I took the Mustang over to the transmission shop today.

They are going to have a look at it then "let me know"....I pretty much have a strong suspicion that it will need a rebuild.

Have kicked around the idea of a T5 conversion but I have read some things to suggest those can be a real pain in the you know what both to get done and on-going with upkeep....frankly I also don't want to spend the money on that just right now even though I would much rather have a manual.

I did some fast checking and it doesn't look like shift kits cost that much.

Would it be a cheaper option for now to have the C4 rebuilt and have them put in a shift kit while they are at it? It is my understanding that C4's are pretty tough units and should be good to go unless you are building some monster motor.

I am about 6 +/- months away from building a motor that will have more horses than my stockish 289 but I don't plan to go completely crazy with it when I do the rebuild on the motor.

 

i'd buy the parts, and hand em to the trans shop to install so you know what your getting in there.

you should probably be looking at a "stage II" shift kit, alto red eagle clutches and kolene steels, a billet servo, kevlar band, and a slightly higher than stock torque converter. i got the items listed above for my C4 and it shifts awesome. total cost was almost 1k, but i also got a tci streetfighter valvebody instead of just getting the shift kit.

you may want to consider just picking up a unit from performance automatic, the pricing makes it just about the same as buying the parts and having your local shop build it.

LINK

 

Id go T5 or toploader. If you are going to stay auto, there's nothing better than knowing its rebuilt right. I had to do that with my Auto DD recently, it shifted a thousand times better and was a much better driving experience. I think you will be happy with either route, but your wallet will hurt unfortunately either way.

 

Yeah...sadly enough you are correct about that. But where old Mustangs are concerned what else is new? At least on most jobs I avoid labor charges....

I am playing wait and see right now.

Dropped it off at the shop earlier today so they are going to have a look and let me know what they think. Never know, it could be something simple like a vacuum issue, etc. But the current unit is over 13 years since its last rebuild so I have been thinking it was about that time anyway.

If the local shop offers a plain jane rebuilt for not much less than a better built one such as my77 posted then may have to revisit doing something such as going that route.

I did send the guys at the link a fast e-mail to ask if they offer a warranty since they say nothing about it on their site.

Keep ya'll posted....

 

in some states it's the law to require a transmission warrenty for a year

 

I didn't think I was going to hear from the shop today but they called me about 7 p.m. this evening.

Checked everything out and basically it was a vacuum line issue. So they are going to take care of that for me and also replace a couple of the seals...I had noticed a leak develop a while back. It wasn't a major leak by any means, just a small puddle on the garage floor from time to time.

Appears I will get away with a couple of hundred only this time.

But I am going to save the link my77 and when I get the money or have a need will sure look into that transmission.

 

If you want to keep it an auto then get an AOD. I can't imagine keeping mine non overdrive. That just sucked on the highway.

 

Non AOD doesn't bother me personally.

I pretty much never go on the Freeway in the Stang. May gun it off the line from time to time and generally run it around town but not on the freeway.

Guess you would say with the Stang I am more interested in 0-60 and cruising at about 35-60 mph.

Freeway has way too many rocks, etc and don't really want to put that many miles on her anyway.