So I currently have a th200 (metric) in my 1950 ford f1. I got a th200r4 with torque converter from a guy off Craigslist. He said it ran fine when it was pulled from a wrecked car in 2008 and sat in his garage till I bought it in 2022 and it sat in my garage till now… I didn’t ask him how the car crashed and he didn’t offer…. I went with 200r4 because it has overdrive and same length as my th200. I just realized though that I have to move cross member, which causes me to move by brake master cylinder which is under the floor. I was debating installing it now so I can figure out how everything fits so I can work brakes, cross member, exhaust while it’s getting rebuilt. I found a guy that can rebuild it with hardened components for about $2000 and another guy that has a frank lupo dynamic custom torque converter (2000-2500 rpm). but since I’ll already be installing my current one… worth rolling the dice and seeing how long it lasts? anything to check before hand or watch out for before hand?
See if a local shop can test it on a bench....I'm sure they do this before installing to make sure of correct operation, shifting, check for leakage...
Murphys law says that if you try it, it will be a problem .....if not now, later. Get the 200R4 rebuilt and avoid dealing with problems later on. Just be sure the rebuilder is gonna be there later on. What you want to hear is.............naw, no problem, I done it lots of times. Yes there have been lots of times that a trans worked just fine ........and lots of times that they didn't....no one can tell you what yours is going to do.
If it were me...$2k for the rebuild sounds like a lot of money. I'd buy a book like this: https://cliffshighperformance.com/p...rive-transmission-builders-and-swappers-guide A kit like this: https://oregonperformancetransmission.com/product/OPT-2004R-RB.html And dig in.
Have you removed the pan? At least do that and see how much, if any, garbage is lying in the bottom. If it's very clean, chances are it will work as is.
I've had the similar situation with an unknown condition 700r4 Already had a later model 700 r4 core at a transmission builder, but during covid times he couldn't get all the parts needed, spring came months later, and we still had no parts kit, ended up finding a later model 700r4 cheap at a garage sale, so took the chance and installed it after putting in new filter, front and rear seals. It worked fine until I hurt it doing the burnouts drag racing with slicks it started slipping under full power. I continued to drive it on the street until the good parts came in. Installed the rebuilt one last winter, works great I would get the fabricating done and put it in and test it, you can always pull it out and if necessary rebuild it later, should be able to get a rebuilt one back in a week when the transmission shop doesn't have to remove/install because you carry it in the door.
I guess I'm either lucky, or it wasn't a big deal to me to use a used transmission for mockup, and then decide to leave it alone and see how well it worked. I bought a TH350 from CL ad and guy told me he had it behind a SBC in his G body Buick. Supposedly a rebuilt TH350 with a Transgo manual shift kit for $200. I put it in my Austin gasser build back in 2010 and it's still in there, and working perfect today! When I built my '39 Chev I had already purchased a 700R4 at the local swap meet a year earlier. Seller said he swapped a T56 into his '55 Chevy and only took it out because of the swap. Supposedly rebuilt and he wanted $175 with the torque converter. It looked like new and someone had completely polished the whole case. I figured even if it needed a rebuild it was worth the price as a core. Built my '39 Chev starting in 2019 and finished in 2021. It's got about 10,000 miles on it now with that trans, and a few long road trips. Working great, but if it didn't I didn't see any reason not to at least try it. It's not that big a deal to drop the trans and get it rebuilt later. As for the rebuild price, that seems awfully high from what I see around here. There are shops here that advertise rebuilding them for $950-$1200 if brought in and they didn't do the R&R.
My luck with used transmissions is about a 50/50 good to bad. Are you feeling lucky today? Dropping the pan doesn't always tell you the real story, but it would be the very least thing I would do. Then I would also replace all the outside seals before I installed it. If it was me, since you already have a "good" trans, I would see how much the shop would want to put a seal kit in it. If its been sitting that long, I would at least expect there could be a problem with the inner seals being dried out. If it needs more then the seals after its apart, have it rebuilt, unless it has some serious problems (at which point I would have been really happy that I didn't install it and took the chance it would have been good). If it needs a lot of hard parts, take in the other trans to see what shape it is in. I'm pretty much past the point of investing the time and effort to installing a trans "to see if its good", then have to pull it back out because it wasn't. Its out, laying on the ground, go through it, install it, then you don't have a problem until you do something stupid to it.
