C4 questions

[tmcalavy]

Does anyone know if Ford used different bellhousings on the C4 transmission during its production life? I have a shot at a good C4 out of an 87 mustang with a 5.0 Litre engine. Hoping it will mate to a 67-69 300 I-6, but not sure. And are the C6 and C4 transmissions the same length? Also trying to figure out if this possible swap from 360/C6 to 300/C4 will require a driveshaft modification. Any help would be appreciated.

[fordman]

yes and no. the bolt pattern is the same but there are truck and car bellhousings. but they still bolt up. plus the truck and car dipstick fill tubes are different. the truck fills in the pan. the car is a case fill.

[tmcalavy]

Okay, so I can bolt a car C4 to the 300 I-6 and it will have a case-fill dipstick and fill tube...so it that a bad thing performance-wise? Or should I hold out for a C4 with truck bellhousing? I'm a newb when it comes to auto trannies and swaps.

[Whateverman]

C4's are pretty universal,the biggest physical difference in them is the shift mechanism (pointing up or down depending on whether or not it was meant for cable or rod shifters) .....don't worry too much about the case-fill/pan-fill stuff, or car/truck thing either, as long as you're running the right size flexplate (with the right balance for your engine)for your bellhousing and converter you won't have any problems - i'm running a case fill c4 from a 85 v6 mustang behind the 5.0 in my truck right now
here's something i jacked from a ford muscle car forum that might help:
If you can find a 157 tooth flex plate that will bolt to the engine then any of the small block C4 bellhousings will work. If you need to use a 164 tooth flex plate then you will need the larger small block bellhousing for the C4. The 164 tooth flex plate needs a 11.5" bolt pattern on the converter and the 157 tooth flex plate needs a 10.5" bolt pattern on the converter.

[fordman]

Okay, so I can bolt a car C4 to the 300 I-6 and it will have a case-fill dipstick and fill tube...so it that a bad thing performance-wise? Or should I hold out for a C4 with truck bellhousing? I'm a newb when it comes to auto trannies and swaps.

i dont know about c4's but the truck c6 has more clutches in the clutch pack than the car c6. but the dipstick tube would be a problem at all.

[tmcalavy]

Thanks guys...I can tell from the pix I have that it has the dipstick and tube attached, but now I'm wonderin' about the cable or rod shift mechanism...my truck has the standard column shift so guess I'll need one set up for rod shift...or can I use a cable shift? As for the flex plate, you're way over my head...I'm guessin' that's on the back of the engine block were the tranny bolts up? Yes/no?

[basketcase0302]

or can I use a cable shift?

I'm a big fan of the "ghetto shifters" as some folks here call them. I put the B & M truck shifter in my truck last year and love it! I owned another B & M before that with 10 years on it in my dent issue free.

[tmcalavy]

If my computer mojo is workin' tonite, there should be pix attached with this post. Can you guys tell from lookin whether it's cable shift or rod shift? Supposed to go check it out Saturday...maybe it'll follow me home. Thanks.

[fordman]

the shift arm on the older transmission comes off. that one may too. the picture is of the wrong side. so i cant tell anything.

[tmcalavy]

Thanks guys. I'll check it out tomorrow and maybe bring it home. The guy says is has a 2000 stall converter, I'm guessing he means torque converter but not sure...anyone familiar with that terminology...stall converter? If I'm lucky, it'll be set up for rod shift and I'll ask about the slip yoke, too. Plan is to acquire the 300 I-6 and C4, then work through both in my spare time...inspecting and maybe rebuilding both before I do the engine/tranny swap.

[fordman]

that means the engine has to have 2000 rpm before the converter will kick in . and give the pump the fluid pressure to go into gear.

[tmcalavy]

Thanks fordman...was wondering about that. Hmm...not sure if that will work too good with a 300 I-6, which should idle about 650 rpm. Should I plan replacing the torque converter to a stock set up? I'll probably rebuild the tranny anyway, just to be sure...never know if people are honest in their ads. The current owner says it has the shift rod mechanism and tailshaft/slipyoke...but I'll know tomorrow. Any tips on eyeballing a C4 to see if it's worth buying?

[fordman]

fluid color and smell. the fluid should be red and not smell burnt. if it is black or smells burnt then it need rebuilt.

[TX69F100]

The drive shaft won't work, either. The truck C6 has a bolt-on yoke with a 2-piece drive shaft. You'll want to replace it with a one-piece shaft with a slip yoke.

[tmcalavy]

Thanks. The driveshaft is no prob...the tranny has a slip yoke with it and the truck is due for a new driveshaft/U-joints anyway. Wonder what a stock torque converter costs nowadays?...off to do some online lookin.'