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Full manual valve body

WaterH

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May 20, 2020
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On my project truck, I installed a full manual valve body. (Ford C-6) I had never driven one before, but I was surprised to find out that it has no compression braking. What I mean is when you drive in third and down shift to second, it just coasts. This might be fine for the road, but I think it will be trouble for off road sometimes. I posted about this on the old forum and was told that I needed to get a "Broader" valve body and it would shift into what ever gear at whatever speed you want.

I ended up ordering one of Broader's valve bodies. I haven't installed it yet because I've been busy with other stuff. I looked at the instructions and it looks a bit more difficult to install than a regular valve body.

I've got a few questions.

First, is it tricky to install?
Second, does Broader install them if I bring the truck to him. (I can find this out with a phone call)

Last and not least, does anybody have a full manual valve body on a "on road" rig? Is it a PITA on road? Doesn't seem like it would be a big deal, but some guys say they would never have one on road. Would like to hear from actual experince here.
 
I have had one in my rig for years in a c6. That said it’s a trailer queen. It doesn’t have compression braking and I’ve never had a problem or missed it. I sure wouldn’t want to drive it on the road very much. I think that would suck balls.
 
I have not put one in C6 before, but I have done a TH400 and TH350. I can tell you with the 350, I had to search for one that had "engine braking", as several models did not. I would be very surprised if one does not exist.
 
I have not put one in C6 before, but I have done a TH400 and TH350. I can tell you with the 350, I had to search for one that had "engine braking", as several models did not. I would be very surprised if one does not exist.
Did you not read the part where I found, ordered and received one allready? So obviously they exist. My question is how people like them for street driving.
 
Did you not read the part where I found, ordered and received one allready?
Original post makes it sound like the valve body you ordered may or may not have compression braking.

I've driven them "on road" and did not see a problem. That said, most of the vehicles I've owned were manuals so no big deal.
 
Original post makes it sound like the valve body you ordered may or may not have compression braking.

I've driven them "on road" and did not see a problem. That said, most of the vehicles I've owned were manuals so no big deal.
The first paragraph says I got one (on the truck) without braking. The second paragraph says I got one with braking, but have not installed it yet. Not sure how I could write that any clearer.

Thankyou for the experince report. That's what I was looking for.
 
Depending on the vehicle I think you would not want to downshift until you were at a lower speed. The Broader we have in a rig works great for a truggy on 43s. The shifts are firm all the time without the vacuum modulator so you might break tires loose when you are not expecting it on road.
 
My Jeep has a full manual valvebody C6, it's an Art Carr valvebody and has compression in second and third, but not first. I would sort-of like the option of selecting back to "automatic" mode for the road, but my install scenario is missing a number of pieces (kickdown, vacuum modulator, governor) I'd need to make that work, so I just go with it as is. I don't road drive it a lot, it's not that bad to drive.
 
I have compression braking on my TH350. Love it off road for picking gears but it's a nuisance when cruising and downshifting as you slow down. Plus it's impossible to just throw it into neutral to coast without a hard head bob as you downshift before you should. My previous trans had an auto valve body but still had compression braking when you pulled it down to 2nd or 1st. I think I liked that better.
 
I imagine it could be down right dangerous if you were doing 65 and bumped it into second. My gear shifter is very heavy, so that's not likely. But I was wondering as you slow down in third, is it always going to give you the head bob when you down shift? Then again in second? Is it possible to shift smoothly?

For example, my car is a standard. If I'm playing "Ricky Racer" and you are a pax, your head is going to bob as I row through the gears. But I can shift smooth enough that you won't spill your drink if I want to. (Not as fast, of course)

On my project truck, I like that it is kind of crude, but I still would like it to drive smooth when I want it to.

My truck is diesel, so not so easy to make it a automatic. It can be done with a vacuum pump and a throttle valve, but I don't like the complication.
 
I also had a C6 with the Art Carr and no compression braking in 1st. The biggest thing if you want to downshift smoothly on the road is don't drive it like a manual transmission. There's no "clutch" to ease it into gear and let the engine slowly absorb that energy, it's right now. Pay attention to when a stock transmission downshifts and it's probably later and at a slower speed than you expect.
 
I imagine it could be down right dangerous if you were doing 65 and bumped it into second. My gear shifter is very heavy, so that's not likely. But I was wondering as you slow down in third, is it always going to give you the head bob when you down shift? Then again in second? Is it possible to shift smoothly?

For example, my car is a standard. If I'm playing "Ricky Racer" and you are a pax, your head is going to bob as I row through the gears. But I can shift smooth enough that you won't spill your drink if I want to. (Not as fast, of course)

On my project truck, I like that it is kind of crude, but I still would like it to drive smooth when I want it to.

My truck is diesel, so not so easy to make it a automatic. It can be done with a vacuum pump and a throttle valve, but I don't like the complication.
My trans was built by a guy who builds U4 transmissions. I wanted a trans that I could beat on and he told me to expect hard shifts with it. He wasn't kidding. I haven't tried it but I would bet it would chirp the tires downshifting on pavement. With practice you can downshift without a hard hit but you have to be going slower than you would expect.
 
I have a TH400 with full manual valve body and no compression breaking and driving it on the street is the only time I missed having it.
 
My trans was built by a guy who builds U4 transmissions. I wanted a trans that I could beat on and he told me to expect hard shifts with it. He wasn't kidding. I haven't tried it but I would bet it would chirp the tires downshifting on pavement. With practice you can downshift without a hard hit but you have to be going slower than you would expect.
Did you get a trans from ATD?
 
Up date and questions,

First, I realized I do have compression braking when down shifting to second. I just don’t have it in first. After driving it now, I really like down shifting to second and I would like it in first also. So here come the questions.

1. When driving a standard tranny, I don’t like down shifting because of clutch ware. I figure it’s way easier to replace brake pads than a clutch. So on auto, am I wareing out anything when downshifting?

2. I looked over the instructions I got with the Broader valve body and it’s kind of complicated. There’s things like setting band/clutch clearance and drilling bleed holes. I contacted Broader and asked them about it. Their response was it’s “bolt in” and all the other stuff in the instructions is if you want serious performance. I’m kind of scared of this response. I don’t plan on racing, but not really sure what “serious performance“ means. Have any of you just bolted one in?

3. The other thing mentioned in the instructions is they recommend a after market ratchet shifter. They say it is important to shift fast or you might get “bind up”. I have a after market shifter, but it’s not a ratchet style. Have any of you experienced “bind up”? Please describe?

Basically, should I just bolt in and be happy?
 
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If you move your shifter half way between gears it binds up because it is trying to run two different ratios. I don't have a ratchet shifter, I have an Art Carr. And yes, if I am lazy and don't fully shift from one gear to another, it will bind up. Not really a big deal.
 
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