@Sdsurfer01 , You pull & install, Shop To bench , 800-1,100 ish with oem style converter, with out upgrade / hard parts .. 50 /50 chance on a trains setting that long , seals , O rings , stuck pitons Poppets, Even with fluid filled in pan. When It comes to upgraded & hard parts, you can not see if was installed Used , inside without disassembling. If you go this route of Up grades / parts Try to get a detailed work order/ invoice ect. In the fall I had a well know Transmission Race Company in Md to Custom build to order , Parts I wanted & to be used , With a detailed parts list work order , Witch I did not get & Only Received 2 parts The Bell & Case , the insides was Not what I requested & payed for .
I would pull the pan to see what it looks like in the bottom of the pan, replace all the exterior seals as mentioned and likely just run it considering cost of a rebuild. I have done this multiple times and never regretted it. But, I also have a lift and a transmission jack so it isn't miserable to swap one.
I tend to buy stuff at core prices so almost all need to be rebuilt. I guess how easy it is to pull out if it only works for a few hundred miles?. Get the fab work done and try it out (you will only be out the cost of fluid). If it does need a rebuild then a bench job will be quick. Also check out the trans first or at least before you put fluid in it. I bought a C6 once that was supposedly a good runner....it was missing the valve body. Luckily I bought it at a core price ($80 comes to mind) and just need it for mock up.
I have Shit luck. If it were mine, there’s no way that transmission would be installed without rebuilding it. I’m not the type of person who gets lucky on a deal like that.
Both of my HAMB friendly cars have Turbo 350’s. They both have completely unknown history and mileage. And they both work great, and get driven regularly. You never know.
It's not a customer's car !!!! Throw it in and be prepared to pull it out again [get the conversion done] The difference between $2k gamble is about 1/2 days labour and fluid
First question is will you actually need all of the high dollar heavy duty going to put 800 hp parts in it with the engine you have and and the way you plan to drive it? If the answer is a firm yes, so be it. If the answer is not really but it sounds cool . I'd think having one benched by a skilled mechanic and still done right should cost a lot less than that. Of all the transmission specialists I have worked around there have only been a handful that didn't own their own shops who didn't do side jobs at night and on weekends. One here finally had so much side business that he put in his own shop (moving twice to larger quarters) and it is one of the better transmission shops around 40 years later.
I've took out working trans and had rebuilt just to pull it back out and have it gone thru again. Trust who rebuilds it. Some shops suck at what they do. I also have a lift and trans jack. So I would try it after looking in pan. Rebuild if high horsepower.
Yeah I’ve thought about dropping the pan but my buddy was helping me get it so I had the guy drain it before I got it so didn’t get fluid all over my buddy’s truck… I like the idea of seeing if a shop can bench test it. I’ve honestly haven’t called too many shops and $2000 did seem high Maybe I’ll call a few others while I mock it up. I’m going to use like minimal HP. It’s in a stock chevy 350 and I don’t get on it at all cuz it’s a heavy truck.
Could still look in the pan and filter for chunks and sparkle. Mainly what you'd wanna look for anyway. And any burnt smells should still linger
I bought a th400 that was pulled from a wreck and set on a shop floor for over 10 years $150 bucks and replaced the seals and a filter change. I’ve put over 35k miles on that trans. I’d run it before tossing 2k at it
When my grandpa passed truck was driven off and on by family members for the next 2 years, before shipping to me in Texas. When I got it the transmission fluid was 6-7 quarts low… after filling and driving for about a month I dropped and attached photos are what it looked like. never had really shifted great (even after I fixed leak and fixed the motor mount after wondering why on acceleration the shift arm occasionally tripped into 1st/2nd, which my parents had mentioned happened a lot m…) plus whines every so often from what I’m guessing is a clog somewhere in it? So the bar is pretty low for used transmission haha
To be fair a 200c is an incredibly weak transmission even in good condition lol. Still a shortage of good bop 200c transmissions where I lived when I was running (and constantly replacing) 200cs in my 350 olds powered hot rod. 2004r is much stronger
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