I hate transmissions!!!!!

[justinburnett]

So last night I'm on my way to work, and I just got a new stereo and speakers put in so I'm blasting some music and having a ball, and when I get there, I turn the music down and hear this HORRIBLE grinding/squealing/clanking noise! Truck took it's time shifting to reverse and then parked it and turned it off.
Got off work at 5am and drove it straight to a trans shop since the sound seemed to be coming from the bell housing area. Figured it was a torque converter. Shifted okay accelerating but wouldn't shift down when I slowed down. Kinda stuck in second until I was all the way stopped. Guys looked at it this morning and called me and asked if I was having any trouble with the transmission lately. I told them not until last night. They told me to come down and see so I came down and the fluid was burnt and stinky, and it wouldn't even shift into anything anymore. Anyway, they said I could get the flexplate (cracked) fixed and the torque converter replaced, which it for sure needed, but they didn't know for sure if the tranny would work after all that and it was only an extra $500 to do a complete rebuild to original factory specs on the trans. I told them I'd pay $300 and that's it, and they said okay, so it's getting re-done. Can't afford it, but otherwise it's a useless three ton hunk of steel. I'm so peeved, but I didn't know what else to do.

Anyway, there was a point to this beyond just generally complaining about my bad fortune. Is there anything I should have them do while the tranny's out that would make it last longer? Just wondering. I figure it's lasted these 38 years (shoulda expected it to go out, and i guess to be honest i've been waiting for it), so it should probably last another ten at least now, and I don't hot-rod around although I do want to get a trailer for camping and stuff. It's a TH400. Any inherant weak points that could be strengthened for little cash output? This is really gonna break my bank. I guess all in all it's better off than it could be because I was about to spend $1k on a travel trailer that I can just use for the shop bill now, so it's kind of a wash, I'll just keep sleeping in the back (got an ugly canopy and made a bed in there) when I go on trips.

[JuicyJ]

Add a good trans cooler and def get the torque converter replaced.

[Toxic Redline]

ah , it builds character

[justinburnett]

They said the price would include a new flexplate and torque converter. I think the extra cooler I can add on my own.

Would I benefit from putting a "shift kit" in? one of the ones from transgo or b&m? I've heard they help keep the clutches from wearing as fast but I don't really understand how that works. Also, what about a lockup converter? Is that something I should think about and if so, how much more am I looking at, or is it not something I need? Thanks.

[NCD1966]

if your not doing a complete rebuild I wouldn't do a shift kit. change the converter and put at least a 24,000 B&M cooler on it. Place the cooler where it can get some good air.

[justinburnett]

They said they were going to do a complete rebuild since they had it out might as well. I figured it was already going to cost a bunch to pull it and stuff, why not?

[old Rusty C10]

a th 400 is a pretty strong transmission . I am very hard on my trucks so i always have a shift kit installed upon rebuild. It makes the shifts faster so less wear on the clutches

[MARKDTN]

TH400 is a pretty bulletproof transmission. I would add a cooler, but leave it stock other than that. I would not put a shift kit in it, but that's me.

[N2TRUX]

If your transmission guy is any good, he can firm your shift points a bit without making it harsh. This will prolong your transmissions life by reducing slipping between gears.

[4pilgrim4]

Dunno what sort of a rebuild the transmission guy can afford to do for $300. Even $500 makes me wonder. Around here if you get out of a transmission shop for less than $1500 - $2000 you count your blessings!

Maybe I just happen to live in a high rent district. :>(

[old Rusty C10]

IM guessing that the labor of removing the trans is already included in the repair of the flex plate and torque convertor... couple that with the cheapest rebuild kit you get and $300 is prolly right

[mooseknuckles]

definately get a new converter, the old one will be full of crap..invest in a tranny cooler install it yourself.

[N2TRUX]

No one will build a tranny and "not" replace the convertor.
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[mooseknuckles]

....you'd be suprised!

[81chevylongbed]

dont mean to steal ur thread but while everyone is talking about trannys i have a th350 and just had it rebuilt wit a shift kit....and now it leaks fluid from right above the pan thought it was the pan so changed gaskets but its not its a little cervo or something half way down the tranny on the passenger side and it leaks nonstop...does anybody know what that is and how to replace it??? thanks..

[justinburnett]

by the time I got around to asking he'd already put a shift kit in. Doesn't shift "harsh" but it's definitely a quicker shift than before. Seems to transition pretty smoothly.

it ended up being a bit more because he said I somehow trashed my front pump, which would probably explain why it was overheating and burning the fluid.

All in all I'm pretty happy with it. I am wondering though, it shifts a little soon. I'm hitting 3rd by 20mph when it's unloaded. Doesn't seem to be working the engine too hard but I wonder if it would do the same if I was loaded or pulling something. Going to go back and ask when I have a minute.

[4pilgrim4]

Sounds like your transmission guy knows his stuff. Shifting quick but not harsh is exactly what you want.

I forgot you mentioned you had a TH400. I've been conditioned to 700R4 prices.

Also, I've never just worn out the clutches, needing only a standard overhaul kit. For me it has been 4th gear planetary breakage several times and twice a rivet on the linkage of the torque converter lockup broke, I was told. Each time enough metal circulated that the innards were pretty much toast.

The last time, the guy in Los Angeles told me my clutches looked so good, even at approx 80K miles, that it was almost a shame to toss them. But he had a policy that to maintain his reputation he would never do that. I appreciate that!

