So I recently bought a GMC pick up with a new 350 4 bolt and turbo 400 for a parts runner. It always was loud on the freeway, winding out @ 65 or so. Friday I was stuck in traffic, 3 hrs. to go 35 miles and 100 degrees. By the time I got home, it started slipping. A mile off the freeway wouldn't go up a slight hill. I let it cool and it got me home. Next day I bought trans cooler, filter, lucus fluid. Never popped a trans pan. First thing I noticed was the filter was barely dangling, the bold was loose. Kinda like sipping through a straw with a hole in it not getting any fluid. Put on the cooler, changed the filter that was filthy, and got it all back together. It's running great, I'm hoping I dodged the bullet on the tranny. Should I change it again in hopes of flushing it out a bit, or leave well enough alone.
And keep an eye on the fluid color, if it gets dark sooner than later change it again. If its happily doing what it should just drive and enjoy. JW
Like txturbo says, if it don't smell burnt... (and the pan was clean, no linings or steel filings in the pan) Leave it alone..
The bolt that holds the filter on is a shouldered bolt, and the filter is a loose fit on the bolt. By your description, it could be that everything was perfectly normal. You didn't happen to check the fluid level before you worked on it, did you?
I checked it. It didn't smell bad, but it was dirty. So how loose is it supposed to fit? The bolt was hand tight.
The bolt is supposed to be tight, but when it's tight, the filter will be loose. As long as the O ring is on the tube at the front, where it goes into the case, it should be fine. The pan keeps the filter from coming off the tube. The bolt just keeps the filter from moving sideways. Also, there are two different pans, normal and deep. Deep pans were used on later trucks. they have a longer tube, and a longer bolt, and a spacer between the filter and the valve body.
Might want to check your vacuum modulator, perhaps it is bad and sucking transmission fluid up into the engine. This might have been why the transmission started slipping, due to lack of fluid.
Just remember if a trans filter is plugged and full of debris, that debris is parts of your transmission. A transmission doesn't burn anything .
Agreed, but a light coat of friction material is common, even if it's slightly accumulated in specific areas under the valvebody openings. You definitely want to take note of any large piles, or a huge amount of gunk in the pan. -rick
The Jalopy Journal
