On the road after 16 yrs

[Anonymous]

Well I finally replaced enough parts (including the entire braking system) to be able to take the stang out on the road. It ran great expect some tranny slip into third. So heres the question, is there anything in the transmission (seals) that will go bad after sitting in a field for so long that would cause it to slip. It would only slip going into third and only if I didn't let up on the gas (speed did not mater). Before I left for the drive the tranny fluid was fine, and I was not able to check it when I got home last night because of an emergency.

Thanks for your help

Skye

 

[Anonymous]

congrats! post pix

 

[Anonymous]

You can see some pix of the car when it was still in the field on www.skyesmechanical.com/mustang/mustang.htm It still looks like that except the interior and the trunk are cleaned out and stripped, all thats left is the drivers seat.

 

[wallaka]

is there anything in the transmission (seals) that will go bad after sitting in a field for so long that would cause it to slip.

Plenty of stuff can go wrong when a car sits. The fluid will gum up and block passages, the friction bands will deteriorate, the seals on the outside will shrink and let moisture in.

If it's slipping, it's usually not long for the world. The good news is that the C4 is one of the simplest and most common trannies out there.

 

[LaGrasta]

I don't know the history of work on this car, but by no means should ANY fluid be used that has been sitting in it for all those years. Everyone should be drained and flushed extensively. Do not even use the old stuff for a "test".

 

[Funky Cricket]

ditto for above.

also, that is in good shape for sitting so long. hows the rust underneath?

 

[fordconvert]

My 66 did/does the same thing except its the 1-2 shift. I got it after it had been sitting for at least 3 years. After about 500 miles it quit doing it for a while but then a few weeks later started doing it again. On mine I dont think its actually slipping its just spinning so fast that you think it is and at those high R's there is a lack of power so it seems like slipping. I have just learned and instructed the wife to ease up on the gas and let it shift before mashing it again. Mine also leaks from every possible place so it got plenty of new fluid put into it. I plan on pulling it and the motor this winter for at least a 'refresh' or a full rebuild if it needs it. I know a guy that can do it cheap if I give it to him out of the car and am not in a hurry.

 

[Anonymous]

I did drain all the fluids and even the transfer case and replaced them all with new. I should have time on saturday to go out and check the tranny fluid level. I will probably take it out for one more spin before I start taking it all apart to do a full restore to stock.

Thanks for the help

Skye

 

[Bort62]

Wow, a mustang with a transfer case? Pretty awesome

 

[mustang6]

I love it when an old car sitting in a field gets revived and put back on the road.

 

[Bort62]

My Ranchero sat for about 20 years in one. The PO went and rescued it - changed the oil and spark plug wires and it fired right up.

Now I am dealing with the rust =/

 

[Anonymous]

Ok, got out and took the stang for another drive today. The tranny fluid was fine, maybe even a touch high. I was still have a problem with it slipping from 2nd to 3rd and even a couple of times from 1st to 2nd. I talked to the previous owner and he said that he never had any problems with the tranny. So now I think hit has something to do with some/all of the seals or some of the passageways are gum'd up with old fluid. I now recall that I had to take the downshift linkage off for part of the engine work I had to do to get the engine running again. I dont think I got it hooked back up in the same spot as it was before. I dont think that would cause and up shift problem but I know nothing about trannys at this point. Could that be the problem?

Thanks again for the help

Skye

 

[fordconvert]

The cable should not be able to cause it to slip and I dont think a bad or stuck vac modulator could cause it either, but they both could delay the shifts causing the symptom I have where I think its slipping but its really just spinning so fast that I think its slipping. I got tired of messing with the downshift cable on mine and have been running with it disconnected, it only seems to help in certain situations and I suspect there may be something bent inside on mine because the adjustments dont come out anywhere near where they are supposed to. There is like a 10 step procedure for setting the gas pedal height, kickdown, and WOT throttle setting. Something is bent on mine so I just put a bolt in the gas pedal that hits the floor so I cant stress the carb. If you have a vac pump/gauge check the line that goes to the transmission, there shouldnt be any leakdown on that line. The line should be steel most of the way but there is usually a little 3" piece of hose at the transmission and if it gets any oil on it it turns to mush and leaks. Do a search on the pedal adjustment thing, Im almost positive someone posted it within the last 6 months. IF things are not set right you can really mess up the carb and or pop the link off and since the springs is on the pedal side who knows where the throttle is going to stick.

 

[LaGrasta]

keep driving it. Heating up the fluids and seals will help loosen up crud and get everything to "refit" if you will. Another fluid and filter flush all around should be done sooner than later to remove all that loosening debris.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice, LaGrasta, I will try that. I should be able to take it for a drive tonight, hopefully I can take it 20-30 miles if I get done early today. I think I have driven it 17 miles total since I got it back on the road. Do you think around 100 miles or so? I looked at the oil after I drove it last and its already pretty black, (the engine has probably idled for 30 minutes in the shop/barn on top of the driving). The tranny fluid still look good and clean.

