My turbo 400 just STOPPED going? Help, ANY ideas???

I have a turbo 400 behind a VERY tame 350 Chevy, in the wifes '58 biscayne. Last weekend I was doing a tune up to it, such as points, plugs, cap, rotor, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. When I was done I drove it around for a while just to make sure everything was fine and it was, put about 30 miles on it and then parked it. Fast forward to LAST NIGHT.... We had a big snowstorm here in town, so when I got home from work I wanted to put the car in the yard instead of leaving it in the driveway just in case someone lost control and that way they wouldn't slide into the '58. So the scenerio goes like this, I start it up sit in the cold ass car, waiting for it to warm up, it finally does, I put it in gear and drive forward into the street about 15 feet, and she quits moving. Puzzled I check the fluid and it is good, I get back in put in it reverse and it goes about 20 feet and stops moving. now the car will NOT move forward OR backward. No wierd noises, no clunks no NOTHING!!! Last week when I did the tune up I DID NOT TOUCH ANYTHING THAT HAD TO DO WITH THE TRANNY!!! Also like I said I drove it around a good fair amount with NO problems!!! I checked the fluid level again...FINE, I smelled it... DOES NOT smell BURNT, The flex plate bolts are ALL there and the converter is turning with the motor, (I crawled under and looked), WHAT the hell happened???? I drove this car all last summer with NO TRANNY ISSUES!!! Because now it is stuck in the street next to the curb, (worse than in the driveway!!!) HELP...Ken
P/S: I just got off the phone with the guy who used to own this car, to find out what the tranny is out of, and he said it is from a 4X4 JEEP, with a quadratrak that he replaced the rear tailshaft onto (it used to have a transfer case on it) so it could work in the car?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Is he full of BS!!???!!

 

Sure the linkage didn't come loose ? Can you actually feel it clicking when you are putting it in and out of gear ? If it's a column shift car sometimes the 1/2" bolt holding the shift rod from the column linkage will come loose . Check that first .

 

Yes, Sorry didn't add that to the list!! I checked the linkage, ALSO the lines going to the radiator.. Thanks though, Ken

Here is another item I just found out, if I let it cool down, I can put it into reverse and it will move about 5 feet, and then won't move anymore. Then if I let it cool down again (these are cool down times where the heater is NOT blowing any heat into the interior, just cold air) it will move ANOTHER 5 feet in reverse again!! WTF, IT WILL NOT MOVE FORWARD!!!

 

if the linkage is okay it's possible the pump took a crap, if it wouldnt back up but went forward or vice versa I'd think a band broke but highly unusual to do neither unless fluid isn't pumping.....If it has a lot of miles on it, possibly a clogged filter....or possibly water in the fluid and it iced up in a passage , lots of if's.......If you havent done so already, let it idle for a half hour to give it plenty of time to warm up, see if that makes any difference, if not then any ice in the system will be ruled out, then you'll have to have a pressure test done to see if the pump is working and go from there....

whoops, must have been typing at the same time as you.....hmmm cool down and it moves??........I'd have the pressure tested or pull the pan and see if the filter is plugged....also possible the converter is bad.....again, lots of if's and or's

 

No strange noises? Pump whine? You may have to put a gauge on it and check your main pressure.

Flatman

 

I'd say pull the pan, s clip holding linkage to valve body plunger fell off...

 

"""No strange noises? Pump whine? You may have to put a gauge on it and check your main pressure.

Flatman"""



Flatman,
NO strange noises at all!!! I can put it in gear (when it is warmed up) and it just sits there, as if it is in park or neutral! If I rev the motor and put it from ANY gear back into park It doesn't even have that BDDDDDDDDDTP sound like if you were not fully stopped and put the tranny into park<---Do you understand what I am trying to explain???

 

I don't know a ton about TH400s, but it sounds like your shift valve isn't working or you've got no pressure. Can you feel the gear detents as you shift it? Can you remove the linkage and feel them at the trans (not running)
You'll probably have to get the pan down... Maybe Squirrel will chime in, he knows tons about Chevy trannies.

Flatman

 

Thanks for the info, YES I can feel the "detents" when I shift it, also could SEE the linkage move when I crawled underneath the car. I'll wait for (hopefully) Squirrel to post something, I am just really confused with the move 5 feet when cold, then NOTHING at all, and ONLY in reverse???

 

Vacuum line?

 

I didn't think there was a vacuum line on a Turbo-400??? Is there, and if so where??? I'll check....Ken

 

no vacuum line on a turbo 400 electric kick down sounds like front clutch pack
reverse &first both share it. jeffrey

 

The Vacuum Line is on the Vacuum Module which is on the passengers side just about across from the shift linkage on the drivers side. The vacuum signal loss would keep the transmission from shifting up but would not keep it from moving in either direction.

How does the Transmission fluid look color wise and does it smell burnt?

My 400 died this summer, the clutches were worn out.

 

I remember having trouble with a turbo 400 once too.

 

An early 400's and 350's BOTH have vacuum lines to the modulators buds ! 350 is towards the rear of the pan and the 400 is on the side !

 

Can't help with the issue much, but there is a vacuum line on the modulator.

Good news is the fluid isn't burnt, good luck!

