Transmission C4 Rebuild

The transmission has been progressively failing on the van. I estimate it's been getting worse for one year. I postponed this for as long as I could but I actually do want to learn how to do this and now is the time. I've fixed the Ciao and my old iPod this week so I think I'm ready. No job, no stress. It's my #1 priority.  Also, I was rebuilding the Jawa moped in order to earn the moral credit to use the lift at the shop and I managed to get that running though it had 7 years of dust on it. I'm almost a full time employee there but I didn't want to impose so I spent every day with my fingers in East European moped grease. I didn't 100% finish that moped but I got far enough that when it came time for me to say, "I need a lift, the tranny parts are here." I got a friendly nod and heard, "Anytime you're ready." and he said it as one mechanic to another offering me the use of all the tools and expertise in pursuit of fixed vehicles.



 That's like gold when you are the owner of a shitty 44 year old van. Normally, a van like this would never be run at all except to swap meets where you polish them and gloat over frivolous new headers or dual exhaust. No, Oggy drives his van from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico to Happy Valley Goose Bay, Labrador. That's a hard trip to make in a 2012 Tundra. In a '69 Econoline during a crippling economic depression it's something books are written about. Shit, I doubt a 2012 Tundra would make it without limping back to Japan.


But I'm not resting on my laurels, I need the tranny to be A+ and right now it's a D-. But since I don't trust anyone to actually fix the tranny I have to do it myself and as fortune would have it the one auto repair professor in town is the owner of the garage where the Czech moped was...so I managed to entertain myself with an ancient moped and earn the right to use the lift. And when he walked over and pointed out the exact steps I would need to do and even the size of the socket I would need and then loan me a shop manual...then I knew fortune was really smiling on me. In 100 years I could never line this set of circumstances up. And remember that a little less than a year ago I was living at woman's house who had multiple personalities and tried to hang herself and the nails broke that were holding the noose and she gave me a cup of tea that had two dead cockroaches hiding under the tea bag and that was an improvement over the Walmart parking lot. So, I'VE LOOKED AT LIFE FROM BOTH SIDES. And if I think that being able to use a hydraulic lift to fix my broken transmission is good fortune then that says a lot about my standards. You interpret it as you wish.

my back side was even more dirty

For those who want information about how to do this I'll make it brief.
You need:
a master rebuild kit with seals clutch packs, o rings and gaskets. You'll need a clutch press to take the clutches apart.
bushing kit with installer and remover. Depends on wear and the last time the tranny was rebuilt.
selective thrust washers ( I was really irked that these didn't come with my package and I wish I had them but I had no time to wait for them to be delivered so I used the old ones.) The whole washer kit is about $30.
The valve body might be the shifting problem from the beginning so if you can't take the whole tranny out of the van then you might fix everything with a tranny fluid flush and a cleaning of the valve body. drain the torque convereter too. It can all be done with the van on the ground and your ass in the dirt. Make sure to get the kickdown lever to engage the kickdown valve when putting the valve body back on.
there is a ATSG manual that is probably online for free download or email me and I'll send you the PDF.
I go to the econoline forum to ask questions.
it can be done in a few days if you already have the tools and parts lined up and in your hand. Otherwise, I can see this taking weeks as one part after another is delayed or turns out to be wrong. good luck.