Automatic Transmission Rebuild Time Lapse On A Ford Thunderbird

Who doesn’t love a good time lapse? Especially on a classic Ford? Many of you have rebuilt an automatic transmission at some point and if you haven’t this cool video will show you a complete rebuild in under 5 minutes.

First of all, how does an automatic transmission work?

An automatic transmission has a lot of different moving parts, so it’s a bit complex but here’s a basic run down of how it all works. Your engine connects to your transmission at a place that is called a “bell housing.” The “bell housing” is something that contains a torque converter for automatic transmission vehicles. In manual transmission vehicles, the bell housing contains a clutch instead.

Essentially a torque converter is a fluid coupling whose primary job is to connect your engine to your transmission and then to your driven wheels. What does the transmission contain? Well, the transmission contains planetary gearsets that are in charge of providing different gear ratios. This is just a brief description of how an automatic transmission works, as it’s actually a lot more complex and detailed when you really get down to it. In this time lapse, you see all the necessary parts of an automatic transmission being taken apart and rebuilt. Very cool stuff!