Still leaking...

I've rebuilt one of those, easiest auto to rebuild, I think. But PLEASE read the TSM really good first! That's all I had when I rebuilt mine. You don't want to just pull things apart, they need to come apart in a certain order, and some things may fall out if you just pull it apart. The front pump should come out, but is likley stuck after all those years together -- gasket probably has it stuck in. 

That's about what the rebuild kits are -- no clutches or bands, those are ordered separately. You might be able to get a "master kit" with everything from Northwest Transmission Parts. I know you can get everything from them. The kits don't have instructions -- you need a good manual (like the TSM) for that. I don't think I had anything but an old Chilton's manual when I rebuilt my first one, and the USAF Hobby Shop had a set of professional manuals I may have referred to, but don't recall using those. Probably didn't go back far enough. It was pretty easy, the only hard part was getting the center shaft sealing rings (look like little piston rings) in. The trick is to pack them in vaseline, then clamp down with a hose clamp and throw in the freezer for about four hours. Pull it out and remove clamp then install immediately. The frozen vaseline holds the teflon rings compressed, dissolves easily in ATF. I managed without that, and cracked one of the three (think it was three)...

The thing is, my trans still didn't work when I was done! Had a shifting, not slipping, issue -- the reason I tore it down. I didn't know it had been rebuilt just a few years before it was parked... found out when the clutches I was taking out looked just about as good as the ones I was putting in! At that point I went ahead and put the new parts in anyway. Turned out to be a valve body issue. I took it to a shop who agreed to tear it apart, but said they's have to charge me for a rebuild, just nothing but a gasket set though. Didn't work when they got through either, and said the only thing they found wrong was those cracked rings -- which shouldn't have caused an issue. Ended up replacing the valve body, it just wouldn't clean! Either a passage wore through or something was "hard stuck" in it somewhere.


Edited by farna - Jan/23/2018 at 5:38am

Ok so an update on this trans.

I took it to a shop and turns out it was all messed up seals servos the works. Got it rebuilt as well as the torque converter

I was ready to install it soon as I got home but be fore I left I started talking to the shop owner and he said the person that rebuilt the torque converter said to make sure to check the fly wheel because it was probably bent or not installed properly and it cause the torque converter to have some broken parts in it as well as contributed to the transmission (aside from being scored and cracked etc) leaking...

He suggested to get a new one and save myself the headache of installing it and possibly having to retake it off to have it replaced. I agree.

Is there a way to check to see if its bent. He mentioned to use a caliper to measure the distance from the torque converter.

Any ideas. Ask me any questions if you need me to clarify. I got bits and pieces of what he was saying because it was really loud and windy in the shop and I was on the phone with the other mechanic.

billd wrote: Don't have a flywheel with an automatic, you have a flexplate (which holds the starter ring gear and bolts up to the torque converter) The hub of the converter should index into the back of the crankshaft and for a flexplate to have issues means something BIG happened to it at some point. They don't simply "bend". To check, you can measure from the ring gear to a point on the back of the block, then rotate it a quarter turn and measure again, and so on. If you detect deviation, then it's warped or "bent". It should turn true - meaning as you turn the engine over by using a wrench or some other means of turning it over manually, the flexplate's edge - the ring gear, should stay exactly the same distance from a specific point on the block.  If as you rotate the engine by hand you don't get any differences in the distance from the edge of the flexplate, or the edge of the flex plate to the back of the block, it's not warped or bent.

I'd agree. I've seen bent flexplates. But that's a whole different thing. Did the shop install the transmission or did you?

Just looked at it now and you're right no flywheel and I do see the flex plate.

I haven't checked it yet but I will.

I got the car as is and ran into the issue with the trans that's why I took it to get rebuilt. I'll be checking it as billd mentioned and will hope it's not bent. Of it is it shouldn't be to expensive. I just dont wanna wait on shipping lol.