trannsmission trouble, please help

by soufigured86 Fri Oct 16, 2009 7:49 pm

well, i am having some problems with the tranns in my car, it is a th350, the car has been sitting for a long time (10 years or so) what happens is the car will only work in reverse, there are no fluid leaks, fluid is full, smells decent (not burnt but old) and is normal colour, i am not good with transmissions, i have some theories, 1 pump not working, 2 valves stuck shut, 3 the tranns is "tired", i would like help with the diagonsses of this proble and some adivice on the best and most cost efective way to fix it

by ant7377 Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:34 pm

Pull it out and get it rebuilt .Its been sitting for 10 yrs and the seals and stuff are probably no good anyway. I guess you could take the pan down and see whats going on in there and check the linkage and stuff but if it hasnt been used and you dont know the history of it id get it done. You could prob get it rebuilt for about 6 or 7 hundred bucks.

by soufigured86 Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:42 pm

would a new valvebody help, i realy dont have the money for a rebuild, i can get a new tranns (well used, but working) what i am able to do is get another tranns (non BOP bolt pattern, there arent many around anymore) and swap out thing and change the seals, i am very good at figuring things out as to how they go together, like i say i am looking for a very cost effective way to get this thing to move

by BlackChevelleSS Sat Oct 17, 2009 2:14 am

Yes, the seals have probably hardened and cracked allowing fluid to bypass. Only thing I can think of would be to dump some alcohol down in there to see if they would soften up, but it probably wouldnt help. In need of a rebuild. You can buy a rebuild kit with good clutches, new steels, a rebuild book, and a few upgrades for around $120. You have to be a pretty quick learner and have a good memory and take lots of pictures to do it, its pretty easy. Ive rebuilt 3 th350s and 10 th400s and im only 21.

by soufigured86 Sat Oct 17, 2009 2:24 am

so then a rebuild is pretty well tho only option, well, im heading out to work on my car tomorrow, im bringing a buddy out to, so we will give it a good going over, i have an insane theory based on my experiance with the first tranny swap i ever did im gonna try out, if not, then im gonna have to just save some cash and do a rebuild, something i was planning on doing anyway, but no quite so soon i guess, thanks for the help yall

by The Dude Sat Oct 17, 2009 3:53 pm

BlackChevelleSS wrote:..............its pretty easy. Ive rebuilt 3 th350s and 10 th400s and im only 21.

Show off.

If you're a gambling type of person, you could always go to the local junkyard & pick one up for a couple hundred. Of course you never know its condition, but most places offer a 90 warranty.

by jonny o Thu Oct 29, 2009 10:06 am

The fluid is definitely shot... Probably going to leak like a sob from dry seals... But if you can get it to run, it might be worth some fresh fluid and dirty hands.

Have your buddy shift it (with the car off) and see if the linkage is moving the shift arm freely.

Pull the cooler lines and see if turning it over throws any fluid out... that will rule out the pump. It takes a lot to block up the pump pressure of a th350, but 10 years could clog a cooler fairly easilly.

I believe Reverse takes more pump pressure than forward gears, but don't quote me on that... so if it will go backwards, you probably have an alright pump.

If nothing else, drain out a few quarts and add fresh, or maybe a quart or two of Lucas Trans goop. It's thick as hell and rill revive old fluid enough to tell you if it's going to run.

If nothing else, just flip the rear end over and drive it in Reverse!

by soufigured86 Thu Oct 29, 2009 2:35 pm

k, ill have to try that next time im out there

by McCauley5983 Thu Nov 05, 2009 8:34 pm

if the seals were bad the tranny would shift but wouldnt hold so it would burn out the forward gears if the fluid doesnt smell burnt the valves are probably just stuck id pull the valve body off and clean it real good with carb cleaner and look for a stuck valve

by Sponsored content

trannsmission trouble, please help

trannsmission trouble, please help

Re: trannsmission trouble, please help

Re: trannsmission trouble, please help

Re: trannsmission trouble, please help

Re: trannsmission trouble, please help

Re: trannsmission trouble, please help

Re: trannsmission trouble, please help

Re: trannsmission trouble, please help

Re: trannsmission trouble, please help

Re: trannsmission trouble, please help