So Brownie has an automatic C4 transmission...
Yesterday evening she developed this issue where she either needs to sit in drive until the transmission grabs first gear, or rev the engine WAY up until it grabs and you start to move.
Any ideas what the problem is of this? Do I need to drain the transmission fluid again and add more fresh stuff?
Filter dirty or plugged. Low on fluid?
Plenty of fluid, new filter and pan gasket. I suppose i could drop it again and check though.
There are several things you need to check. Does the fluid smell burned? I'm not sure if you developed this problem and changed the fluid or if you developed the problem after you changed it...need more info. Did this come on suddenly or has it slowly got to this point?
I guess if I'd pay attention to things I would see exactly what you said...LOL...too early in the morning I guess. Once you get the tranny to engauge does it stay working or does it do this again when you stop and take off again?
Dave,
Are you sure you used the proper transmission fluid when you serviced it? An error on that could cause problems. I'm not absolutely certain (my Pinto is a manual transmission) but most older Ford products require Type F. Just a thought.
Dwayne :smile:
Ok I readily admit I might not know what I'm talking about...but could it be the bands?
Another random thought...when I had my '82 Mercury Capri the Chilton's book said to use Dexron/Mercon. I know GM cars use Dexron...I should've remembered my Capri didn't have her original engine and probably didn't have her original drivetrain either. She was a Capri SVO that had a turbocharged 4 cylinder but when I acquired her she had a straight 6 .
This problem started just a couple days ago, out of no where. No warning signs before hand.
Once the car grabs in drive, it's fine, no problems. It will stay in engaged the during stop and go driving conditions and won't have the problem again until it it shifted out of drive and back into another gear like reverse, park or neutral.
It seems like once it warms up though, that it will grab back into drive from a stationary gear just fine, which makes me think Robert might be right about it being the fluid/filter screen.
I used the right fluid, Type F, and the right amount. I'm wondering, though, if the initial drain of the old fluid removed enough of the old oxidized fluid and contaminants, and now that it's driving it's mixing the left over old fluid with clean fluid. Perhaps it needs another fluid change to clean out all the left overs of old fluid.
it's not a bad idea... ;)
Oh, and Becky, I've been thinking about what you said to. My initial thought was "bands and clutches need replaced :(".
Also, no burnt smell of transmission fluid, still bright red and clean, not oxidized or dirty looking.
All the driving you have done latley probably broke loose some gunk in the trans and plugged up the filter or gummed up one of the valves.
I thought of something else... if there is gunk, it might be plugging the cooling lines too, causing problems.
If the problem is more prominent when cold and seems to go away when warmed up....may be some serious issues with the pump in the transmission. There are some small rings...kinda like piston rings...that are on the pump that may have gone bad. What happens is fluid pressure is lost when one or more break or wear out causing the problem you have. Once warmed up they have a tendancy to seal up a little better due to expansion which keeps the pressure up and the tranny works better. This is purely a speculation on my part but I've seen that problem several times...especially in Ford transmissions. You could take the car to a tranny shop and have it checked out. How many miles are on the tranny that you know of???
RSM, you might be on to something. The car worked just fine to day and it was a fairly warm day. It's worse when it's cold out.
The tranny, at most, has 91,000 miles on it, that's how many are on the car.
I would like to try fixing this myself, any ideas where to start??
You definetly need it checked out. To repair that kind of problem requires a tear down of the transmission. If that indeed is the problem then the easiest route is to buy a reman tranny and install it.
not to worried about how much work it is, I love adventure! :)
Adventure is great!!!...until it leaves you stranded...LOL
Not TOO worried about that part, it's always in the back of my mind but at least I'll know *I* did it. My brother has his transmission rebuilt at the most "trusted" shop here in Boise and he has had to take it back FIVE TIMES already because they arn't sealing it correctly and not torquing down bolts to the correct specification.
I'm very confident with what I can do. The 78 has never been in a shop except for an alignment, everything from bumper to bumper, suspension to roof has been done by myself.
I know all about those "trusted" shops. I took my wifes 88 Mustang to a reputable shop only to get screwed out of about $400 and i wasn't happy about it at all. Needless to say...I slam that shop every chance I get. Word of mouth works both ways. Come to find out after I did some research on my own...the ECM was messed up. It was throwing the torque converter into lockup as soon as you stepped on the gas. When that happened the engine would stall...craziest thing I've seen. Anyways, I unplug the lead going to the transmission...problem solved. I still had 4 forward gears but no lockup. Another lesson learned...lol
Forward clutch pac and band replacement, I get $125 + parts = $225.00 done, unless hard parts are needed (rare).