Dare to rebuild an automatic transmission for the first time?

I distinctly remember my very-smart and very-capable dad telling me in the 80's that the only thing on a car he didn't dare touch was an automatic transmission.  
 

And ever since then I have had this fear of disturbing the unknown contained within these black magic boxes. 
 

well, the c4 we got from a guy for our old bronco was apparently rebuilt. If he meant that he just spray painted over the dirt and sludge, then I got a fine example of a fresh rebuild. 
I paid a reasonable price for a functioning c4 for these early Broncos but it was still waaaaay more than I ever thought I'd spend on a used transmission.  
 

regardless, it shifts weird and now there is a strange noise that I think is the transmission. 
 

I have read that the c4 is one of the few transmissions that don't require expensive special tools. So now I'm contemplating sending it to a shop or tearing into it myself. 
 

shop pros:

should be done right

mininal effort on my part (pull trans, drop off at shop)

shop cons:

I'm in Los Angeles. I have my doubts that I will find a chain-smoking, greasy monkey who can do these blindfolded. 
so the quality of work I would get is questionable 

Expensive ($1800 I believe)

Doing it myself pros:

I'll know exactly what was done

I'll Learn a lot 

I'll save a lot of money.

I'll have the pride of doing it myself

cons of doing it myself:

Spending all the money I saved on a tow to the transmission shop because I don't have the experience that would allow me to spot the problems within. 
 

there is a book I'm currently looking for that I would get regardless of whether or not I dive into it. 
 

does anyone have one they'd want to sell?

Do it. I did my first transmission rebuild on a 6L90e behind a LSA in my CTS-V. If I was able to be successful with that, a C4 would be monumentally easier. You can find plenty of YT videos on rebuilding, quite a few experts put up videos on rebuilding transmissions. A good manual will be very helpful as well.

Edit: You can see some of the rebuild pictures here: CTS-V

I've considered doing one too (C4). Tons of videos on YouTube.

Check YouTube. Both transmissions I've considered rebuilding had full step by step videos of the entire process. 

Do it, that's a cake trans to do. I have rebuilt/built dozens of autos and never had any issues. 

How hard is it to get the trans out of the car? I’ve rebuilt more than a few. Only a handful of times did i get it right the first time.  

If it needs to work now, or it’s a timesuck to get it out, and needs to be done right the first time. Let the shop do it. 

If it takes two hours to get out, you don’t need to drive the car, and have an interest. Do it yourself. 

I've seen one video and wish that guy was close! But it doesn't look very hard.  I'm just afraid there are little things I'll miss. 
 

but I think I'll just do it.  And document my progress here!

getting the trans out is a pain because of the transfer case.  But everything is clean and nothing is stuck, frozen or rusted.  
 

I pulled the trans out when it was a stick and when I slid the transfer case off the back of the transmission, it nearly collapsed my chest when it basically fell on my sternum.  My buddy was laughing while panicking. 

When I was in college GM had a student program where we could work 89 days a summer and make some really good money. I worked at a Hydramatic plant that was building the 700R4.  Most of the "Lifers" ,as they called themselves, didn't like to be moved around to different jobs. I wanted to be moved as often as possible. I worked my way through most of sub-assembly and spent some time on the main line.

You can do it.

Each step is easy. There will be groups of clutch packs etc that will make your pile of parts disappear quickly.  Watch a few videos.  The only part of the trans that was dialed in to the thousandth of an inch is the pump on the front. DO NOT try to mix and match parts in there. The machine that tested the pumps was the size of large box truck and the measuring of the moving parts was super precise. A lot of pumps failed.

These guys are local to me but they have a great web site and they have great customer service if you have questions.

https://ptptrans.com/

If it has never been opened before, yeah maybe. C4 is pretty basic. If it has been opened before, forget it, someone else screwed up and it wont end well. New converter is a must.

Every expert did one for the first time.

Man put it together, man can repair it.

Only one I've ever done myself was a Chrysler 727, it was easy once you got into it. Even the valve body can be figured out pretty easy, just apply shop air and see what does what.

C4 should be the same level of complexity.

When you put it back in, don't freak out if you don't have any gears for the first few minutes. The convertor can take a while to fill and it will make you think you've done something wrong when it doesn't go right away.

Don't know if it's still open or not, but there was a shop in Glendale that was exactly the chain-smoking, greasy monkey shop you describe.  Back in the day (2004 or so) they bench-built a TH400 for me for $600.  It was on SF rd somewhere near the chicane at Pacific blvd IIRC.

