The first thing I discovered the hard way was that you must have a C-4 with the push-in modulator. I say “the hard way” because dopey me spent a considerable amount of time and effort spotlessly gutting and cleaning and painting a C-4 case with the screw-in modulator before I read the directions for the trans brake VB (# 521500) which clearly in bold print at the top of the page states the above distinction. Geesh, what a knothead.
 What you see here is the only remaining stock Ford internal parts that were re-used. All the rest were aquired from TCI. |
The reason for using the push-in style case was that TCI included the proper sized thread tap to allow the use of the screw-in style solenoid that activates the brake. And no, it is not the same thread size as the factory Ford screw-in modulator, and also the trans brake valve is a different diameter that only fits the push-in style case. Trust me.
In just the last few weeks TCI has released an updated version of the C-4 brake. The older style that I started with was based on the older C-4 VB’s and used a Ford truck-style filter with the deep pan. It worked fine but did have a slight “flair” on the 2-3 shift. It was also quite expensive and the older cores were getting hard to find. So TCI designed a trans brake VB utilizing the newer and more available C-5 valve bodies (same # 521500).
What’s even better is they totally eliminated the flair on the 2-3 shift and get this, it’s cheaper than the original by a ton! How many times have you seen a product improved and the price go down?! Not very often in the racing world, for sure.
 This shows the TCI deep aluminum pan, heavy duty mount, and the safety strap for the trans shield. |
 A little clearancing of the old design pan was neccessary to clear the filter adapter plate of the new design valve body. No big deal and TCI has addressed the issue. |
The new design has a billet aluminum filter adaptor and utilizes a flat panel screen-type filter that has a grommet that slips over a boss in the plate and uses one fastener to secure the filter. The installation of the trans brake valve body is a simple bolt-in deal with absolutely no internal modifications required. There is a slight interference problem at the front of the old style deep aluminum TCI pan (# 518000) that is easily remedied with a die grinder if you have one of the older pans. TCI is currently modifying the molds of their pans to fix the problem. According to the information provided to me the “racer net” price on the new VB will be $485.66. Figuring how things normally work I would guess that would mean you will be able to buy one of these for right around $400.00 through a parts house such as Jegs. That is outstanding for a C-4 trans brake.
 This is the SFI approved TCI bellhousing. The gold colored spacer ring is what makes it possible to use this bell with a pan fill or a case fill C-4. Pretty slick. |
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Anticipating some eventual nine-second passes, I went for the SFI-approved TCI bell housing (# 513000) that is much thicker than the OEM and has both starter bolt patterns along with the adjustability of using it with a 157 or 164 tooth flex plate. You can also use this bell housing with either a case fill OR pan fill C-4. I am using a case fill unit so I had to simply insert the included spacer ring between the front pump and the bell housing. It fit perfectly and eliminated the need for a external-type flex plate shield.
Speaking of flex plates, I also used a TCI SFI-approved 164 tooth external balance unit (# 529628). It is a 28 oz. unit that matched the TCI Rattler absorber (# 870007) I previously wrote about.
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