All Small Six Fluid Puking Out of Dipstick

[StarDiero75]

Howdy Guys,

So a while back i got a screaming deal on a 63 Falcon Futura 2dr. It had no drivetrain so I took the old Ranchero motor and a 2spd Fordomatic that was sitting around and put it all in the car. Ran great, no problems. Then one day I decided, I should probably try filling it all the way b/c it would slip a little and take a second to shift from park to D or R. Well so at idle I'm filling her up, ended up needing 2 more quarts (approx 8-9 total quarts) then took her out for a drive, drove great! Next time i moved the car was a few weeks later, I started it up, moved it back 15 feet, shut her off. She proceded to dump transmission fluid from the dipstick (only the dipstick). Pretty much every time I have moved the car now, it's dumped tranny fluid everywhere after I shut it off. What's the deal? Did I overfill it? Vent clogged? I can't think of anything else.

Thanks guys
Ryan

 

[bubba22349]

Yes you over filled it. A dry rebuilt a Ford O Matic Trans with a rebuilt or new torque converter holds 7.5 quarts you don't want to be driving it with it overfilled like that they can easily over heat and do damage to the Trans. If you were only draining the oil pan than it only needs 4 quarts. These transmissions used a type A fluid and some places still have type FA that will work, most are now using Dextron III which is suppose to work even better. I start out filling a Trans with only 4 quarts than start it and warm it up with the rear wheels off the ground shift it through the gears than check the dip stip and slowly add fluid until it's about a quart low than drive it and check again when warmed up and only add a little at a time until it's full when warmed up. Good luck

 

[Dragonlich1961]

My mother's 56 chevy would puke after shut down out the dipstick in her powerglide.(cast iron case). A trans rebuild solved her problem due to worn bushings causing converter drainback. Her powerglide has no pan- so it would fill up the case and puke out of the dipstick tube. Early powerglide dipsticks were comically short and lived down by the manifold.

 

[StarDiero75]

Yes you over filled it. A dry rebuilt a Ford O Matic Trans with a rebuilt or new torque converter holds 7.5 quarts you don't want to be driving it with it overfilled like that they can easily over heat and do damage to the Trans. If you were only draining the oil pan than it only needs 4 quarts. These transmissions used a type A fluid and some places still have type FA that will work, most are now using Dextron III which is suppose to work even better. I start out filling a Trans with only 4 quarts than start it and warm it up with the rear wheels off the ground shift it through the gears than check the dip stip and slowly add fluid until it's about a quart low than drive it and check again when warmed up and only add a little at a time until it's full when warmed up. Good luck

It appears that no matter how little fluid I put in it, it starts puking it out. As of now it seems to slip due to not enough fluid. It's still not on the dipstick, but it still pukes. Any idea what to do? Or does this sound like it's a bad transmission?

 

[StarDiero75]

So, I bent the vent tube straight and stuck a wire in there, a decent amount of dirt came out. The I took an air compressor, blew it across it hoping to act as a vacuum, then blew straight into the vent tube. The pan flexed, telling me it definitely got air lol. I started filling it with Type F because I noticed that the Dextron III seemed to slip a bit before it started this. I think from now on I'll keep using the Type F. So far so good. I put about 2.5qts in it so far and its still not on the dipstick, but good news is that its actually responsive again when I shift it into R, D, & L. I'll pick up some more F tomorrow and see how it works. My method of filling has been: add half a qt, then shift through the gears for a min, then put back in park, check dip stick, then repeat. Of course while hot.

 

[bubba22349]

Good catch on finding that plugged up vent tube, glad you got it working better. I used to always use the type F in my early Ford auto transmissions it was known to slip less and was better for the seals. Dextron at least the early versions of it were known to be engineered to slip more. I even remember lots of people back in the day of using the Ford Type F in their GM’s to get them to shift better. However i just changed the fluid in my later model pick up this summer and of course that one calls for thr Dextron III.

 

[StarDiero75]

Good catch on finding that plugged up vent tube, glad you got it working better. I used to always use the type F in my early Ford auto transmissions it was known to slip less and was better for the seals. Dextron at least the early versions of it were known to be engineered to slip more. I even remember lots of people back in the day of using the Ford Type F in their GM’s to get them to shift better. However i just changed the fluid in my later model pick up this summer and of course that one calls for thr Dextron III.

I personally like a firm shift and really hate slipping. Im a manual guy so hearing it slip between gears ticks me off haha. I read a lot about GM guys adding Type F to their cars, its interesting that Gm would design a fluid to intentionally make it slip. That to me makes it sound like the clutches take more wear, is that right?

