Won't go into gear....oh no???
 

Done with engine swap, now tranny won't go into gear. I made sure that converter was fully seated before bolted block up. I've pulled tranny cooler line and no fluid while running, so yeah either pump has gone bad or somehow converter slide out. But I cautiously triple checked converter. And from what I see and took a pic of it couldn't go back any further without contacting the grooves of the tranny. And if the pump did just go bad from sitting for a few years then it is what it is, but I'm not ready to cancel it out just yet. Other than pulling tranny which I'm ready to do, what else can I check or inspect before I pull it out, th 350.... The new block I dropped in is a 70s block and came with flywheel attached. My old block was an 80s block but I left that flywheel out, I didn't see a difference comparing the two before dropping in.

Re: Won't go into gear....oh no???
 

Have to ask but did you add enough fluid back in? If both trans and converter were empty, somewhere around 13 quarts is the amount needed.

As far as the flex plate, if the holes match, you should be good.

Re: Won't go into gear....oh no???
 

Never lost any fluid...dipstick shows full cold. I left tranny sitting in truck, converter I pulled out and seated 3 clicks back in didn't spill much fluid.

Re: Won't go into gear....oh no???
 

So after checking underneath....when I unbolted the flywheel to converter to check for any room for converter to move back any, it only slides back about 1/4 inch but that's because the bolts are unscrewing from converter.....shims was the first to come to mind between converter and fly wheel......but there were never any shims originally.......so then even after holding converter back that 1/4 space I tried to see if while moving drive shaft, converter would move to but converter stayed still, I'm trying to analyze here.....in my picture I'm pointing to space that has to be maxed out for converter, because if it went back any further it would touch the grooves......

Re: Won't go into gear....oh no???
 

Turning the Driveshaft will Not turn the torque converter. If you unbolt the converter from the flexplate will the converter turn freely?

Re: Won't go into gear....oh no???
 

Yes it will spin freely....

Re: Won't go into gear....oh no???
 

Re: Won't go into gear....oh no???
 

It's a factory converter...my picture is cut in half...

Re: Won't go into gear....oh no???
 

Re: Won't go into gear....oh no???
 

This is embarrassing....I could've sworn all this time I had th 350....but may be 400...here's badge numbers on side...not sure....I'll get better pic tomorrow...

Re: Won't go into gear....oh no???
 

That's a 400 Turbo. Everything already discussed still applies. Check ALL those items and see what happens.

Re: Won't go into gear....oh no???
 

Went through all the motions again, added washers to make up 1/8 space between converter and flywheel...snugged down...ran at idle, warmed up, went through all gears, nothing grabbed.....

No fluid pumping through cooler line at radiator.....

Now that I think about it.....for the pump to just go out if so, wonder if something got damaged when I towed truck on flat bed with converter sitting in it freely....???

Other than dropping pan tomorrow....looks like I'll be pulling tranny, and can I just replace pump if needed....though I know that's a good time to rebuild but not trying to dump alot of $$$ in this keep as a work truck project... my truck is showing the symptoms of sitting for 5yrs.

Re: Won't go into gear....oh no???
 

If the truck was up on a trailer that wouldn't be any different than just sitting like it did

Re: Won't go into gear....oh no???
 

Unless you towed it a lot, unlikely towing was the culprit. IIRC, the towing limit is several miles before you need to drop the driveshaft.

IIRC, the TH400 has a pickup tube associated with the filter. Pickup tube has an o-ring. If o-ring isn't seated correctly, can cause lack of fluid pressure. Something to double check when you drop the pan.