Transmission does... Nothing.

[spectre6000]

'84 M1009, 30K miles, pretty much stock as applies to the issue at hand.

Over the past month and a half, transmission related tasks:

-drain and replace fluid
-replace transmission filter
-reseal sump pan
-reseal governor cover (was leaking badly)

Task performed that were in close proximity to the transmission:

-the transmission cooler were unhooked at both the radiator and the transmission
-torque converter cover plate was removed to replace rear main seal and reseal oil pan
-vacuum lines all replaced (including at modulator)
-linkage was unhooked and rehooked multiple times at the steering column and at the transmission to gain access to various things

Obvious things that weren't even so much as glanced at:

-transfer case
-drive shafts
-axles
-torque converter
-anything inside the transmission aside from the filter

The transmission did sit without any fluid in it (closed up and sealed) for a week and a half or so.

I finally fired the engine up today after a long period of intense repair and preventative maintenance. Engine fired up great! I put it in reverse to back out of the driveway, and it was a little slow to respond (I thought), then when I put it in drive, the engine revved, and nothing happened... Well, I guess it continued to roll back a bit more. Turns out, what I thought was a slow takeup in reverse (bear in mind, this is the first time I've driven the truck when it was in anything approaching decent mechanical condition) was just how long it took gravity to roll the truck backward... Park works and will lock the truck in place. Neutral allows it to be pushed back into the driveway. Reverse and all the forward gears just do whatever gravity permits them to do. I made sure the transfer case was in 2 hi. I filled the transmission with 4 quarts of fresh fluid.

What's up? Manual seems pretty mum on the subject. I'm totally new to automatic transmissions.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Thinking maybe the pickup dropped off.

 

[spectre6000]

Elaborate?

 

[porkysplace]

Elaborate?

The pickup on the filter
How long did it sit without fluid ?

 

[spectre6000]

AH! Yeah, that pickup. How easy would it actually be for it to drop off? It should be held in place by the filter more or less...

A week and a half or so. Not too terribly long... I just put off filling it back up until I was ready to refill all the fluids.

Could the fact that it's been sitting nose up (relatively) for a while have prevented fluid from getting to the pump or something? Could something have blown out in the pump somehow? I'm not familiar with the inner workings of an automatic transmission fluid pump...

 

[spectre6000]

My friend helped me fire it up, and he made sure the linkage was shifting through all the gears. Rolls with gravity, but park holds it in place; put it in park, release parking brake, rolls back slightly and catches on the pawl. We made sure the transfer case was in 2 hi, but didn't watch the linkage there.

Just throwing out everything I can think of to eliminate or shed light on any possibilities.

 

[porkysplace]

AH! Yeah, that pickup. How easy would it actually be for it to drop off? It should be held in place by the filter more or less...

A week and a half or so. Not too terribly long... I just put off filling it back up until I was ready to refill all the fluids.

Could the fact that it's been sitting nose up (relatively) for a while have prevented fluid from getting to the pump or something? Could something have blown out in the pump somehow? I'm not familiar with the inner workings of an automatic transmission fluid pump...

Put it upon jack stands and run through the gears, then check the fluid , it is probably low on fluid . It drains out of the torque converter when siting that low . If the pan was off you would have had a large oil spot after a week.

 

[spectre6000]

I just put 4 fresh quarts in it (as per FAQ thread), and it's not leaking any more since I resealed the pan and the governor plate. It's possible it needs more fluid, but it's hard to tell. There are two lines between which the fluid should indicate when WARM. I can't run it to get it warm. There are two small indentations below the two dots which I would imagine are possibly cold fill lines, and the fluid reaches to the higher of these two. The caveat to that would be that it's slightly nose up, and has been stationary that way without fluid for some time. Nothing major, just enough to get it rolling from gravity, but a grade all the same. Is there a way to prime it or something?

 

[porkysplace]

I just put 4 fresh quarts in it (as per FAQ thread), and it's not leaking any more since I resealed the pan and the governor plate. It's possible it needs more fluid, but it's hard to tell. There are two lines between which the fluid should indicate when WARM. I can't run it to get it warm. There are two small indentations below the two dots which I would imagine are possibly cold fill lines, and the fluid reaches to the higher of these two. The caveat to that would be that it's slightly nose up, and has been stationary that way without fluid for some time. Nothing major, just enough to get it rolling from gravity, but a grade all the same. Is there a way to prime it or something?

What i explained about putting it on jackstands and running it through the gears is how you get fluid through the whole system. You lost fluid through the lines and cooler , it won't purge that under load.

 

[spectre6000]

By up on stands, you are intending to level it out and get the drive wheels unloaded so that it's only pushing fluid?

 

[spectre6000]

Oh! I'm reading every thread I can find that seems remotely applicable on this and other forums looking for inspiration:

There was a very small quantity of black particles in the bottom of the transmission sump when I pulled it and a little hair on the magnet. Not enough to have concerned me at the time, but maybe that was errant?

 

[porkysplace]

By up on stands, you are intending to level it out and get the drive wheels unloaded so that it's only pushing fluid?

You need to get it off the ground so when you go through the gears the tires spin , this allows the air to be removed from internal passages .

 

[painter paul]

Doesn't a TH400 take about 10 QTS after a filter change?

 

[spectre6000]

-12 manual confirms the FAQ's stated 4.0qt capacity.

Gotcha. Makes sense. I'll give it a go. Anything else to try while I'm at it? Any other ideas as to what it might be? Other things to try and check in case that doesn't work? What are the odds the pump has died? Would it go from fine to dead given the circumstances described?

 

[porkysplace]

Doesn't a TH400 take about 10 QTS after a filter change?

A quick google shows between 7 and 8 after a filter change
[h=1]m1008 tranny added 7.3 quarts still not filled up?[/h]

 

[spectre6000]

Where should the dipstick read with everything stone cold? That makes sense with the general engineering I've seen, I suppose. The cooler, etc. must surely not be accounted for in the TM... At least I have more fluid lying around since I ran out of space in my oil bucket and wasn't able to drain the transfer case... One more item to tomorrow's scratch list.

 

[spectre6000]

So far, two planned correction courses. First is put more fluid in it. The 10+ quart capacity is confirmed various places on the internet, so that seems to be the big glaring issue. I only bought 9 initially (4 for the transmission and 5 for the transfer case as per the manuals), so it sounds like I'll need more than that even. I'm seeing 10 quarts for the transmission and torque converter, so adding the cooler and related lines to the list is at least a few more. I'll chock the front wheels and pop the rear axle up to unload the system, put 6 more quarts in there, run it a bit, and then probably add a little more. I figure if I round my current supply to ten, then add the five for the transfer case for a total of 15 available quarts, I should have more than enough (though I'll likely need to buy more before I drain and replace the fluid in the transfer case).

I'd still like to know what I should be seeing on the dipstick with everything cold though. I need some way to know if I'm in the ballpark.

 

[porkysplace]

You are checking it with it running right ? It should be between the 2 dots on the stick cold . Also I would put a quart or two in at a time and keep checking it so you don't overfill it.

 

[eme411]

what did you use to "reseal" your leaks with , please do not tell me silicone,

 

[spectre6000]

I used RTV on the sump as per the manual, and I used rubber fiber gasket material for the governor. Headed out now to get more fluid.