Tranny update :(

[Torque Junkie]

Well, my TH350 finally took it's last breath. I'm 99% sure it has to do with that night back in November when I lost all my fluid when I was driving home.

 

In the last week it's used 3 QUARTS of fluid, half by leaking, the other half by burning internally.   It sounds like a locomotive going down the highway, and it's slipping really really bad.

 

It's probably going to cost me about $500 to have it rebuilt, and to do the 700R4 swap, it's going to cost me ~$2000.    It looks as though I won't be doing the swap any tmie soon becuase of this.  I can't afford 2 grand right now... especially becuase my car needs tires and I'm going to be moving this summer

 

The tranny guy said he'd talk to some people he knows, and if he can find a 700R4 core and a 205 or 208 transfer case, he'll let me know what it'd cost.  If it'll cost in the $1000-1200 range, I'll go for it, but any more and it's just too costly.

 

 

-Mike

[76BBSub]

Sorry to hear about that...I was really hoping you would do the 700R4 thing so I could see how it went (ha ha).  But seriously, after having the 700R4 rebuilt on my dad's Corvette ($1450) I was figuring that it would be pretty expensive since we have to find a core first and all...

Jeff

[Torque Junkie]

Update: I went and talked to him today

 

What was cuasing that driveline vibration I was worrying about before...   3 bolts that hold the bellhousing to the block were loose and 2 were missing....one of which, was an anchor for the torque distrubtion bar that goes between the transfer case and tranny....  and the dowel alignment was TOTALLY messed up from this.  Also, 1 of the 2 bolts that holds the transfer case to the crossmember. was snapped off too.   The tranny & transfer case were barely holding on......  I'm lucky my transmission and transfer case didn't littereally fall off goin down the highway.

 

And to add insult to injury, all of this caused the fly wheel to crack in 2 places.  

 

The internals of the tranny weren't as bad as I had thought.   It's getting a new round of soft parts (gaskets, clutches, etc) but most of the hard parts are in tact.   He showed me what the damage done by all of the fluid leaking out did to some of the clutch plates (if thats what those round thingies that go between the clutch pads are ).   After this is all said and done, though, I'll have a very nice smooth running TH-350.  No o/d, but I'll just have to live with it.  

 

*sigh*  I was really really hoping to do the 700R4 swap too, but not for that kinda money......   That's just way too much dough at this point in my life.  Someday, I will, but not in the near future.

 

-Mike