 

[bubba22349]

LOL yeah but thats was how the factory designed it to get a smooth shift back then and that was what most of the public wanted too. Yes i like a quicker and firmer shift thats why i use the TransGo shift kits in mine. I had my 67 Mustang GT fastback were it would chrip the tires shift shifting into 2nd gear just driving it easy on the throttle. Fact is that all that slipping causes heat buildup and that will take out the transmission faster.

 

[StarDiero75]

LOL yeah but thats was how the factory designed it to get a smooth shift back then and that was what most of the public wanted too. Yes i like a quicker and firmer shift thats why i use the TransGo shift kits in mine. I had my 67 Mustang GT fastback were it would chrip the tires shift shifting into 2nd gear just driving it easy on the throttle. Fact is that all that slipping causes heat buildup and that will take out the transmission faster.

WOW HAHA. And this makes me even more of a Ford guy now haha. Do they make shift kits for the Fordomatic or is it only for the C4? THATS SO COOL! Bet you wish you still had that GT today. Yup, my thoughts exactly too. Glad to know now that I really should just fill it all with Type F. Also, how good is a 1964 C4? I have this one that came from a 64 Comet with a 200 (That is according to the data tag on the housing), is it worth modifying (ie. shift kit, later valve body (if I can)) or should I save it for originality? I feel like thats a kinda rare combo that someone might want.

 

[bubba22349]

They do make shift kits for so many of the auto Transmissions and do happen have a shift kit for the 1959 to 1965 2 speed Ford O Matic. https://transgo.com/product-details/sk-2/
I once had a 1962 2 speed Ford O Matic in my 27 T Roadsteer and it did worked great in that little light weight car. I haven't used one of those shift kits yet though, but it should be a very good upgrade. After that project I mostly only used the 3 speed Transmissions C4 or C6 for my personal projects, I have installed shift kits in many in many other transmissions for people.

Yes that GT was a fun car it was orginaly a 390 FE V8 with a top loader 4 speed the engine and Trans was long gone. I think he said he had blew it up racing then it was just setting in his back yard near (Knott's Beart Farm) for a year or more I bought that rolling body for a very reasonable price this was back about 1974 or 5 the rest of the car was still in really nice condistion. High Insurance rates and rising gas prices from the oil inbargo back around 1973 had killed off the value of these big block performance cars, back then they weren't exactly free but they were really cheap compared to today. I had it back running and driving again in about a week or so using mostly what i already had in my large parts collection, a mild 1967 289 V8 & C4 Trans, then only bought a few new parts like a set of headers. Those big block cars also had the bigger 9 inch rear axles this one already had a set of 3.89's with a Detroit Locker that OP put in it, a set of wide mags and tires, plus set of the Traction Masters and some spring clamps that's another reason it would chirp the tires so easy. Was a low budget bracket racer and a decent street driver, my wife hated it because of it being a fastback and the racheting sounds of that Detroit Locker going around a corner scared.

The 1964 to 1966 Duel Range / Green Dot C4's are a very decent Trans and many people really like them mostly old timers many don't even know how to use them starting out in second gear. In my opion that's the one major drawback when trying to use them for any performance use the valve body, a shift kit can help that some. But what I prefer to do is to use one of the 1967 to 1969 Select Shift valve bodys in them for even quicker shifts and longer Trans life. Yes that C4 would be a good swap into the Falcon or another project car.

 

[StarDiero75]

They do make shift kits for so many of the auto Transmissions and do happen have a shift kit for the 1959 to 1965 2 speed Ford O Matic. https://transgo.com/product-details/sk-2/
I once had a 1962 2 speed Ford O Matic in my 27 T Roadsteer and it did worked great in that little light weight car. I haven't used one of those shift kits yet though, but it should be a very good upgrade. After that project I mostly only used the 3 speed Transmissions C4 or C6 for my personal projects, I have installed shift kits in many in many other transmissions for people.

Yes that GT was a fun car it was orginaly a 390 FE V8 with a top loader 4 speed the engine and Trans was long gone. I think he said he had blew it up racing then it was just setting in his back yard near (Knott's Beart Farm) for a year or more I bought that rolling body for a very reasonable price this was back about 1974 or 5 the rest of the car was still in really nice condistion. High Insurance rates and rising gas prices from the oil inbargo back around 1973 had killed off the value of these big block performance cars, back then they weren't exactly free but they were really cheap compared to today. I had it back running and driving again in about a week or so using mostly what i already had in my large parts collection, a mild 1967 289 V8 & C4 Trans, then only bought a few new parts like a set of headers. Those big block cars also had the bigger 9 inch rear axles this one already had a set of 3.89's with a Detroit Locker that OP put in it, a set of wide mags and tires, plus set of the Traction Masters and some spring clamps that's another reason it would chirp the tires so easy. Was a low budget bracket racer and a decent street driver, my wife hated it because of it being a fastback and the racheting sounds of that Detroit Locker going around a corner scared.