[justinburnett]

Well I'm about to go test it out (more than 15min drive home). Going camping. Probably got about 400 miles to go. Really glad I'm still going to make it.

[andyh1956]

man, if that new stereo did that to your trans, just think what it's doing to your ears!
andy

[justinburnett]

Well I don't have to worry about that stereo anymore.

Got on the freeway about 4am yesterday to go on what should have been a simple 600 mile trip, all highway, to look at a place to do some gold mining this summer.

Everything was fine except it shifts into 3rd way to early but I figured since I wasn't towing or hauling anything it would be alright, and I'd just have them fix it when i got back. After about 100 miles I started noticing a slight vibration. Thought maybe one of my tires threw a weight and figured when i got where I was going I'd get it checked out. By the time I got to Grants Pass (about 250 miles away) it was shaking pretty good so I had my tires all re-balanced. They said normally they charge $15 a piece but they were all about as perfect as he'd ever seen on an old truck so he charged me $20.
I was kinda worried then cause I didn't know what was causing the vibrations and they were getting worse, so I abandoned my vacation and figured I'd just go home. About an hour later it was shaking bad enough to REALLY scare me. Suddenly my water pump blew a gasket and that set me back a bit. It was too late to go to a parts store so I had it towed 130 miles to Salem where at least I knew where some stuff is. Slept in the truck, almost froze to death. Woke up this morning wanting to kill myself but got the pump gaskets replaced and back on the road. I was determined to drive non-stop all the way home. As I was driving, feeling like I was sitting on a screen shaker in a gravel pit, first my lights, then my stereo, then my windshield washer, then my CB, all started disappearing. Got home, stopped at a shop at the bottom of the hill to my house, just since it's close and went in. The guys I know that work there who wouldn't charge me just to look at it were gone, so I went to go home and try again in the morning. I wanted to see if the shaking was part of the tranny in any way so I could go shove it up the guy's ass that put it in. Of course my truck doesn't start anymore. All the wires going to the starter besides the main power wire are broken. I couldn't tell if they're pulled out or broken or burnt or what.

SO... Now I have a truck that has NO electronic thing left working, that shakes like a battered crack whore in withdrawls, or would if it would run. WTF?

By the way, engine runs really smooth at idle up to about 15k rpm. Then it starts to shudder.

What the hell could be causing that shake? It's almost like someone welded a 10lb weight to my driveshaft or something, but it does it ONLY when power is applied. It still rolls smooth and straight (although something in the front end got shaken loose so it has another kinda shake when you hit a bump). What should I do? If it was because of the transmission being wrong somehow is the shop responsible (legally, not morally) for all the extra damage to my electrical and suspension? What do you guys think the best way to approach this would be without kidnapping his children and telling him to get it done or he'll never see them again. Thanks. I'm really pissed off and stressed out and I just can't even think clearly enough to come up with a good plan right now. I love that old truck, but I don't even want to look at it right now and I can't afford to fix all the stuff that's wrong with it now. I couldn't sell it for anything right now either. If he says he'll just refund me the cost of the re-build, that's not even going to come close to the cost of fixing everything. Thanks.

[78 Chevyrado]

Have them use a clutch pack with more clutches (holds tighter), Get a shift kit (makes the clutches slip less and last longer) and dont use roller bearings in place of the bushings (more reliable), and get a good cooler and install it like the trans guys tell you to (it's their warranty).

I'm actually all for a TH400. the one I have now is literally the ONLY auto tranny in anything I haven't broken, and I do play with it more than I should. I'm taking bets as to weather the engine or trans goes first...lol

I've broken C4's and C6's, TH350's (several), TH700r4's (more than several) and misc transaxles in various cars....lol never broke a manual tranny though.

If you want to know how good a trans is, put it in my truck and if it lasts one year, it's good....haha

[4pilgrim4]

Well, I'd say if you've been revving it up to 15K, it's a wonder there isn't a trail of parts all the way from Salem to Grant's Pass! Probably you meant 1.5K.

It is hard to know for sure what is causing the vibration, but my guess would be a U-joint is about to go. You are lucky indeed that it held up all the way home. Having a drive shaft go flying can ruin more than your whole day.

[justinburnett]

Wow... I'd like to see a 350 that WOULD go to 15k! Yeah, I meant 1.5. Speaking of trails of parts... Apparently my inspection cover is somewhere down that way, my warm air intake thing off the manifold was gone when I looked in when I got home so it's somewhere between here and Salem, I'm missing my crankcase vent tube and something else.... More than just my sanity.

Can't be the driveshaft. It'll do it in neutral just sitting if I rev it up high. It COULD be the engine, but I don't see how. goes from smooth as hell to a kind of rolling vibration (Waaaahhhhh.... Waaaaahhhh.... Waaaahhhhh) like on a second, off a second. Then as the rpms increase it gets faster and faster and faster until it blends together into a constant shudder.

It's either the engine or the tranny and the engine was fine the day it went in for the rebuild. Of course stuff can go wrong that wasnt there before, but I'm almost SURE they did something either wrong or just missed something or... I don't know.

[4pilgrim4]

Harmonic balancer spun out of balance?

Torque converter to flex plate bolts loose? (ahem! I have learned to always use "loc tite" on these)

[justinburnett]

If it's the balancer, what would cause it to spin out of balance? Wouldn't it be off balance at low rpms too? Could be the flexplate bolts but I don't know how it would cause THAT much shaking. If so, that's the tranny guy's fault and I'm going to go talk to him later if I ever get the truck to run enough to drive it down there.