1986 F-250 build/rebuild progress thread.

[ArdWrknTrk]

The orange has been working for me & Gary.
It's plenty strong but doesn't require heat to remove.
Breakaway data is available on the website, and being a gel, it doesn't run.

Don't we all love the sweet and acrid taste of Loctite!  

[FordFETruck]

The loctite 545 has an interesting smell to it.

[FordFETruck]

Got the engine all buttoned up today and ready to go, tore the transmission apart. The forward clutches have some wear and the seals are pretty hard but everything overall looks great for a 254,000 mile transmission thats never been rebuilt.

[Gary Lewis]

Better you than I.  To me an auto tranny is like a clock - way too many parts to get back together in the proper order.

Perhaps my comfort with building engines is because I started on model airplane and lawnmower engines with a single cylinder.  Then graduated to auto engines that just add a distributor and a water pump.  So it was gradual.

Anyway, good luck to you!  I'm sure you'll do fine.  

[85lebaront2]

Check the hub for the 1st gear sprag clutch (piece at the back of the case) primarily the bolts and holes in the case. When I changed to the E4OD in Darth, I gave the C6 to a friend's transmission shop. They tore it down and found the case was toast due to that. Apparently the thermal cycles over the years had allowed the bolts and aluminum of the case to develop just enough play for the hub and bolts to move. Ford apparently used a thread locker on the bolts as they were not loose in the hub.

[85lebaront2]

Much easier to work on than a big manual transmission. Try getting the countershaft in a ford Toploader, 3 or 4 speed. Thrust washers, needle bearings and a shaft that is a press fit in the front of the case.

[ArdWrknTrk]

????  

The Allison's in the 550-650's are always SO much fun!  

[85lebaront2]

I would imagine, never had the experience of rebuilding an Allison, but have worked on lots of smaller ones, including the old 4 speed single and dual coupling Hydra-Matics and both versions of the Roto-Hydramatic. TH400, TH350, TH200, Ford 2 speed Ford-O-Matic, 3 speed and early Cruise-O-Matic, C4, C6, Chrysler Torqueflites and even a Detroit Gear automatic as used by Studebaker and Jaguar.

[FordFETruck]

I looked it over taking the bolts out last night all seems well but the springs in the sprag are definitely wasted, I have a new upgraded sprag with the nylon cage. The C6 we did for my dads galaxie years back was the same way also with the sprag springs, think that trans had about 220,000 on it also. What really surprises me with this one is how clean it was inside and how excellent the bushings all look. I bought the full bushing kit but I think I'm just gonna change the front pump and tail shaft bushings and leave the rest alone because I think it would be a total waste of time messing with them.

[FordFETruck]

Gary honestly this is the third auto trans rebuild I'm going through and the second C6, at this point I'd much rather do the transmission than the engine I find it a lot more enjoyable actually.

[FordFETruck]

Made a fair amount of progress today. I got the forward drum disassembled, cleaned, new seals and clutches installed and clearances checked. I removed the wave plate and replaced it with an extra steel that came in the rebuild kit to get the clutch pack clearance more in check. It was at the max limit with the wave plate at .046" and with the steel plate it was at .039" so I went with it, it'll shift a little firmer into gear with the wave plate out. Got the reverse/high drum disassembled, cleaned and reassembled and noticed it only had 10 springs instead of the 18 total it could have. I know this is a trick to make reverse engage less harshly, not sure if somebody actually has been in this transmission before and did that or if Ford themselves were doing that to soften reverse engagement, either way it's all together and in a bag and both drums air check great. The governor was pretty sticky and explains why in cold weather the transmission wouldn't always downshift to first until you step on the gas to take off. I cleaned and polished the valves, cleaned it all again, lubricated everything with silicone spray and it works like butter now so that should fix that issue. Tomorrow I'm going to pressure wash the case and some other parts I need to clean up along with the engine bay. I've been on vacation all week and sick as a dog the whole time, but I guess its better than being at work sick.

In the picture with the springs there's actually 10 installed but I only had 9 showing for the pic, yes I had to take that back apart after the fact. I also cleaned up the intermediate band surface area with some old sandpaper and diesel in the parts washer, looks almost new.

[Gary Lewis]

That does seem like a lot of progress.  Bummer that you've been ill, especially on vacation, but apparently you are well now?

What kind of parts washer do you have?  How big is it?

[FordFETruck]

Getting better but my voice is still a bit messed up and throat still a little sore. I have one of those smaller parts washers like harbor freight sells. Works pretty well for how compact it is.

[FordFETruck]

Alright today I pressure washed the transmission case, pressure washed the engine pulleys, engine bay, headers, gave the headers a spray of SEM rust mort, will likely paint them tomorrow. I got the shift shaft seal changed in the case, the cooler line adapter fittings resealed, all of the sealing rings installed. I wound up changing the bushings in the pump stator that support the input shaft, the one on the converter side was pretty sloppy. That was 2 hours of pure fun. Got them cut,chiseled out, pressed in new bushings and one fit great the other I had to take the kingpin reamer to and finish hone it with the brake hone, fits perfectly now though. It's all going to go together tomorrow other than the pump, I am still waiting on my pump gears to arrive Monday. The new pump converter bushing is teflon coated, I test fit it on the new converter after pressing it in and it fits great and turns so smooth and slick with that coating it makes me wonder why all of the bushings aren't teflon coated. I also changed the tailshaft bushing and seal.

[ArdWrknTrk]

This transmission sure is seeing a lot more care and attention than most shop rebuilds.  

I have to wonder how many people really know how to work on something that used to be as ubiquitous as the C6 in this day and age of 14 speed electronically controlled automatics?

At any rate, it looks like your truck will be back (better than ever!) very soon.  

Hope you're feeling better!  🙂

[FordFETruck]

Yeah I bet a lot of shops nowdays wouldn't even work on it. My dad went to automatic transmission school in the 70's and was trained on the C6. I did the first C6 with him for his car about 10 years ago but I haven't gotten any help other than him looking up some specs in the book when my hands were dirty. I definitely don't rush anything when it comes to the transmission and I get everything as clean as possible and bag it immediately. Still not feeling 100% but pretty close to it, just a bit of congestion left now.

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, you are doing a wonderful job!  It'll work nicely.

And glad you are getting better.  We have COVID making the rounds here, again, and getting over it takes a while.

[FordFETruck]

I sure hope it'll work nicely

I'm not sure what I got, my coworker was over helping me do some drywall work on the 15th, I ran into a little bit of mold and tore some drywall out in the garage office, I started coughing immediately from it, mixed up some bleach and water pretty strong and sprayed it, the fumes made me feel pretty crappy and I felt ill ever since. I don't think I really got sick from the mold or bleach but I think it brought it on as my coworker and his whole family have had the same stuff I had, he got tested and it wasn't covid, but it sure is nasty stuff whatever it is. The first couple days I had a fever and it felt like a chemical burn down into my lungs which may have also been from the bleach a bit, but I got about 3 hours of sleep total the 15th through the 18th, and had a really sore throat and bad voice the rest of the time, followed by a sinus infection type deal later in the week. I feel pretty much back to normal today, just in time to go back to work tomorrow

[ArdWrknTrk]

H5N1 in your area?

[FordFETruck]

Probably is, there's been a ton of people getting sick around here lately.