Turbo 350 no drive has R L1 L2

[Gmule]

Hi everyone hopefully I can keep this short.

At some point in my trucks life a previous owner stipped the threads on the tailshaft where the transfercase adapter bolts up. It leaked like a bucket with a hole in it so I purchased one off of Craigslist. Guy said it was recently rebuilt and had a shift kit in it blah, blah, blah

I installed it in my truck and everything works except for the drive range.
I have reverse and when I move the shifter to L1 and L2 it drives and shifts great just nothing in the D position.
I checked vacuum at the modulator valve and I have a steady 17" of vacuum
I checked the routing and adjustment of the kickdown cable and the adjustment of the shifter as well. Everything checks out to be correct.
Am I screwed with this transmission or is there something else I can check before I yank it all out and start over.

 

[crazy4offroad]

If the fluid is black the forward clutch pack is toast. If not it could be a sticking valve in the valve body.

 

[Gmule]

The fluid that came out of it was bright red I put a new filter and fluid in it before I fired it up.

I still have the old trans that came out of it. Would swapping valve bodies be worth a shot?
I found the disassembly thread and it doesn't look too hard to do.

 

[crazy4offroad]

It's not easy to do in the truck. If the separator plate comes down the check balls might fall out of place. It is possible he changed the fluid before you got it, after trying it now I would check the fluid again and just verify it is still bright red.

 

[Gmule]

Fortunately I installed a drain plug in the pan while I had it off. I'll check it out and see what it looks like and report back

Thanks

 

[crazy4offroad]

If you do swap the valve bodies you can use vaseline to put the check balls back in, just use the write-ups here on the forum to see where to put them.

 

[Gmule]

I drove the truck around for the last few days just using 1st and 2nd. I dumped some fluid out and it is still a nice bright red color. Looks like I am on to a valve body swap to see if that may be the problem before I take it all apart again.

 

[chengny]

Sounds like you are all over this - so I hope the following doesn't sound stupid - but have you aligned the detents (to the shifter) and checked the linkage bushings?

Stop me if you have done this:

1. Check the nylon bushings (2) for excessive wear. One on the column and another down alongside the detent input:

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Adjust as below:

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1. Position transmission lever (A) in neutral position by moving lever clockwise to the park detent, then counterclockwise two detents to neutral, Fig. 9.

2. Place column shift lever in neutral gate notch by rotating lever until it drops into neutral gate notch. Do not use indicator pointer as a reference to position shift lever.

3. Attach rod (C) to transmission shaft assembly (B).

4. Slide swivel and clamp onto rod (C), then attach to column shift lever.

5. Hold column lever against neutral stop, park position side, then tighten attaching nuts.


The above is specific to a TH400 but I believe that the linkage/detent layout on a TH350 is very similar.

 

[Gmule]

Sounds like you are all over this - so I hope the following doesn't sound stupid - but have you aligned the detents (to the shifter) and checked the linkage bushings?

Stop me if you have done this:

1. Check the nylon bushings (2) for excessive wear. One on the column and another down alongside the detent input:

You must be registered for see images attach

Adjust as below:

You must be registered for see images attach

1. Position transmission lever (A) in neutral position by moving lever clockwise to the park detent, then counterclockwise two detents to neutral, Fig. 9.

2. Place column shift lever in neutral gate notch by rotating lever until it drops into neutral gate notch. Do not use indicator pointer as a reference to position shift lever.

3. Attach rod (C) to transmission shaft assembly (B).

4. Slide swivel and clamp onto rod (C), then attach to column shift lever.

5. Hold column lever against neutral stop, park position side, then tighten attaching nuts.


The above is specific to a TH400 but I believe that the linkage/detent layout on a TH350 is very similar.

Thank you for those instructions. I checked the linkage in a similar fashion when I put the transmission back in. I went ahead and rechecked it using those instructions to verify that it was correct and I still have the same condition.

I have disassembled the old transmission and it seems like this will be pretty straight forward to do. I am going to go ahead and take the plate off as well to verify that the check balls are all in there since the previous owner claims that there is a shift kit in the replacement transmission.

I haven't put the calipers on the check balls yet but does anyone know if they are all the same size?

Either way I am having fun learning about something I have never done before. Who knows by the time I am done I might just end up rebuilding my old transmission if I can get the tail housing bolts re tapped so that I can torque the t case adapter to it properly.

 

[chengny]

Here are the ball locations - for a TH350:

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I am almost positive that they are all 1/4" diameter steel.

On a different note; I don't mean to discourage you, but don't expect the check balls to solve your issue. A lot of folks run these transmissions with all the check balls removed. It is purported to give a firmer/quicker upshift.


If the only issue with your original transmission is sheared bolts in the output flange - that would probably be a much easier fix.

Take/post a couple of good images of the failed fasteners and someone will help you surgically remove them. There are a bunch of real good machinists on this forum.

 

[MrMarty51]

Some of those shifter kits calls for removing a ball or two and also drilling larger a hole or two in the seperator plate so, if its missing any balls, do`nt be surprised.

 

[crazy4offroad]

I'm still wondering if it is related to seal failure on the forward clutch piston or a broken sealing ring or two on the pump causing the forwards to lose pressure. Just a couple other things to consider.

 

[HotRodPC]

In D you don't even have 1st Gear?

 

[Gmule]

In D you don't even have 1st Gear?

Correct it is like I have 2 neutral postions.

It does have 1st if I manually shift it into 1st though.
If I manually shift it into L2 it will start out in first and then shift into 2nd like normal.

 

[HotRodPC]

Did this guy say the trans worked after the rebuild? If someone rebuilt it and haven't tried it out yet, I say its a good possibility someone tore a drum seal. If you know it worked good after the build for sure, then you can pursue other possibilites. Low Pump Pressure can cause this too in a Th350.

My guess is going to be the Direct Clutch pack isn't working somehow. Whether that be a piston seal, a clog, a valve, whatever the case. Bummer that my Flow Charts are packed up and I don't even have a clue for certain where they're at.