 

Like tootall said , the vacuum line won't cause it not to move . 400's will shift if you take the vacuum line off if you wrap them on out and shift up to second and shift back down to first just for a sceond . DO NOT TRY THIS WITH A MANUAL VALVE BODY INSTALLED THAT THE TRANNY BUILDER LEFT THE VACUUM MODULATOR ON THE TRANS JUST TO PLUG THE HOLE FOR THE NO LONGER NEEDED MODULATOR !!!!!!! God I still remember my youngster days as a car squirrel when getting a "second gear scratch" with an automatic was the shit now boys !!!! LOL My poor old Grampees 1961 Biscayne with that 283 / 2 speed glide played hell on that right rear E78-14 Bias ply many a time going from about a 5 mph reverse to drive idiot move ! With that 2.73 single leg rear end that speedo was sitting around 100 MPH but the old Biscayne was going about 5 MPH for some reason ? Grampee never bitched a bit about replacing that right rear tire that kept going bad fer some reason momma ? He would look at us and just grin his ass off ! God I miss PawPaw !!!

 

I'll have to check that out tommorrow!!!(dark and fucking freezing out right now!!!)I was TOTALLY UNAWARE TH-400's had vac. lines!! But would that keep it from moving???? It is "supposedly" a 1976 T.H.-400 out of a Jeep Wagoneer, that had a car tailshaft housing put onto it to replace the transfercase mounting to be able to install it in this '58...

 

I store my rides for the winter and and several years ago in the spring I started on up and went to back it out. It did not move. So I called the trans guy that did it and asked him what to do, he said drop the pan and put a new filter in it! I did it and trans has been great ever since! Probably 5 years...Th400 behind a 401 dual quad motor.....not saying you have the same problem, but I would try that before pulling it out......

 

I thought all 1976 Jeep shit was Chrysler ? I could be wrong but I've never heard of any GM 400's in Jeep Wagoneers ??? Somebody fill me in here ????

 

I can come over with my 60 and push that thing back into your yard Just jokin man, I have nothin for ya, but hope you get it fixed! Call Dan Ray- 999-6869, he may be able to help you, or know someone that can!

 

The Trans being out of a Jeep Shouldn't be an issue. It's still a Turbo 400. I thought the Jeep trans had a different bolt pattern though as it was behind the 360/401 series of engines if my memory serves correct. AMC engines at that time. They even put them in some Rolls and Jags in the early 70s.

 

will the car pull in 2nd or 1st??

I had a 400 years ago with a B&M kit, when it got hot it would drop to low by itself and wouldn't work right until it cooled down...Never did figure it out....

 

Drop the pan ...

See if anything is lying in the pan. If not ... change the filter

I had the small clip that goes into the valve body come loose once ... and lost internal pressure ... so ... no movement

.

 

Back to the problem....first, make sure what transmission you have! The pan shape will help you figure this out. The TH400 has a weird shaped pan



If the pan is like a square with one corner cut off, then it's a TH350 (or a 350c, or 250c or 200). They work a little bit different.

There are a few things that could be wrong:

1. The shift linkage isn't working right. There is no S clip in a th400, the manual valve is controlled directly by the "rooster comb" plate that is bolted to the inside end of the shift shaft. If the nut backed off, then the hydraulic valve will not move when you move the shift linkage, and the car will not move. The park linkage may or may not fall off also. You can see this stuff when you pull the pan off. If you are getting reverse and drive at least part of the time, then this seems not too likely.

2. The hydraulic system is not building pressure. This could be caused by the filter being plugged, or low fluid, or a bad pump, or a stuck pressure regulator valve, or several other things. This sounds like the problem....assuming the transmission is slipping, that is, you rev up the engine and it kind of tries to move the car but can't.

These are the most likely problems, but it could be something else too.

Might start by pulling the pan and inspecting the linkage, and changing the filter and fluid.

 

One last thing, TH400 have a cast rear sprag that is notorious for breaking at the most inopportune times. The car will move in reverse but not forward. If you drop the pan, the carnage will be obvious.

Breakage is typically caused by shifting from reverse to forward without coming to a full stop. Also, 1st gear burn-outs or more specifically gettting out of the power in 1st gear, will bust one every time. Unfortunately I speak from experience.

 

The th400 uses different parts to go forward and backwards, so I did not mention all the other things that can go wrong with one....usually if the car won't move at all it's not a clutch pack or band or roller clutch...unless it had multiple failures, which usually doesn't happen all at once.

 

stopped up filter or just plum wore out.

 

An update, Yes this Turbo 400 was in a JEEP, but after talking to the previous owner AGAIN he informed me the JEEP had a CHEVY motor AND transmission, out of a '76 CHEVY truck, so I guess the JEEP part has NO BEARING ON THIS!!! So just to ask again,.....
The tranny worked one day and then the next without NO warning, problems, OR hassles, it just QUIT!!!!! Like I said It will move about 5 feet, in reverse before it stops again AFTER it has cooled down, BUT IT WILL NOT move in ANY forward gears!! Anyone else have any other IDEAS??? SQUIRREL, I will try ALL your suggestions and tips tommorrow when I pull the pan, I am just friggen' stumped with the ---works one day then NOT the next!!!---I again checked the fluid level...good, the vacuum line to the modulator is there (yes this 400 HAS a vacuum modulator) and there --IS-- vacuum at the line, The converter IS spinning with the motor, The lines to the radiator are hooked up and in good condition, ANYTHING ELSE?????
A N Y T H I N G ?????????????????
I will pull the pan tommorrow, but I can't imagine the filter being the problem as like I said it was working one day and then the next NOTHING!!!?????

 

Just get out there and pull that pan allready, I want to know what's in there..lol