• Anyone try tackling the rebuilding of your Top Loader 4-speed transmission or did you send out to a qualified shop? I'd rather do it myself but never having done so "I might not know what I don't know" and get myself into a mess. If you sent out, any recommendations for a good shop (I live in New England but of course can ship anywhere). If you rebuilt yourself, any suggestions for a good reference (you tube or books)? Same for the 9" rear end. Thanks for your help!

  • I have been rebuilding 4 speed transmissions since before there was even a Mustang on the road. I began with many Borg Warner T10 transmissions around 1963. I have done Chrysler A833 transmissions, Dino Ferrari transaxles, Porsche 911 transaxles, VW transaxles (no, they are not the same), Fiat 4 speed, Toyota 5 speed, Muncie 4 speeds and, of course, Ford toploaders. I have done other transmissions and transaxles as well but I cannot remember all of them. The first toploader that I did was a real learning experience and not one that I liked. It is a good transmission but one of the most difficult to work on. If you do everything in the proper order, you will survive it. These transmissions have numerous detents and interlock pins. Lots of needle bearings and such. I spent around $300 for a professional bearing puller after many years of getting by without one. That was a really good investment as it saves a lot of time and aggravation. There are tricks that will need to be learned pretty much by experience and I guarantee you that it will be a mean teacher. If you have not done any other 4 speeds previously, this is NOT the one to learn on. I still do them but I really do not enjoy the ride.

    I do not know what you are trying to do on your rear end. If you are just trying to reseal the axles, that is not tough. Anything inside of the third member requires more experience than just turning a few bolts. There are clearances and shims related to the ring and pinion gears where .004 will be the difference between quiet and a howler. If you are good with ring and pinion settings on rear ends, the 9 inch is pretty normal. There are bearing preloads that are important. I used a Dana 60 and a Hemi 4 speed in my Chevies as the Chevy engine is too powerful for a Chevy drive train.

    -Fred-

    65 Koupe early San Jose Phoenician Yellow 4 speed
    66 GT Koupe Dearborn Blue 4 speed
    66 KGT San Jose fastback pony interior Silver Frost 4 speed
    64 Falcon sedan delivery 289 4 speed
    65 Ranchero 289 4 speed
    66 Corvette roadster 427/425 4 speed

  • I am in the process of rebuilding my top loader right now, with the "assistance" of a qualified tech. We're at the tear down stage now waiting for the parts to arrive from David Kee Top Loaders. Tearing down wasn't too difficult. The main shaft bearing we set up a jig with blocks of wood and it came off fairly easy. If it didn't then we'd have rented a puller but we didn't need it.

    One mistake I made was to order Kee's basic repair kit before we tore it apart. Had a couple gears with some excessive wear and now waiting for those parts to arrive. I should have tore it down before ordering anything. Saves freight and stand by time.

    Kee's parts are all made in the USA so no issues wondering about that.

    His kit comes with pretty good step by step instructions, and coupled with the factor service manual, we are fairly well covered.

    If you just need bearings, gaskets, seals its a fairly inexpensive repair; if you need some gears, they run $100 and up each.

    The biggest issue I am having is outside case finish. Without some type of treatment or cast paint, they flash rust immediately once it's stripped down and cleaned. It was rusting as I was cleaning the damn thing. It was painted black previously.

    My tech buddy has rebuilt scores of transmissions, countershaft and planetary, so isn't having any difficulty. Could I have done it alone? Doubt it, not without some help in the technical dept.

    65 Koupe

    Edited once, last by abone2010 (November 28, 2021 at 5:49 PM).

  • Thanks Fred and AB for the great responses! Fortunately I know of several “experts” who could “coach” me and keep me out of too much trouble but I’ll definitely not try to tackle what would be my first rebuild on my own.

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