Transmission Questions

[guf]

I want to replace my 3 speed manual to some kind of automatic. i was going to go with an overdrive but decided that i will drive my truck mostly as a daily driver with mostly non highway driving. I guess I'll just go with a new/rebuilt th350. my local Kragen or Summit have them for around $650. my local transmission shop quoted me the same but i think they are kinda flakey. i want the piece of mind for a little extra money and avoid a used one from craigslist or whereever.
So what else do i need? torque converter? flexplate? dipstick? transmission cooler? lines? steering column? any suggestions?

[cameeks]

torque converter? yes
flex plate? yes
dipstick? yes
transmission cooler? You can but I recommend a radiator for an automatic truck
lines? yes but cant remember what size (jeg's can tell you)
steering column? Yes unless you go with a floor shifter (they have some that look like a floor stick shift)
any suggestions? Continue with the research

[GREASEMONKEY72]

i would put a trans cooler on it, itll cool it better than the rad would

[JON70CST]

have you considered a 2 speed power glide? great, solid, fun tranny.

[WorkinLonghorn]

Auto-trans cross member,trans mount,kick-down linkage,modulator line/hose, Drive shaft (?) and the above stuff.

[rwgregory]

You would be better off getting a complete setup including the trans from a donor truck. Then have the trans gone thru by a repuatable transmission shop in your area prior to installing it into your truck.

[brak]

an automatic transmission equipped radiator is a must.
almost all aftermarket trans coolers are designed to be used WITH the radiator cooler, not alone. Most have a disclaimer stating "do not use this product by it'self, as it will not provide adequate cooling" or something to that effect.

[mrein3]

I would and did go with a reputable, local rebuilder.
I had a 3-speed manual and went to a th350. My truck is a 4x4 but from the transmission forward the swap is very similar.

Your best bet would be to start with a complete donor. Try to hook up with somebody on the parts board that is parting out a complete truck.

You need a fly wheel or flex plate (different people call it either). The bolts are shorter so grab all of them when you remove the flex plate from the donor.

The starter is different. Grab it and the bolts.

You need the dip stick and tube. You need the tv or "kick down" cable. You need the bracket on the intake manifold that the kick down cable goes through.

You need the steering column and the linkage. Don't forget to grab the pieces off of the frame.

As others have pointed out you want a radiator with a cooler on the side of it. My truck had one. NAPA sells a spray can product that you squirt in there to get all the crud out. Now would be a good time to swap in a 4-core new radiator. MOST of the new ones are "universal" and have the auto tranny cooler on the side whether you plan to use it or not.

If you're a 2wd guy, you'll have to talk to somebody about the crossmember and drive shaft you need. On 4x4s you simply take the adapter and t-case from the donor and bolt it in place of the 3-speed, adapter, and t-case. No crossmember or driveshaft mods are needed. Again that is on 4x4s.

I'd get a new torque converter. The tranny shop can hook you up with that. You also need the bolts that connect the flex plate to the torque converter. Again get them from the tranny shop when you get the torque converter. I think new converters all use metric bolts.

I installed an external transmission cooler. Up north here you plumb it into the system different than down south. Here you run the hot tranny fluid through the external cooler then to the cooler on the radiator. In the winter you don't want that transmission fluid too cold. Down south you go the opposite way. Hot side of the tranny, then radiator, then external cooler, then back into the transmission.

Side note: I tow my 3000+ pound bass boat all the time with the truck. I installed a transmission temperature gauge when I put the new tranny in. I purposly did NOT install the tranny cooler for a trip. The tranny was running 215-225 degrees in stop and go traffic and 200-215 on the road. Same trip one week later with the cooler installed it ran 185 on the road and up to 200 in stop and go traffic in the same place where it was hitting 225 the week before.

I purchased in-line tube pre-bent transmission cooler lines. It sucked having to immediately cut one for the external cooler but it does save a ton of time getting the pre-bent ones.

Your new th350 needs vacuum to run. I used a factory piece from a 1971 Monte Carlo to get vacuum down there. It is a hard line that snakes down behind the engine and points back towards the trannsmission. You use rubber to connect it to a vacuum source on top of the engine and rubber to connect it to the vacuum modulator on the tranny. You could run rubber the whole way but make sure it isn't too long so it touches exhaust and burns through.

For what its worth, I rank my bind at the worst time possible 3-speed manual to th350 swap as one of the best mods I've ever done to my truck.

[guf]

well i went ahead and got a donor vehicle. i was considering it before and your suggestions helped me decide. I will post pictures later, thanks for the help everyone!