I might be buying a truck and all though I have a lot of questions I will just start with what might be the deal breaker. C6 transmission, when you put it in reverse you have to wait a few seconds for it to engage. The part that was more concerning is when I jammed on the brakes to test them, the engine basically went into neutral and took a little to reengage. I'm guessing that it didn't want to downshift. Something I would have to fix first. I'm a motorcycle mechanic and will be doing the work myself but I don't have any experience with automatic transmissions. 5.8L 351 engine. So does this sound like something I can fix myself? What is the going rate for a junkyard C6? The truck has 120k miles so a rebuild wouldn't be a terrible idea either way. I see a rebuild kit is around $200 but I'm nervous to attempt this myself. Whats a reasonable price for a transmission shop to rebuild it? Also whats a good source for OEM parts. Seals, gaskets, carb rebuild kits, etc...I'd prefer OEM over aftermarket if available.

 

The pump may be weak, or servo sticky...

It doesn't sound like something that would be fixable with the transmission in the truck.

As for the going rate, depends on where you're at. Around me, in West Michigan, about 150... What you get for 150? Who knows at this point, the newest C6 in the junkyard is at least 25 years old now lol. At least with this one, you know what you have.

The good news? It doesn't take any special tools to rebuild, and the average Joe can do it in the driveway with some care and patience. Throw an F shift lever and R servo in it and enjoy years of trouble free shifting

 

Thanks Jr, This doesn't sound like a deal breaker and that it won't need a full rebuild just yet. Just looking at pictures, it looks like I might be able to do the servo with it still in the truck but without it in front of me I can't say for sure. I'll have to rig up a homemade trans jack to drop it. The truck defiantly needs some work. Power steering pump leaking, carbs leaking fuel, engine leaking oil from lots of places, 16yo tires but the frames solid and very little rust on the body and I'll probably get it for around $800. I've been looking for a gen 5 or 6 f100/150 for about 6 months and finding one that hasn't been lifted has been tough. Since hauling motorcycles will be one of its jobs, if anything I'd lower it but will probably leave it stock.

 

The servo can be replaced with the trans in, at a minimum I'd use the R code servo, ideally a bullet sonnex...

This may crutch it for a bit, or a long time, who knows? But C6 is an incredibly easy trans to rebuild, no special tools needed. If you like it, go for it! Not a deal breaker at all

 

Do NOT run an F code lever against an R code servo. It will end up breaking the trans case. You can run an E code lever with the bigger servo.

Otherwise he is right, rebuilding a C6 is simple, buy an ASTG manual for it and it wil give you all the info you need. You said your a motorcycle mechanic so you obviously have some mechanical ability, it's enough to rebuild a C6. And even without any previous experience I wouldn't be suprised if your done in under 4hrs.

Biggest thing to remember about any auto trans rebuild, cleanliness is nest to godliness, keep it clean. And do NOT use the old red shop rags they leave lint that will clog up small ports in the valve body.

 

I did a C6 rebuild years ago with very little mechanical experience. At the time I bought a video tape of a guy doing a complete rebuild. Used a yard sale tv and VCR in the garage. Watched 30 secs of video, removed a part, watched 30 more seconds, removed more parts......

Probably can find the same thing on youtube now.

One of the happiest moments of my life was after removal, rebuild, and reinstall when I thew it in gear and everything worked

 

Huh, I'd never heard this, but looking on the interwebs there's a ton of evidence to back it up. I have at least four out there running around lol, sorry new owners!

 

2nd pic should read 1973/ F100/350 & 1973/76 M450/500.

 

Thank you for the info everyone. I did go ahead and buy it. Its an hour away so I wanted to drive it home legally so on Saturday when I have plates its coming home. Since I caught some of your attention I have a couple of basic questions. 1st, NumberDummy, where do you get parts diagrams? I can pull up a parts diagram on the internet for virtually any motorcycle out there yet for the most common pickup in the US nobody seems to have them. All the good motorcycle parts vendors have their websites set up with just parts diagrams. You see what you need, the number will translate to a part number and then plug that part number into google and see who has it cheap. Doesn't seem to be the case here.

For rebuilding the C6 by myself I am hesitant. If I have an excellent manual I may attempt it. I did get a quote for $1000 for new everything including the torque converter. I've done plenty of motorcycle transmissions but thats just some gears on a stick and a couple of shift forks. The hardest part is actually getting to the transmission. A friend of mine who's an old time mechanic basically said he wasn't confident he would do a good job on the C6 but I think its more likely that he just didn't want to do it. When I mentioned I wanted to rebuild the engine because it was burning oil, he got all excited and was happy to help.

When the truck is in my possession I will start a build thread. It will take me years to complete it but if I can catch the attention of you guys with the experience it would certainly help and be appreciated.

 

The factory service manuals for these trucks have complete instructions for rebuilding the transmissions. They can be found on eBay in either original printed books or on CD.

 

I'm not sure if Bad shoe has a C6 video, but his videos are awesome

 

JR, Ken has a cd on the C6. Like the rest it's a good one. I say go for it the C6 is a good one to wet your feet on. Good luck with it!!

 

I deal with 2 places for transmission parts mostly.

Jay is darn good and if you call him he will give you tons of information

Broader Performance

Or Oregon performance transmission

Oregon Performance Transmission - Rebuild Parts for 700R4 4L60E 4L80E E4OD 4R100 47RE 48RE & More: Ford C6 C-6 Automatic Transmission Parts

pretty much has everything you need including the ATSG manuals for pretty much any transmission built. These manuals are about the best I have seen or used ( I am ATRA certified )

Oregon Performance Transmission - Rebuild Parts for 700R4 4L60E 4L80E E4OD 4R100 47RE 48RE & More: ATSG Transmission Transaxle & Transfer Case Rebuild Manuals

One thing, a lot of guys will try to get you to put in a lot of high dollar parts to "upgrade" your transmission. Other then basic shift kit most if not all of the "upgrades" are unnecessary for 99.9% of people. A well done C6 in stock form will pretty much handle a 450+hp engine, using slightly upgraded clutches alone will put you well north of 500hp capacity with NO other upgrades. Even if stock form a C6 is about one of the strongest transmissions every built. I don't have proof, but I would put money on a stock C6 outlasting a built TH350 or a C4 everyday.

 

I've been looking for an OEM factory manual that costs less than $100. I did see a cd, though I'd rather a hard copy, but it was windows only and unfortunately I'm on a mac. I use to work in recording studios and if you didn't know mac you didn't have a job. I'm not sure why it would be windows only if its just a PDF. For now I bought a haynes and a chilton. I'm assuming parts diagrams are in the OEM manual. I have heard bad shoe mentioned a few times. I'd want the C6 for dummies version. Either way the trans is not going to be first. I want to knock off some of these littler things first.

 

1973/79 Ford 100/500 (Light) Truck Parts Catalog available on a C/D from hipoparts.com