Re: Can an ordinary person rebuild a tranny???

Piece of cake. Use your resources at the dealership. Work it one step at a time and double check each step during assembly. My first trans overhauls were Ford C6's. They all worked although I took a couple back down to rework the calibration a bit to suit my needs. Next was the Ford E4OD which many folks believe to be un-repairable. No problem until 4 days of operation when a new snap ring in a pre-assembled service pack failed. Pulled it back down and replaced the snap ring. Only about 100k since with no problem. The front seal is starting to weep a bit. I will repair that when I replace the engine oil pan gasket and rear seal in a couple of weeks. My next one was the Ford AODE which is a greatly improved unit since overhaul and upgrades in my CV. Too early to tell whether it will hold up with only about 20k since overhaul. I have also done a couple of THM350's & 400's which are still on the road. I am still having a problem with breaking input shalves in the blown Bronco AOD. Hopefully, that problem is near resolution. It ain't rocket science - you can do the job with a little patience following the manual. Just my thoughts.

Well, I don't work at a dealership, but what I did was take a class at the local community college (they had a transmission class in their automotive certificate program). Part of the class was rebuilding a tranny, and they let you bring in one to work on.

Just as a timeframe marker, the first electronic trannies were just starting to make an appearance. The instructor warned us about them, (the GM 440-T I think was the name) that they were a "bear" to work on. I had a old Torqueflite 727 that is still running to this day.

Tony

The old 440T4 could be a real turd, in some of its factory incarnations. Many, if not most, of some model runs went out about 100,000 miles or less.

With upgrades, it held up pretty well.

Here in Houston (when mine failed in 1993, on a 1989 Buick) the going price for an overhaul was about $2000-2500.

I tried to substitute a TurboHydramatic, using a kit from an aftermarket supplier, but the Buick subframe and bracing just did not work out.

I think that a person with good mechanical ability, plenty of time, and a clean place to work can rebuild most transmissions. Lay out everything in order, make photos if you need to, don't rush.

That's what I remember him saying. The thing that got him the most I think was the electronics controlling the shifting. I don't think he liked the feel of the shifts, as well as the change from what he was used to. It was more of a "Wait until you have to work on one of those....HAHAHA...better you than me...." type of attitude.

I did learn alot from that class.

Tony