Th350 problems

[screamin_c102]

My son (9) and I just spent the last two afternoons pullin' and puttin' Screamin's tranny. We dropped the trans, replaced the leaking front seal, put in a new filter and fluid. After I fired her up, topped off the fluid, I took her around the block. I pulled into a parking lot and noticed a trail of fluid behind me. Upon further inspection she's leaking in the same spot she was before. I know I put the seal in right, lubed the lip, slid in and seated the convertor into the pump...etc.

I also checked for wiggle in the front shaft and found none.

Is it possible the pump is blowin' the seal? I looked at the old one and it looked like it was in pretty good shape, not inverted or tore up at all. I am certain the fluid is coming from the seal area. What am I doin' wrong??

This isn't my first go 'round with trannys and I've never had this issue before.

[72gord]

I did one about 8 years ago...thought it was the seal, but the bolts that hold the pump in the tranny were loose and the fluid was coming from between the case and the pump, had to take it apart again to tighten the bolts. It was also a 4x4, what a pain in the but and I quoted the guy a price so I ended up doing it twice for the price of once!!

[VetteVet]

Originally Posted by 72gord

I did one about 8 years ago...thought it was the seal, but the bolts that hold the pump in the tranny were loose and the fluid was coming from between the case and the pump, had to take it apart again to tighten the bolts. It was also a 4x4, what a pain in the but and I quoted the guy a price so I ended up doing it twice for the price of once!!

This is also what the Haynes transmission manual says for leak trouble shooting. Along with that there is a bushing inside the pump that the torque converter rides in that wears out and allows fluid to leak past the seal. Another cause is the weld on the hub of the torque converter is prone to cracks and the torque converter should be pressure tested. A trail of fluid should be somethin more major than this. Hope you find it cause that is a lot of work.

[screamin_c102]

Thanks for the replies guys. The fluid is coming out at a near steady stream. I guess I'll rip her apart next weekend, pull the pump and reseal it. Is there any way to check the bushing for play? Everything seemed very tight. Is it possible for the vent in the top of the trans to cause this? The reason I ask is that it was really hard to slide the drive shaft back in, it was almost like pressure was building up behind it.

Any more suggestions.

[72 CustomCamper]

My neighbor just went through this with his daughter's S-10. We replaced the pump seal 3 times. We replaced the pump bushing and O ring. Turned out to be the weld on the torque converter snout had cracked. Pull the converter out fill it up with fluid all the way up the snout and set it under a hot lamp for a little while. If it's cracked it will weep the fluid out...


Chuck

[screamin_c102]

Well before I pull the tranny again tomorrow, does anybody have any further suggestions?

I'm gonna check the front pump seal, and bolts and examine the convertor for cracks, but I got to thinkin'....

If the vent tube were plugged would it cause the fluid to leak like it is?

When I put the convertor in, I noticed some resistance as I slid it in. The driveshaft felt like it had pressure behind it when I slid it in also.

We have mud dobbers around here and they will pack mud into al sorts of holes, just a thought, or last minute desperate and futile notion

[woodridge]

If it is leaking from the front area, I would suspect; Pump bushing, pump o-ring and gasket, converter hub. If when installing the drive shaft it feels springy like it has air behind it you could possibly have the wrong yoke there are vented and non vented, one will cause the problem you described the other will cause a leak. I also learned a long time ago if you take the time to pull a trans (especially a 4X4) replace all the seals and gaskets, pump bushing and ext housing bushing, it's a whole lot easier the first time.