c4

[88mudder]

my c4 trans has a manual valve body with no kickdown cable. Is there supposed to be a kickdown on this model trans? My engine would stall out when i put it into gear. I noticed a broken vac modulater hose so i fixed that, also put in a new torque converter. I havent tried to shift it yet because i am still hooking up the engine components because i swapped motors. If it still stalls out i am assuming theres supposed to be a kickdown cable..anybody have some knowledge about this?

 

[projectnitemare]

If it has a manual valve body there will be no kickdown. On a C4 it will not hurt it with no kick down, it's not like the TV cable on an AOD. If the vaccum mod us unhooked it will just shift really crappy. Sound like either, improper timing, too low stall speed for cam, vaccum leak and probably a few other things I can't think of off the top of my head. What is all done to the engine? What's the stall speed? The stalling won't be due to a lack of a kickdown.

Matt

 

[88mudder]

If it has a manual valve body there will be no kickdown. On a C4 it will not hurt it with no kick down, it's not like the TV cable on an AOD. If the vaccum mod us unhooked it will just shift really crappy. Sound like either, improper timing, too low stall speed for cam, vaccum leak and probably a few other things I can't think of off the top of my head. What is all done to the engine? What's the stall speed? The stalling won't be due to a lack of a kickdown.

Matt

E303 motorsport cam, stock heads, Edelbrock 4bbl performer intake and carb, shorty headers. Nothing crazy. I dont know the stahl speed but i do know its a stock foxbody mustang converter. I used to have a 2500 stahl converter in there and it stalled out all the time. I thought i might of had a bad converter so i swapped in the foxbody one. Anxious to try it.

On another note...i have a really bad trans leak. Looks like the fluid is seeping out of the trans pan gasket. Replaced the gasket and it is still doing it. It leaks like crazy too! Let it sit overnight and its a big puddle under the truck. Anybody have leaking C4's and know possible culprits?

 

[projectnitemare]

Sounds like a pump seal if it's still leaking. Is it wet in the bellhousing. An E303 won't work too well with a stock converter, that might be why you are stalling. If I recall correctly the E303 is .498 or so in lift and 282 duration. Pretty much all cams over 270 duration will recommend a higher stall speed. Cam, stall speed and gears need to be matched to have a good performing setup. If you have a leak that will be the first thing to get fixed. Look to see if the pan is actually leaking. It may also be the pump seal or possibly the tailshaft seal.

Matt

 

[88mudder]

bellhousing is dry. Looks like the vac modulater is leaking where is screws into the trans. I will figure it out and keep updated

 

[88mudder]

well the vac modulater is not leaking. Its the pan gasket itself. I am not having any luck with cork gaskets. Its leaking right at the corner of the pan. Can RTV be used? Im sure this will stop the leak.

 

[projectnitemare]

I wouldn't use RTV. The best gasket is a cork gasket with a piece of metal sandwiched in middle. They sometimes can be hard to find. Pull the pan, are any of the bolts over tightened to bend the edge of the pan? How about the case, any chips, burrs or cracks?

Matt

 

[baddad457]

It's not the stock converter stalling it. I'm running a mild low stall converter behind my 331 with a Z303 cam. Look for vacuum leaks or tune your carb and check the ignition timing.

 

[88mudder]

I wouldn't use RTV. The best gasket is a cork gasket with a piece of metal sandwiched in middle. They sometimes can be hard to find. Pull the pan, are any of the bolts over tightened to bend the edge of the pan? How about the case, any chips, burrs or cracks?

Matt

i torqued them down by feel...i think i need to do it with a torque wrench cuz i prolly did it wrong. Whats the torque spec anybody know? Can i use RTV + cork gasket? Dont wanna have to keep taking the pan off to fix a leak..

 

[projectnitemare]

You don't want to use RTV on a transmission. All it takes is one little loose piece of that junk to get into the system and you'll be guranteed to do a full rebuild trying to find why it won't run right. A cork gasket requires no sealer. You need to spend some time in the prep. Make sure the sealing surface of the pan is flat, if someone overtorqued the bolts you are guranteed to have a leak. Make sure all the surfaces are dry, that's important as well. From there you will kind of have to torque them by sight and feel, no more than 10-12 ft-lbs though. Due to differences in gasket mfgrs none will be exactly the same, watch for the gasket to buldge a little and you are tight.

Matt