omg.....going insane

[mustang1969 0]

have 69 mach1 351w,c4 auto trans,correct shift rod,cant get any of the gears to line up remotely close,the rod basically has to be wedged on the shifter arm bolt and once its on there you cant adjust it because its sitting at very front of the rod slot ,to make the gears line up on shifter the rod would need to be shorter thus putting the shifter arm bolt in the middle of slide to allow me adjustment but the number is stamped on the rod and its the correct one for a 69 c4 but yet wont work..........any ideas this is taking a toll on my nerves.

[Brian Conway 264]

You might try posting your C4 linkage problem on the Vintage Mustang Forum. Perhaps someone there has a 69 with some C4 auto trans. experience. Brian

[shaun071 62]

Don't get offended, but have you got the shifter and linkage on the box in the right orientation? Ie shifter in park(fully rearward under car) and the gearbox link fully rearward? Reason I ask is I've done the same thing myself- forgot park is forward in the car but rearward under the car.

[69volunteer 84]

Look at recent threads regarding a similar issue. I posted a photo from the service manual showing how to set the linkage on a C4.

[mustang1969 0]

yes i know where park is towards back,i read your recent thread but it doesnt help me,any gear i put trans in and match it on the shift rod the rod has to be wedged onto the shifter bolt arm thus allowing me zero adjustment..........

[det0326 179]

Well if all the parts are correct and you still have the problem of the rod being to long then there is only 2 things I can think of that may have happened.

1. Have you for some reason had to use aftermarket adjustable motor mounts that shifts the engine/tranny rearward to clear something?

2. Has the floor pan been changed and maybe the cutout for the shifter is not in the exact same place. This is probably rare but I guess could happen.

Just a thought.

 

 

In any event you could always fab your own shifter rod, its not that hard to do.

Dave

[danno 128]

I ask what has already been asked, just in a different manner. Are the parts you are using the exact correct parts for this car? Were they the same parts that were on it before, and did it work before? Is it the same transmission, and did it work with this one before?

[Protowrxs 111]

Yeah my first question was is this the same trans and shifter arm. The column shift trans have a different rod / arm on the trans that will generally not work with floor shifters. Found that out the hard way years ago. :-(

[mustang1969 0]

the floor pans are original,the car originally came with a fmx but put a c4 in it and had it driving but gear shift never would fully go in park and was using custom shift rod but i just did a engine swap to a beefier 351w and found that i had the correct shift rod in shed for 69 c4 but cannot get it to fit,only thing i know it could possibly be is wrong shift arm on trans but i dont have another car to look at to compare arms

[mach1mike 10]

sounds like you have the wrong shifter linkage, either an FMX link on a C-4 or vice versa, they are different, the part number on the FMX link will have 7340 somewhere in the part number on the linkage, not sure on the part number for the linkage on a C-4 set-up

[mustang1969 0]

according to my google searches i have the correct linkage C9ZA-7326-D[/img]

[mach1mike 10]

can't quite remember but is the shifter arm on the trans splined, may be a tooth off, or as one of the other guys suggested, the C-4 you have is out of a different application or car with a column shift with a longer/shorter throw shifter arm, looks like you have the correct linkage for a C-4 from the picture. Looked at my assy manual and it shows that the 7326 linkage is for an "XP" or "XPL" transmission if that acronym translates to C-4 that is, hope this helps

[det0326 179]

can't quite remember but is the shifter arm on the trans splined, may be a tooth off, or as one of the other guys suggested, the C-4 you have is out of a different application or car with a column shift with a longer/shorter throw shifter arm, looks like you have the correct linkage for a C-4 from the picture. Looked at my assy manual and it shows that the 7326 linkage is for an "XP" or "XPL" transmission if that acronym translates to C-4 that is, hope this helps

 

I think you are correct mach1mike I saw a video where some one did this to an AOD and I would think that it could also be done on the C4. On the video I saw they simply removed it and indexed it to the proper position but I guess it would depend on what arm you have if there are difference ones it may have to be changed.

