron]

I found a local guy on Craigslist that is willing to rebuild the C4 for $300. His parts and labor are guaranteed for 1 year.

Sarah and I have talked this over. What we have decided is that the $300 fix is the best way to go for right now. I have the money in the bank to swap the AOD, but then I will not be able to "restify" the Bronco the way we want it. So, we will keep an eye out for an '80-'90 4x4 Ford Van, F150, or Bronco with the AOD. I found a few for less than $1,200 this time around, so I think they will be even cheaper in a year or so. I would rather buy the entire vehicle and swap in what I want, store what I think I should keep, and either sell or scrap what is left.

 

[88horse]

well when u change the fluid blow the cooler lines out and flush them if u can

 

[Jimmy Neutron]

I found a recently rebuilt (5,000mi) AOD for $300. It also has a shift kit. The only catch is that it is a 2WD transmission.

How hard/much is it to convert to 4WD?