So I am almost a complete beginner here I have a 23 T bucket kit car that I'm trying to finish up getting it on the road. Me and a friend who is much more experienced then me take it for its first real test drive a few days ago and he drives it a bit and says the Tranny is slipping probably due to low fluid. Ok fast forward to today and I'm getting ready to take it on another test drive to warm it up and check fluid level but I figure Ill add some fluid first because the first drive I don't think it was registering any fluid on the stick at all. So I'm filling it and it starts leaking out of some hole. So I'm trying to figure out by googling what this hole is for and I can't find anything If its a vent hole or a overflow drain or something, I can't find anything so I call my father who's been a mechanic and owned a shop and he don't know what it is but he suggests just plugging it so I do that which I'm not sure was the right thing to do. The little thing came out I filled it with epoxy bolted it back on done i think. then I notice more fluid is leaking where the dipstick tube meets the transmission? So to start I'm just wondering If Ive just overfilled it or should I not have these leaks and what the hell is that hole for and should I have plugged it or not? thanks.
Ok thanks but now I'm even more confused because I don't think this car was ever set up to use a detent cable I thought it was just running on vacuum and the holley vid I just watched says the TH350 needs the cable, if I do even have a TH350 but it sure looks like one? here is the current setup with wider shot of tranny.
Your detent "kick down cable" is not present..... Do you know if you have a manual valve body? Your just going to have to "down shift it", or introduce "passing gear" yourself. Looks like you just need a couple of o rings= one for the detent cable block off, and one for the dip stick. Add a lil goop for good measure,- BUT, have everything clean= carb/brake cleaner, let dry, goop, install, wait a day, then go for it.......... And- at least run a one piece line to the vac mod....... That line needs some attention!
Well I just googled what a manual valve body is and I have no idea what I have. How would I check? Are Th350's not all the same? thanks
manual valve body's are normally for racing. You have a vacuum modulator so I would presume that you do not have one.
Like JNKYARDDOG 1 said, get a new detent cable, and hook it up! That cable controls the shift points and the line pressure, IIRC. That should take care of the slipping issue. As far as the dipstick tube, if it were mine I'd get rid of that chrome aftermarket tube and get a later model factory tube with the long, grommet-style seal with the dipstick to match. Hopefully that will solve the issues. Also, NEVER use any type of sealant on an automatic transmission, ANYWHERE!
The cable on a TH350 only controls the forced downshifts, they will work fine without one, but you will have to downshift manually as mentioned above, if you want to pass someone or show off a bit.
If you just want to get the thing to quit leaking so you can see how it works, then you can ignore the detent cable, plug the hole in the plastic fitting and make sure it has a good O ring on it. Then take out the dipstick tube, and see if it has an O ring, if the O ring is damaged or aged (they get hard and "flat" when old) or if the tube itself is damaged--either deformed, or cracked. Usually just a new O ring will be all it needs, sometimes it will need a new tube-if it needs a new tube, get the later design, it is a LOT less prone to leaking. Make sure the tube and dipstick are a matched set, of course, so you can check the fluid level accurately.
It does have something to do with normal full throttle upshifts, doesn't it? like it delays them? But the trans will generally live a long time without it.
Leaks on a th 350,,, run a deep pan with the filter extension Keep the fluid level constant accordingly to the new filter location/level.
Yeah, I always make the detent work on my cars, but there are guys who don't, and they seem to live through the experience just fine
Take off the Teflon tape on the inverted flare fitting on the trans cooler tube, it is NOT supposed to be on the fitting, the seal is made by the inverted flare matching up to the brass adapter.
If this was my car I would replace the dipstick tube and kick down cable with the new style. Instead of an o-ring they have a sleeve on them, that seals them much better
The cable does nothing until the last few millimetres of travel, where a spring load will be felt. This is where the throttle is just about wide open. (just got this info from an auto trans workshop when I set my kickdown up, works fine).
That sounds right.... But that little bit of travel changes the upshift from about 3500 to about 4500 rpm? Sent from my Trimline
Thanks guys, lots of useful information, Ive got the leaks sealed for now. Maybe in the future ill replace the tube entirely but for now a new O-ring did it good. Now I have to fix the shift stick that just broke off
Correct. The full throttle 1-2 will usually be about the same, (whatever the governor allows), and the 2-3 will somewhat lower, without the detent cable . I'm being vague with the numbers intentionally. Lots of different ways to build 350's , but that generally is what will happen.