Is my transmission going?

[nikon4u]

Occasionaly my girl will hesitate going into gear. Wheather it's reverse, drive, or even when I leave a green light Am I going to be spending a lot of money on the transmission soon?

[qman]

Could be. Give it a fluid flush and see if that helps.

[FORDification]

Of course you need to check the obvious, which is making sure the fluid level is full. What kind of transmission fluid are you using? How many miles on the transmission?

[mrung0wa]

FYI: If the Tranny is over filled with fluid it can give you all sorts of fits. The C4's are really temperamental. If it's been a while say for instance a 100,000 miles since the last flush/filter change you might want to hold of on doing it because that might make your problem even worse!
Oh yeah you should check the grommets/bushings in your shift linkage. When they wear out it makes it difficult linkage to find the correct/optimal position to be in.

Lawrence

[Jake11]

Does it have "morning sickness" ? That's a good indication its time to
get your wallet out.

[Jake11]

Lawrence is right about that. ATF is high detergent oil. It can wash out
the sludge thats sealing the clutches up inside. Seen it happen a few times.

[HOWDY69]

My problem turned out to be a rotten vacuum hose. Hope yours is simple too.

[Jake11]

Good deal.

[nikon4u]

OK, so what do I do or check first?

[Jake11]

Pull the dipstick out and look at/smell the fluid. Is it dark, does it smell?
By morning sickness, I meant when you first try to get it going, does it
take a while to go in gear? The clutch piston seals are rubber, and they
age and get hard. After it warms up they start to seal better. This is a
general indication the tranny's due for an overhaul.

[nikon4u]

OK, so now what? Is this something I can do or is it best left to the pros. Oh, and before I forget, what was that link on eBay for the money tree? I know a lot about engines, and I am also a handyman by trade. I can accomplish a lot of things that I didn't think I could do. But I know I can't lift a trany. So can one man do this in a weekend by himself and without a lesson?

[fordman]

the first thing is check the fuild level while it is running. if it only shifts hard while shifting between first and second replace the modulator. the third thing to check is to make sure the vacuum hose on the modulator is good and the other end of the tube where it hooks onto the engine is good also. then it maybe time to rebuild it after that or possibly adjust the bands.

removing the transmission isn't hard if you have afloor jack. rebuilding it you will need a spring compressor for the drums to r and r the rubber seals in the pistons in those drums. i have never been able to take a vavle body apart and put it back together and have it work right or at all so i usually just clean it and put it back in.

[BigRedTruck]

I had a similar problem...took a while to shift gears and then suddenly It would not shift up at all....not a good situation on a 65 mph highway, but it turned out to be a bad modulator,

[mrung0wa]

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained..."


Lawrence

[Jake11]

Thought you wanted to fix it. Get a rebuilt.