www.ColoradoClassicBroncos.com

Just wanted to introduce myself to everyone. I moved to Colorado Springs in August from El Paso, TX. I have a 76 that I have had for about 5 years now. I'm in the Army, so I have been a member of Hawaii Classic Broncos, Mid-Atlantic Early Broncos, and Lonestar Early Bronco Club.

Sorry to mix introductions with problems, but... Isn't that what forums are for?


I recently returned from a deployment and while I was gone I had a home mechanic put in a new engine, rebuild the axles, rebuild the transmission, new painless writing harness, and some other things. He dropped the Bronco off late last night and drove back to El Paso. I drove it today for the first time and I have discovered some issues with the transmission (C4). I am a complete novice when it comes to transmissions. I was really expecting it to just work!

It looks like I don't have 1st gear... With it in drive, it starts in 2nd gear and will shift into 3rd around 35-40 mph. When I stop, it stays engaged in 2nd and will stall out (similar to a manual left in gear, but without the jerking). I can't get first gear even if I move the lever to 1, and it wont downshift to 1st at all. I have reverse and 2nd/3rd.

Any ideas on what it could be? Based off searches and reading I was thinking:
-vacuum (hoses and cable look okay on visual inspection)
-Kickdown cable (couldn't find one)
-shifter linkage (I have a winters gate shifter that worked great before the rebuild)
- maybe some internal component not correct..
-fluid level? (Seems too simple but I havent checked yet)

If I can get it figured out/fixed I will be at the SEP breakfast.

Thanks,

Brian

Brian, you living on post or off? I'm on the north end of the Springs but will be at work on post tomorrow.

1st - welcome to CCB!!
2nd - Thanks for your service!

3rd - Sorry you had to endure being a member of LEBC (only kidding. The military had us in SA for three years, so I too was a member. Good bunch of folks, just like you'll find around here, just with less twang!)

I don't know much about the slushbox, but we have several guys around here who do. We'll get ya sorted out soon!

Post pics of your rig!

akaFrankCastle wrote:Brian, you living on post or off? I'm on the north end of the Springs but will be at work on post tomorrow.

I live off post, I am actually stationed at Peterson and live near Woodman and Rangewood.

Jesus_man wrote:1st - welcome to CCB!!
2nd - Thanks for your service!

3rd - Sorry you had to endure being a member of LEBC (only kidding. The military had us in SA for three years, so I too was a member. Good bunch of folks, just like you'll find around here, just with less twang!)

I don't know much about the slushbox, but we have several guys around here who do. We'll get ya sorted out soon!

Post pics of your rig!

Thanks for the welcome. I haven't been around a Bronco club without good people yet! Looking forward to meeting you all. I will post up some pics soon.

Welcome to Colorado and CCB.

You should check the easy stuff first, like fluid, but I don't think that is your issue.

Hopefully Viperwolf will see this thread and chime in.

My guess is something is not right in the valvebody. Could be a stuck 1-2 shift valve or possible something was put together out of place. Governor problems would affect 2-3 and 3-2 shifts also.

The only difference between 1st and 2nd is the front band gets applied to stop the direct drum from turning in 2nd. If that band was too tight you would lockup the trans when it shifts to 3rd.

Symptom update: Small progress;

checked the fluid level, it was about a quart short. I filled it up and took the family for a test ride (3 yo, 6 yo and wife). Wife was on video duties.

I can now get to 1st, but it doesn't shift to 1st without me selecting it. If I stop, the transmission stays in 2nd unless I manually select 1st.

If you are bored- I am attaching some video clips of the shifting behavior (hard to tell what is going on) and some misc pics of the vacuum and throttle linkage and lack of Kickdown (I think).





https://youtu.be/WIbQXPqIXQU

https://youtu.be/TJYL8dD0FKw


I am thinking I need to buy a Kickdown cable and see what that does... Any other suggestions?

Thanks,

Brian

Kids got excited about the Bronco ride and pulled out their broncos:



Not sure how the car made it on there... At least it is a cool car.

The kickdown might help some while driving in traffic but it sure seems like a sticky valve to me.

Viperwolf1 wrote:The kickdown might help some while driving in traffic but it sure seems like a sticky valve to me.

I'm afraid that just went beyond my expertise level (I peaked at adding fluid! [emoji6] )

Got any Viper-builts for sale? (Would that be giving up too easy? Haha)

Welcome!

Campaa wrote:

Viperwolf1 wrote:The kickdown might help some while driving in traffic but it sure seems like a sticky valve to me.

I'm afraid that just went beyond my expertise level (I peaked at adding fluid! [emoji6] )

Got any Viper-builts for sale? (Would that be giving up too easy? Haha)

I do not at this time. C4s are getting difficult to find with the increased popularity of Broncos.

Well, I didn't have much time over the winter to dig into the transmission issue, so I dropped it off with Don at the Transmission Clinic in Colorado Springs two weeks ago. Don (a fellow bronco guy) looked at it and thought the previous rebuild (with less than 200 miles on it) was sketchy (leaky seals, lots of metal in the pan, etc)... So he is rebuilding it again... Smh. Looking forward to having it done right this time. It will be interesting to get a list of things done incorrectly on the first rebuild so i can go back to the shop in El Paso TX and see what they say.


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First off: Welcome!
& B) not sure its been awhile since ive owned a bronco with a C4, but arent you supposed to have a manual kickdown rod on the driver side of the carb?

Dirtheadz wrote:First off: Welcome!
& B) not sure its been awhile since ive owned a bronco with a C4, but arent you supposed to have a manual kickdown rod on the driver side of the carb?

Thanks, it is missing the kickdown rod. I have one ready for install after I get the bronco back. I think the lack of kickdown contributes to the problem, but unfortunately the transmission itself seems to be the main culprit....

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I'm hoping your C4 comes out well built. I was in there a few weeks ago trying to pick up some thrust washers for mine and they stared at me like I was speaking Mandarin Chinese.

akaFrankCastle wrote:I'm hoping your C4 comes out well built. I was in there a few weeks ago trying to pick up some thrust washers for mine and they stared at me like I was speaking Mandarin Chinese.

You probably were

akaFrankCastle wrote:I'm hoping your C4 comes out well built. I was in there a few weeks ago trying to pick up some thrust washers for mine and they stared at me like I was speaking Mandarin Chinese.

现在，很有趣！
Xiànzài, hěn yǒuqù!

Got the bronco back today. I forgot how nice it is to have a fully functional transmission! Don was great to deal with and it is nice to have his warranty on the transmission (hopefully I won't need it). Time to rack up some miles to shake it out... If only the weather would cooperate.



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Congrats-- can't wait to have a fully functioning transmission myself!

Welcome to Colorado.

Hopefully we'll see you at a monthly breakfast.

Welcome! Great looking bronco! See you at one of the meet ups soon!

Zen