captainbluechip Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 I've owned my '70 for a year. Original engine (350/250) and TH350 transmission with 155,000 miles. I recently found a leak about 2 weeks ago which appears to come from the top of the transmission pan/gasket though I am not certain. I replaced the filter, gasket and purchased a new pan for the transmission as the older pan was in poor shape. Easy enough right? I topped off the transmission fluid, fired up the engine to take her out for a run but the car will not move, shift into gear or go anywhere, nothing, nada. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
502ci Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Mine had a leak above the pan a while back that I really could not really find at first, turned out to be the dipstick tube was no longer seated all the way into its base. A couple taps on the tube and it went back in and has not leaked since. As far as to why yours suddenly stopped moving...did it work properly before the work you did to it (besides the leak)? Also did it run empty at any point while it was leaking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Peters Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Like Bill, the first thing i thought of on the leak was the dip stick tube for the leak. Another thought would be it could be leaking where the speedometer cable attaches. As for your issue of the car not moving I am not sure but maybe some thoughts: 1) Is it possible the filter is either not in quite right or may have slipped off. 2) What kind of filter did you use. It is possible a wrong filter would not allow sufficient fluid flow. 3) You changed the fluid pan. Is it possible the new pan is deeper which may allow the filter to drop off. 4) After you started it up and ran it a little while did you recheck the fluid again. When it was drained some of the fluid may have come out of the converter and when you refilled it you may have had adequate fluid on board before starting but once it ran it may not have enough now. When you first dropped the pan and drained the old fluid you did not say if the fluid looked clean and not burned and you did not say if you found metal in the pan. I would take the pan down again and double check the filter. rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 I had issues where the kick down cable linked inside the tranny. The o ring was shot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainbluechip Posted February 23, 2018 Author Share Posted February 23, 2018 Sorry gentlemen. I'm a bit of a novice in mechanics.1. The vehicle was operating and driving without any issues other than the transmission leak. It shifted accordingly w/o issues.2. The old fluid appeared new without any trace or evidence of metal particles. 3. Transmission fluid was nearly full when it was drained.4. I replaced the original trans pan with a Spectre Performance 5450 Pan (appears identical to the original - not a deep pan).5. I replaced the older filter with a new Duralast transmission filter/Gasket (Part TF122).6. I ran the car again, checked fluids, all appeared ok. 7. Still won't shift into gear. Thanks again for the input guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC1of80 Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Silly question time... Did you fill the transmission with the car running and in park? GM transmissions need to be in park for the pump to pump. Also like mentioned, was the new pan the same depth? It moved before you did the work and if the fluid I'd full, it should continue unless the fluid that came out was burnt, blackish and smelled funky and there was a lot of metal and friction material in the bottom of the pan. In which case the new trans fluid, which has a detergent in it cleaned all the clutches of friction material. I do not believe that is the case. I hope that is just low on fluid. How many qts did you put back in? A th350 takes usually 10qts of fluid for a brand new trans and stock converter. Usually 4-5 qts for what you did. Also, did you install the gasket between the filter and the valve body? Could be sucking air. Good luck, hoped this helped and am awaiting what you find. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
502ci Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Check the linkage from the shifter to the transmission, maybe you accidently bumped/banged it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainbluechip Posted February 23, 2018 Author Share Posted February 23, 2018 I'm almost ashamed to admit it. I initially put 3 quarts of fluid in there and it didn't run (appeared to look full on the stick). A 1 project turned into a 3 hour project. Drained it again, checked the filter/gasket, all is well. Just filled it back up with more (4.5 quarts) and it's running smooth again. Took her out for a quick run down here in sunny Florida. I'll admit my faults gentlemen, it's quite the learning curve (or rookie mistake). It's just me, YouTube and you guys keeping my 70 running. Thanks again for all of the input! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Peters Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Yep, that is pretty much what I was saying about rechecking the fluid level after you had refilled it. When you first checked it the fluid level may have indicated full but once you ran it a little if you had rechecked it again you may have found it to be low. Also I had suggested the filter may not have been all the way on or may have slipped and/or like Tom had suggested about the gasket between the filter and the valve body..... it may have been sucking air. If the leakage continues I would check both the dip stick tube seating as Bill had suggested or around the speedometer cable attaches. rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Peters Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 BTW, Where in Tampa do you live. I grew up in Jacksonville but we visited my grandparents in Tampa often. Do you know where Egypt Lake is. They lived on Egypt Lake. We loved to go up the road on Sligh Ave to the Housewife Bakery to get Cuban Sandwiches and Cheesecake. Great bakery. So glad some of the suggestions here helped. rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC1of80 Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 All good. Glad it was an easy repair. No stupid questions. You will find everyone here is helpful. That's how most of us learned... By our mistakes. Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1970mcss Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Live and learn... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkies Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Just seen this post after all is fixed, but like MC one of 80 said there are no stupid questions, and we all learned by making mistakes whether we admit to it or not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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