Be aware, no shop will warranty a bench build, at least not fully.  Since they didn't get the labor of the R&R, they don't have enough profit in the game to do it twice.  They also don't know if you'll trash the pump with a bad TC install, or use the right fluid, etc.

I have really wanted to dive into transmissions myself.  Doing it "right" sometimes requires a rather specific set of tools and it kind of turned me off of it for now.  I have a powerglide that slips a little and I'd love to fix it for $100 on a weekend instead of giving it to a shop for $750 and two weeks.

The first "live victim" trans I did was a C4.

Super super freaking easy to rebuild.

I used a "truck" case, and swapped in a "car" tail housing and tail shaft to run it in a V8 Pinto.  I was maybe 21 at the time. It worked beautiful, and I didn't know then even a fraction of what I know now. You got this.

(if you do the truck/car build, you'll need to install a vent.  Trust me.)

I've done a couple, but not a c4. My advice, if you can find one of those big C shaped tranny holding fixtures, do it. They make it a lot easier. You can hang that off your engine stand. Then I make a big work table. Mine is a 9 foot garage door panel (because my dad is a garage door guy and has tons of them) on sawhorses. I cover the tabletop with visqueen because its clean. Then as I take it apart I can lay things out in an orderly line in the order I removed them. The inner workings come out as not that many subassemblies, a few clutch packs, a few gearsets, etc. Rebuild one sub assembly at a time so you dont end up with 400 small parts scattered everywhere. If you remove the valve body make sure you have a diagram of where all the check balls go, I have never removed that didn't have a few balls go rolling across the floor. But that's about it. 

In reply to jfryjfry :

Autobooks-Aerobooks in Burbank should have a copy of that C4-C6 book.

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

Don't know if it's still open or not, but there was a shop in Glendale that was exactly the chain-smoking, greasy monkey shop you describe.  Back in the day (2004 or so) they bench-built a TH400 for me for $600.  It was on SF rd somewhere near the chicane at Pacific blvd IIRC.

Be aware, no shop will warranty a bench build, at least not fully.  Since they didn't get the labor of the R&R, they don't have enough profit in the game to do it twice.  They also don't know if you'll trash the pump with a bad TC install, or use the right fluid, etc.

I have really wanted to dive into transmissions myself.  Doing it "right" sometimes requires a rather specific set of tools and it kind of turned me off of it for now.  I have a powerglide that slips a little and I'd love to fix it for $100 on a weekend instead of giving it to a shop for $750 and two weeks.

Kings Transmission is no longer at that location.  It's listed at 1001 E Palmer Ave in Glendale.  (818) 242-6008.

In reply to jfryjfry :

Well I just signed up for my first two of several ASE courses at my local community college - 1. Automatic Transaxles and Automatic Transmission and 2. Electricity and Electrical Fundamentals.  

It's just for "personal enrichment" and something I've always talked of doing.  You may see what's in your area and if something like this is available to you.  The tuition for both courses is less than I would pay to have someone rebuild an auto tranny for me.  

Luckily my job allows for flexible work hours so I'll just shift my workload around to make it happen.

I'd try a C4 and TH 350.  

You'll need a special tool to get the bottom of the TH350 apart, but other than that pretty easy.

I paid that "greasy guy" to rebuild a C4 back in the 1990s.  He sucked, and I wound up wasting my time suing him over hundreds of dollars.  He did exactly what you stated:  repaint and shove it back out.  C4s are made of glass.  They are what put me onto using the T5 in my Mustang days.  When a T5 is the "strong" transmission, you know its predecessor had very little to offer . . .

The 4r70 is a much nicer unit, when one must be Ford-centric.

In reply to SkinnyG (Forum Supporter) :

Duly noted!  

Easy peasy. Always helps when dad was a highly sought after transmission rebuilder by the shops around town....

Ranger50 said:

Easy peasy. Always helps when dad was a highly sought after transmission rebuilder by the shops around town....

How far from Los Angeles is he?? Haha

Actually, let me take this thread another step and maybe Ranger50 sr can advise as well....

who makes the best rebuild kit for these old Fords?

im strongly leaning towards just doing it....

looks like I'll need some auto tranny grease of some sort for assembly as well 

In reply to jfryjfry :

Sadly he passed 2 yrs ago.

Basic rebuild is what I can get at the local trans parts place cheap. Paper clutches are fine. Get a new/relined flex band. Get the right band nuts. Get a bushing kit. Get a shift improver kit.

That will get you started. Oh and a cheap tub of Vaseline will work just fine instead of the $20 tub of trans gel.