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Effin transmission problem.

History: 85' K5 with junk tranny, installed 83' K5 tranny. Pretty sure they are both 350TH (has a square tranny pan)

Okay got the tranny in what I *thought* was okay. Installed the transfer case, and the rear drive shaft.... enough to push it down the road for a test run. Here is how it went. After filling transfer case I had 3 quarts of fluid left in my gallon. Put 3 in the tranny. Remembered reading on a.t.c that if you add all the tranny fluid it just runs over. Truck was very hard to start. I would turn the key and it would not budge at all. However I believed this to be because of the battery - the volt meter was at 9-10 with two batteries in parallel, and would drop below 8 when I was trying to crank. So I got my s-10 and jumped it off that. Engine revved very high, transmission screeching. Immediately add 4 more quarts and the engine idles slower, and the transmission is much quieter. Out of ATF but happy at this moment I shut off the engine and call it a night. I did not put it in drive, reverse, etc just left it in park. 7 quarts didn't seem enough for me. Truck sits for 2 days. Buy 2 more gallons of ATF. Battery charged, I start the truck with 0 problems. Pour in another 3 quarts, truck is still nice and "quiet". It's a rather loud truck with duel exhaust and two cherry bombs... I was told the transmission should take around 9-10 quarts, and with 10 in there I thought I should be made in the shade. No screeching, still a kind of high idle. Let it idle for a few more minutes, put it in drive. Transmission starts whinnin like a biach. When I put it in park it doesn't go away. For a few times turning the engine on and off would stop the screeching, but it no longer does. It always screeches/whines. I've since added about 3 more quarts, until it over flowed around the gasket on the transmission. No go, still noise. When I first got the truck, I could feel it shift into gear. The first few times I tried putting it in gear with the new tranny I could slightly feel it. But it wouldn't move, and I didn't like running it with that screeching. Now I can't feel the engaging at all. AFAIK I hooked everything up exactly the same way it went in. The only 2 things I can possibly think of are:

1: I installed the torque converter from the 85's transmission. The tranny that was in the 85' still "worked", wouldn't shift out of first. So I had no reason to believe anything was wrong with the torque converter. I did this because I liked the "design" better than I like the 83's. The 85's torque converter's bolt holes were more 'firmly' attached than the one on the 83'. Everything about the two converters looked the same, didn't go into micrometer measurements on the splines (maybe I should have...) but checked the bolts against each other and they matched up. Spline holes looked the same. Consulted knowledgeable friends. I'm starting to wonder if this was a mistake. Allot of the fluid from this torque converter came out, I also tried to get allot of it out - the ATF in the 85' tranny was cooked. But when I put it on I made sure everything was very clean, and made sure it was seated all the way back. I tried this several times just to make sure when it sat it felt the same each time. There was NO fudging at all to get it to connect to the starter gear.

  1. I highly doubt this is it but here it goes. The lines running the transmission cooler MIGHT be backwards. I didn't mark which was top and bottom - but the way that they are bent and naturally fall etc makes me 95% sure that these are the right way.

I think I got too happy about getting the transmission in and should have expected something about it to fail. Nothing goes right for me. If you could point out my err I'd appreciate it. If it's terminal to the transmission and you live in the southern New Hampshire area and want a solid K5 for cheap e-mail me :- )

Reply to
KJ
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History: got an 85' K5 with a tranny that wouldn't shift out of 1st. Put in a tranny from an 83' Jimmy. I believe that both are 350TH, but they were both the same (relatively). Both have a square transmission pan.

So I got my transmission in what I thought was okay. No real problems besides what gravity could cause. Put in the transfer case, put in the rear drive shaft. Should be enough to push it down the road to see if it shifts. Fill up the transfer case 5 quarts ATF. Have 3 gallons of ATF at the moment. Put 3 quarts in the transmission, because I remember reading if you put in too much it will just spill out of the transmission (read this on alt.trucks.chevy). Turn the key and the lights dim (which they were already dim) and the volt meter drops below 8. This is alright, the dome light has been on for hours over several days while I was installing the transmission. Try putting a deepcell I have in parallel with it. No go, now it drops down to 8 on the voltmeter. Jump start with my S10. Truck starts and revs high (probably over 1000rpm) and the transmission screeches. Add 4 more quarts and the engine slows down and the transmission quiets considerably. Did not take it out of park, did nothing but start it and turn it off. Out of ATF but happy for the night I turn it off and go quadding for 2 days. I come back with 2 more gallons of ATF and start the truck again, and pour in 2 more quarts. I put it in drive, and the tranny starts screeching - very high pitch. I put it in park, and it keeps going. Turn it off, it goes down in pitch as the engine slows/stops. Start again and it doesn't make it. Now when it starts it always makes it. When I first got the truck I could feel it engage when I put it in drive, and when I first started trying drive I could feel it slightly, now I can't. I can only think of two things that might be wrong.

1: The torque converter bolt holes from the 85' transmission looked more firmly attached, so I used that converter. I didn't go into micrometer measurements (maybe I should have) but the bolt holes matched up, and the splineage looked the same. I made sure it sat completely when I put on the converter. I put in on and took it off several times to make sure each time it sat it felt the same. There were 0 problems attaching it to the starter gear - it went on easier than it came off.

2: The lines running to the transmission cooler are backwards. I am 95% sure that they aren't, but when I was putting them back on I didn't mark which was what.

Any help would be appreciated.

Reply to
KJ

transmission.

"realized I"

Reply to
KJ

first:

was the pan shiny and rectangular and had 16 bolts ?

if so, you used an 85 converter on an 83 unit ?

if yes to both above, there's your problem, the input shaft size changed between 84 and 85 model years, and your converter is spinning on the input shaft

transmission.

Reply to
Gary Glaenzer

Yes and yes, have I distroyed the shaft!!!????

Reply to
KJ

Yes and yes. Have I destroyed the input shaft!? Please I'd like to have an idea before I undertake another 24 hour fix....

Reply to
KJ

probably not

but you may have some shavings from the hub inside the converter that have made their way into the cooler in the radiator

flush it out with carb cleaner and compressed air, or better still, bypass it in favor of an external cooler

BTW, the 700R4 (your unit) takes 10.5-11 quarts from totally dry to full

Reply to
Gary Glaenzer

It is as far as I know an external cooler, it is infront of/around the engine cooler. Should I, and if yes how should I, go about flushing this? I don't exactly know what you want me to two with compressed air and carb cleaner.... Thank you.

Reply to
KJ

OK

plan B

follow the cooler lines forward

do they go: 1) to the radiator or 2) to an external cooler or 3) thru one and then the other

if ' 1 '. then squirt a half-can or so of carb cleaner into one line, put a hose leading to a drain pan over the other, and blow out with compressed air. Reverse hose and air and repeat.

if ' 2 ', the remove the external cooler and flush it as above, but you can do a better job with it off

if ' 3 '. remove the present 'external cooler, disconnect lines from the radiator, and get a Hayden 1679 or Tru-Cool 4590 cooler. install it in front of the radiator, on metal brackets, as far from the radiator and / or AC condenser as possible.

where the lines exit from under the right front of the engine, cut them off and use a crimped-on hydraulic type fitting with a compression sleeve to mate up with the steel cooler line. the cooler end can be clamped

protect the lines from chafing and any other possible damage, support them and tie them away from fan and belts

Reply to
Gary Glaenzer

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