TH350 Problem: Too little fluid, bad filter, Murphy's Law?

For what its worth, if the dip stick and tube have been replaced with a new, lets just say "imported" one, check the length of the stick and the markings. Maybe you have a buddy that has a original GM in his or her ride. Also check to see how the tube fits and seals in the trans body. It has been friggin amazing, these last few years what junk we have been bombarded with. The last tube I installed from overseas?, pulled out of the trans body enough to expose the o-ring when you attatched it to the trans mounting bolt. The good news is, the tab broke right off when I touched it, so I just seated the tube firmly in the trans, and tacked the tab back into place, then removed and finish welded the tab. Better-n-new!!!

 

bulldog, The last dipstick I had to put in a 350 was a total PITA. When we pulled the o-ring off it would slide right into the hole and looked like it fit just fine (just checking the fit). But when slid the o-ring back onto it it was a 'no-go' (worked an entire damned afternoon trying to get the s.o.b to slide in there). Is there a trick to this?

 

Try a new O-ring drjones96. If it is dried up. you will be fighting with it. It will leak too.

 

Another simple thing to check is the engine oil level. If you have a bad modulator the vacuum will suck tranny fluid up and into the engine. I have seen as much as 4 Qts additional fluid in the crank case. Cleans up the engine great but not so hot for the bearings.
Bob

 

I checked the hose/carb....didn't see or smell any fluid. The hose was dry as a bone. The oil level is constant, same as it was before the first ride.

ONE interesting thing that I found was that the rocker on the #4 exhaust valve was loose as a friggin goose. I checked the push rod, it wasn't bent. The average number of threads above the nuts is about 4, the nut on that one was backed out all the way to the top. I have NO idea how that happened. I need to go back over all of the valves and make sure they're set correctly. Perhaps that was the awful noise/loss of power....or at least contributed to the overall sound of death

 

Sounds like I might have been partially correct. Glad to be of some assistance.
Do yourself a favor and check all valves for adjustment and give her a try after filling the trans. with fluid of course. An exhaust valve not opening does some wierd shit...

CJO13

 

Well...hopefully it wasn't the bad cam stuff Thanks for the advice I'm going to go through all of them, turn the engine a little at a time and get them all squared away.

When I told Ehren, he had the same sentiment as you....weird shit. He had something similar with his Pontiac engine, and it sounded worse than what it was...simple fix, just time consuming.

 

drjones, thee best lubricant for a metal and rubber fitment is silicone spray. Available at most auto parts and hardware stores. A small bit of synthetic wheel bearing grease is great also. You might have to bring the 0-ring down to Napa and get one with a slightly smaller O.D., or pick up a cheap o-ring assortment from H.F. Sometimes a trick is a METRIC sized o-ring, that might give you the slightly smaller O.D. dimension you need. H.F. sells a metric assortment too I believe. The o-ring should actually be a bit of a pain just to put on the end of the tube if sized correctly. If its a new import tube, when they swaged the ring groove at the end of the tube, it's dimension was probable off and there for your having this issue getting the tube in place. Sad thing is, the same die used on yours has made ten million others too.

 

drjones, one other thing, someone b4 you might have put a boatload of silicone sealant on his o-ring to get it to seal up at one time. Check out the hole in the tranny case where the tube goes in for left over silicone or other adhesive. If theres a big scab of silicone left there, be sure to remove it CAREFULLY, like with a little dental pick or o-ring pick and try not let the scab fall into the trans.

 

poboyross, lay a straight edge across the rocker arm studs to be sure the one you found loose isnt starting to pull the stud, very common if not pinned or not a screw in stud. If you have the money, replace that nut and ball, probable can get a rocker arm, ball and nut for a few bucks, you'll sleep better.

 

Man ,

Was the CONVERTER full of oil before you installed the trans ?

If not, You could have burned up the trannie already !

Before you drive it again make sure you ADD THE CORRECT amount of ATF.

A google search will tell you the exact amount that you need...

Also you can unbolt the trans and converter ,crank the motor and see if their is a problem in the motor OR trans....

a TRANMISSION with to little fluid will make you beleive that your motor is blown up.

 

Yes, it will make it stumble and bog, find a reference for the total amount of fluid your th350 requires, try to figure out how much is in there, add as required, a transmission is run on fluid hydraulics, the other side of that modulator is fluid, if there is not enough fluid or air pockets the trans does not complete a hydraulic circuit or bounces the signal the poor thing cant engage a gear and loads and unloads your engine and bounces your vacuum. Tranny first.