The 1964 to 1966 Duel Range / Green Dot C4's are a very decent Trans and many people really like them mostly old timers many don't even know how to use them starting out in second gear. In my opion that's the one major drawback when trying to use them for any performance use the valve body, a shift kit can help that some. But what I prefer to do is to use one of the 1967 to 1969 Select Shift valve bodys in them for even quicker shifts and longer Trans life. Yes that C4 would be a good swap into the Falcon or another project car.

Oh wonderful. I'll have to look into that if I decide to keep it in the car vs putting the C4 in it. I have a question now that I'm thinking about it, do you know the proper method of setting up the linkage adjustment on this? I've been looking online for a bit and cant seem to find anything on it. I just kinda set everything up to where the car would drive. I dont know how to properly adjust the kickdown, like is there a measurement of movement? I assume to make sure the carb to pedal adjustment is set first, then adjust the kickdown.

Thats woulda been a serious money car today if it had the original 390/4spd. A 289 is nothing to scoff at, I'm sure that thing ran like hell haha. I wish I could even think about affording a car like that, my favorite is the 65 fastback. I wish something would happen to make these cars cheaper, instead the whole Rona disease made everything EXTRA expensive. I have been lucky though finding a few good deals.

Yes the green dot. This is actually the 2nd one I've ended up with. Funny b/c I got both for free haha. So the 67-69 valve body will drop right into the 64 and make it not start out in 2nd, or do I need to get a 67-69 C4? Also, dropping it into a Fordomatic car, is it a straight swap? Or does the driveline need to be shortened? I think the C4 is a cantilever spring mount like the Fordomatic.

 

[bubba22349]

Those linkage adjustments as well as the procedure to do the band adjustments are all in the type factory repair manual. It's all easy to do and most except for the band adjustment can be done with a few simple hand tools. The band adjustment is also easy but you need a low range torque wrench. I used to have all those books but haven't seen them since I moved. The shifter linkage is also easy to do with the Rod disconnected you set the indicator is centered on the Neutral (N) then with the Trans lever in Netural adjust the linkage to the correct lenght and install to the lever. Yes I think your right on doing the kick down linkage that the throdle linkage was first adjusted and I believe there was a height measurement you needed of the gas pedal to the floor after that was set the kick down Rod lenght was set. Sorry for not being more exact on that it's been a very long time since I worked on one with a Ford O Matic.

Yes it would be worth lots to day as any true factory big block performance car is fairly rare but it was long by late 1977 I had one other car like that back then a 1969 Torino that was a 428 Crobra Jet with the big 4 speed top loader it was missing a few parts but was in good shape still. I had 2 of the 65 Mustang Fasbacks they were race cars, 1 1966 Fasback that I restored, and 1 other 67 Fasback body, and quite a few of Mustang Coupes from 1965 to 1968. I used to fix up those Mustangs as I found the parts. I sold off all the parts when I moved in 2013 little did I know that the prices would get so crazy I doubt I will be able to get another one at these current prices. I have been looking for a Falcon or Comet and prices for them around here are very high too.

Yes the 1967 to 1969 C4 cases are very seemular to the 1964 to 1966 C4 Duel range care so it will swap right in I have done lots of them. I like to find the later model C4's that already have all the factory improvements done the1971 to 1982 the 1970 is a bit bit of an odd ball but it's a good Trans too, all C4's from 1970 up have a different case design so those valve bodys are different and won't work in the 1964 to 1969 C4's. Yes like a Ford O Matic 2 speed the C4 can bolt up to any small Ford Six from a 144 to most of the 200's (the exception is the rare big bell patteren 1980's 200's). I don't think there is much differance in the total lenght of a Ford O Matic and a C4 should be a bolt in to the stock crossmember and maybe about 1 inch longer for the C4 so yes the drive shaft likely needs to be shortened a little or if you find a driveshaft out of a 1965 C4 car that should be a direct bolt in.

 

[chad]

same ol same ol Ryan.
There is Chiltons, Haynes, very basic guides by Y/M/M (of component). I just p/u a fox wagon (7 yr search). I have some experience but 1st thing I did was geta 10$ manual (H's #733 = Ford/Merc Mid Sz '75/86). Loads of the above basic info. Gettin me upto speed. Never did a auto transmis repair, have now...