HOKAY! Got the trans out for the 4th time. Looks like the low-reverse band was somehow engaging the planetary. Not sure if it was just not seated on the case pins correctly, or if the servo was stuck partially engaged (doubt that one) or what. But for now, I'm going to totally disassemble everything for cleaning to get out all the brass-laden transmission fluid from the last time. Not cheaping out this time by reusing fluid, even if filtered.
I give up. Now that I have reverse, I also have L going backwards, and the forward gears are basically useless. I think it might be a bad seal in the forward clutch drum, but I'm not sure. I think it's time to move on to getting my Mustang back on the road and start planning the manual swap. Gotta decide on what trans I want and what sort of clutch system I want. M5OD, T5, Toploader (3 [for cost] or 4 speed), ZF, mechanical, hydraulic. Cost is going to be the main thing. So yeah, not super happy right now.
I don't blame you; now you know why I don't rebuild transmissions. I leave it to the guys that are super sharp at it.
You are much further along than I am on understanding transmissions of any type (don't understand them, never been inside one) but I am also itching to get a stick into my 77 so I will be very interested in where you end up going. I was thinking T-5 but since my end goal is a cruiser I'm thinking hard about that T-56 option even though I understand it will cause the tunnel to get bigger, that said it's rated at 500+ hp which I will be near when I get done making the 351W into a 408W. I'm going for "bomb proof" reliability. Cheers, Doc
Transmissions aren't as bad as their rep. I rebuilt the C6 for my F250. The biggest thing was to keep EVERYTHING in the order of disassembly, and to take pics of the valve body AS YOU ARE DISASSEMBLING IT. That was my major snafu. I found that I wasn't sure about the direction on some of the pistons, and it took forever to find good pics on Google. That, and I had to buy a torque wrench that measured inch-pounds. Other than that, no worse than an engine. But no, I won't rebuild yours. Joseph
I put everything together in order, I'm fairly sure. But the output shaft was real tough to turn by hand, and I think that maybe a seal was torn on the forward clutch? I'm just in way over my head at this point. I can certainly see why on all the car shows, they never rebuild their autos; they always end up getting a crate transmission.
I bought a rebuild kit for my C6. New thrust washers, etc. I got it all together, and the input shaft was hard to turn. Ended up that I had used too thick of a thrust washer for #1. Going down one size gave it enough "play room" to free everything up. I also found that I had to install the "packs" in very carefully. If I slipped, then everything shifted. Since it wasn't held together, then things shifted out of place, so I would have to pull the pack out and reassemble it. That part got a bit old! Joseph
The one thing I do know, when rebuilding an auto trans, is that it has to be vertical, so that the 'stack' of clutch packs, planetaries and pump all align properly, and don't cause binding.
Yeah, I suppose. But it was going to be the only tranny that I would ever build, blah blah blah. Little did I know that I would buy a Ranchero! Joseph
I had mine strapped to an engine stand with a ratchet strap on the 2nd and 4th attempts because when I tried to assemble it horizontally, it was nearly impossible to keep the drums all together. Now, there's a chance that if I do it all over again just one more time, that I'll get it all to work again, but that's also what I said all the other times, so next time it's gonna get done professionally. And maybe I'll reseal the FMX and stick that back in it in the meantime.
There was no way I could assemble it horizontally. Heck, I hardly got it vertically! Next time, I'll definitely build a stand! Joseph
When I rebuilt my GM 4L60E I had a 5 gallon metal can I had laying around on top of which I placed a flex plate I also had laying around I then stood the trans on that with the output shaft poking thru the flex plate into the can. It made disassembly less messy also. Worked a treat whilst reassembling it.
That's why they call me "stumpy." Reminds me of the time I used Easy-Off oven cleanser to get yuck off of something. The stuff worked great ... until I realized that I wasn't wearing gloves, and my fingernails were brown. That stuff actually ate into my nails! It took six months for them to grow back out! Moral of the story: when using Easy-Off (actually, when using any cleaner), wear gloves! Joseph
Reminds me of an old radio spot, where the guy was talking to a buzzard feeder, named "Three Fingers"