 

The converter was filled correctly, I know this because I labored over making sure of that before I installed it....I didn't want to lug that heavy ass thing around more than I had to!!! lol. The reason the existing fluid leaked out was that the lines to the cooler weren't plugged properly when I was doing some test fires of the engine early on....idiot me. I knew that some leaked out onto the saw dust stuff (AKA "Nature's Sponge" or some BS) but I apparently didn't realize how much came out...leading to it being wayyyyy too low.

I went out and clamped off the gas line, disconnected the coil, and removed the valve covers to watch the rockers as my wife turned over the engine. All rockers moved correctly except for the exhaust one on cylinder 4...still too loose and spit up oil. Once I got it torqued down correctly it moved fine.

Regarding the ruler on the studs...I can already tell that several are farther out than others, the intake on cylinder 6 for SURE. It's about 2-3 threads taller than the others, but still moves correctly....still need to fix that, though.

 

On many small block heads that I have been in the rocker studs are not always at the same level from the factory. Some of the lower cost machine shops will press in studs along the way over the years. I would not worry too much about a couple of studs being a little bit higher. Most stock chevy heads have been all over the place in my findings. If you are running a rather mild cam you should not have a problem with the studs and low to medium spring pressures. I have ran up to .500 lift on stock pressed in studs without a problem many times.

CJO13

 

Just though I'd bump this to the top for Poboy. I really don't think the problem is with the tranny. Transmissions tend to whine or just not move the car when they go bye bye. (unless of course you blow it up pulling a holeshot at 6000rpm... then you might hear banging There is no way we burned up that tranny. The most distinct noises I heard consisted of knocking and backfiring. Both of which could have been caused buy an extremely loose lifter/pushrod/rocker arm. (which he later found) The problem got steadily worse which leads me to believe that the nut on that particular rocker was slowly backing off the stud until the rocker arm was basically just slapping around in there and not even opening the valve. The initial knocking noise that I heard immediately had me thinking 'spun bearing' but we all have a tendency to assume the worst don't we? I think the rocker arms need to be adjusted correctly and then go from there. Of course I could jump on the Debbie Downer band wagon like this- 'Dude you obviously simultaneously spun 3 rod bearings, bent 2 push rods, punched a hole in the top of # 4 piston and burnt up all the forward gears in the trans. Hmph.'

 

Really? That much transmission fluid got pulled through the modulator diaphragm, into the intake manifold, and made it past the rings and down into the crankcase, instead of burning up on the way through the combustion chambers? That's some pretty sneaky trans fluid!

 

Got around to getting it cranked today, topped off the trans fluid too. At first it ran like a dream (except for needing to adjust that pesky B&M shifter b/t park and reverse). I went up and down the driveway, and the engine was doing great....UNTIL....

I could tell that same rocker was getting loose again. It was a repeat of Wednesday....running great, then you hear the clank-Clank-CLANK noise of it getting loose again....losing power, etc. Cut off the engine, the nut had backed off at least 1.5 threads in just that little bit. I guess it's time for some Polylocks. I need to find a day when it's not going to be hot as balls to go out and take care of all that shiz.

 

Hi,
Is it actually backing off or is it just getting loose? It could be the dreaded cam lobe failure if it just keeps getting looser and looser. A new nut or some locktite will solve the problem if it's just backing off. I can't imaging it backs off that fast though. Good luck.
Rick

 

I do not believe it's cam lobe failure. The nut is actually backing off....and that fast. 1.5 threads from just my test runs today. ModelACitizen had a similar issue with his. The polylocks should solve it....God willing

 

If you do not want to get Polylocks, Just try doublnutting them. I ave had to do this on Stockcar engines. If you have an old head jsut steal the nut.

It is all about what you have laying around right?

CJO13

 

been following this thread, and I hope you have your problem solved, good luck.

 

Here's a vid of the first run, pre-transmission vac line and pre-EPIC FAIL on the rocker(s)

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an easy way to fix the problem with the nut backing off is to take off the nut and hold it on the ground sideways with a pair of needle nose pliers and tap it with a 4lb hammer making it more oval than a circle in order to give it a snug fit and keep doing that until it stops backing off just an easy way to save a buck or two

 

For what it's worth you can install an empty converter and it will get fluid just fine . Here is how I have done it at least 500 times . Install tranny and converter . Put six quarts in the tranny and start it . As soon as engine is running the pump starts moving fluid . Put another 5 quarts in it and you are done . By the way a 400 converter will work in a 350 . It holds about 1 qt more .
I used the 400 converter in my street rods and did NOT use a trans cooler . Never a problem and drove them thousands of miles . It goes against the grain but it works .