Dave

[mustang1969 0]

im not familiar with the internals so im not sure if its splined or not,maybe some with more knowledge of trans will chime in.....

[mach1mike 10]

to the best of my recollection, it may even have a square hole in the arm with a square shaped end on the trans shift shaft, it may be as simple as taking the shift arm off and rotating it 90 degrees and reinstalling it, it sounds like that may be the issue since you are totally out of adjustability, that is the arm is just installed on the trans in the wrong position on the shifter linkage shaft where it goes in the trans, just a thought

[det0326 179]

to the best of my recollection, it may even have a square hole in the arm with a square shaped end on the trans shift shaft, it may be as simple as taking the shift arm off and rotating it 90 degrees and reinstalling it, it sounds like that may be the issue since you are totally out of adjustability, that is the arm is just installed on the trans in the wrong position on the shifter linkage shaft where it goes in the trans, just a thought

 

Not sure about the C4 but on the AOD the shaft and arm are one piece. I have not worked on the C4 tho so I am not sure about it.

[mustang1969 0]

Yes the arm and shaft are one solid piece I do know that from my searchs, I'm literally running out of ideas on what problem it

[det0326 179]

Yes the arm and shaft are one solid piece I do know that from my searchs, I'm literally running out of ideas on what problem it

 

 

I understand your frustration I have been there too. Its not a big deal tho you could actually have someone mig weld an arm the correct length and in the correct orientation. You may have to play around with the length and position till

you find the correct ones but it is doable. Could you possibly get a picture of the side of transmission where the sifter arm is and post it? Maybe we can tell more about what you have.

Dave

[mustang1969 0]

this pic is trans in 1st[/img]

 

this is trans in park

[/img]

[det0326 179]

Well dang! that looks correct to me. I don't think the arm is the problem. The

C4's that I have seen looks just like that. I'm stumped! Maybe its time to make your own linkage rod.

[mustang1969 0]

i dont see why i should make a custom one when i have the correct one for car,even tho somethings not working right id rather look at other options then making a custom rod only to find it wont match the shifter detents either

,only other thing ive looked up and found is the detents in the trans dont match the detents on the shift selector

[det0326 179]

i dont see why i should make a custom one when i have the correct one for car,even tho somethings not working right id rather look at other options then making a custom rod only to find it wont match the shifter detents either

,only other thing ive looked up and found is the detents in the trans dont match the detents on the shift selector

 

I think all the 69 shifters are the same and the detents in the C4's should be the same. You can even use the 69 shifter with the later AOD's.

I guess that the dimension from center line of the shaft to center line of the hole where the shifter rod mounts could be a different length if the tranny is not out of a Mustang which could through the ratio between the shifter arm and shifter out of kilter. Maybe you could get someone to get that dimension for you to at least rule that out. You said the floor pans are original and if you have not modified the engine mounts in any way

then the only other thing would be as someone said before that maybe the shifter shaft is one tooth out. I don't know if that is possible or not but from what I see in the break down of a C4 I know you can index it 180 degrees but I am not sure about one tooth at a time.

 

You say that you have to wedge the rod in does it seem to long or too short? Do you know what the tranny is out of?

[mustang1969 0]

the shaft doesnt have teeth to adjust ,its just notched and can be turned 2 ways-up,down,the rod seems to long and im not sure what trans came out of put its a 1975 trans just not sure what from number on trans is d50p-7006-aa

[mach1mike 10]

well am running out of ideas on this one, in the picture, if you take the attach nut off the kick down link and the shift arm can you adjust the position of the arms? also based on the part number shown on the shift arm that is a 70's part number so is a little newer model trans the "D" at the beginning of the p/n denotes "1970's"

[mustang1969 0]

no the arm and rod are one piece,no turning just arm,and yes the trans is a 1975