Again Thanks for all the Help

 

[fordconvert]

The last few old cars I have bought seemed to take more like 500 miles to smooth out and settle in. 17 miles is for sure not enough to get things good and heated up. Just pay attention to all the noises and if you think its slipping ease off so you dont stress anything. As for the oil, I think on the stang I changed it after the first trip around the block (much like yours it spent a fair amount of time running on the trailer and such) and then after the first 50 miles or so. I think the next change after that was like 200 miles and now its got like 1500 miles on it and the oil looks like 3000 so its due again. I have been adding about a 1/2 quart of ATF the day I make the change and that seems to help flush some of the sludge out. My new old cadillac is on its 3rd change in 1500 miles or so and after 500 miles I can still see through the dipstick so its getting better. If you got the time keep driving it just to see whats going on and how much you like the car, who knows it may be better or wrose than you think and you can then re evaluate how far you are going to go with it because by then you will have a better idea how much you like driving it. When I got mine I wanted EFI V8 disc brakes and power steering, I still think Im going to go with power disk brakes but not becaue the drums dont work. It took a few hundred miles of city driving before the brakes started working 'good' the first trip around the block I didnt understand how anyone ever stopped a car before the 70's. Other than that the 6 is way cool and power steering is only nice if you do alot of city type parking. Im still looking into EFI but have too many other projects so its on the back burner for now.

 

[Anonymous]

So fordconvert, are you saying I should wait to strip it all apart until I know for sure if the tranny is slipping? I can do that, "to get all the griemlins out," I was kinda anxious to get started on the restoration part. But if it means that I may not have to rebuild the engine or tranny that would be fine by me. I thought at first I would do the triple carbs or the new head and 4V intake but the more and more I look at the car the more I want to return it to stock. Sorry Mike the head will have to wait for my second mustang. I am also planning on giving this one to the wife as a daily driver and I dont want to leave her stranded somewhere.

 

[fordconvert]

How much stuff does it need to be a decent driver? Will she drive it the way it is? When we found ours the first question for her was "assuming I get it running good and put some floors in it would you drive it the way it looks" answer was yes and after I drove it for about a month then she started driving it and liked it till it wouldnt start at the gas station one time. Its winter here now and snow on the ground so I have time to tinker with it. My plan it to yank the motor and transmission. Transmission is going to a friend of a friend that is going to take a look at it and do what needs to be done, for sure I know it needs a new pan and output seal, I guess there are easy things that can be checked by someone that knows what they are doing with the pan down. I am prepaerd to have it rebuilt if needed now that I know that the rest of the car will hold together and that she likes driving it. As for the engine I suspect it may have the cam advanced so I am going to take it far enough apart to check that and if things look good just new frost plugs, seals, and gaskets. I dont want to remove the head if I dont have to.

So to sum up Im glad I/we had 2 months and about 1500 miles on it before winter and now I am much more comfortable spending time and money on it over the winter so it will be ready for summer. There are a lot of little things that poped up after driving the car that I would never have noticed or thought to check, for the most part they turned out to be little easy things to deal with but could have been expensive things and at that point I would have already spent so much that the only choice would have been to spend more. I am going to look into EFI to improve the startability and drivability for her, I can handle a carb and it seems to be working well but she is not used to carbs and if it dont start with a turn of the key she panics and its all over then because she wont listen to anyone try to expain how to get it started.

If you have the time and money and plan to have the car/ motor/ transmission for a while go ahead and rebuild it all but if you have a limited budget and time (like most of us) drive it for a while and see what happens, you may not have to do much to the drivetrain and can spend it on more fun and flash stuff. You have to remember (unless you know for sure) chances are slim that that motor and transmission has never been apart in the last 40 years, so who knows maybe someone else did some of the work for you. The great thing about these cars is you can buy almost every part. Becides that she thought it was cute I bought it because I wanted to learn about body work on a car that $20 pannels are available for instead of my cadillacs where new stuff dont exist and used stuff is hard to come by and not cheap.

 

[6bangerwanab]

wow that stang looks almost exactly how i found my falcon, but i think that the weeds must grow taller here in colorado mine still has the 1984 tags on it from when it got parked, and it got somewhat ressurected in 04

unfortunatly the pics of my car dissapeared of the 'puter so all i got is the physical copies.

this is all that kept mine from wanting to run:

but i have neglected the little bird and havent got the title paperwork done yet, and i really need to.

 

[Anonymous]

Good news and bad news... Bad first the stang is going to have to take a back seat now. The good news is my wife is going to have twins.

I was able to take it for a drive, I only got another 20 miles on it and not the 50 that I wanted. The tranny is still slipping but I will try to get some more miles on it before I take it all apart. I may go ahead and replace the floor panels and what not durning those 500 miles so that I can still get work done on it and have it drivable.