The TH350 trans on my car is leaking. One of the leaks is coming from the shifter shaft seal. It is a cheap fix put a pain in the *** to do especially with the ****** in the car. The other leak, more of a weep is from the trans pan. I'm using one of those ****py chrome pans. I don't like it but it has a drain plug unlike the stock pan. My question. When I replace the gasket which type will give me the best seal? cork or fiber? also what is a good gasket sealer to use that is compatible with ATF? Thanks, Todd
i use cork and lightly glue the gasket to the tin with 3m yellow super weatherstrip adhesive. nothing on the block side, if the tin flange is straight (bolt holes aren't dimpled from overtightening) it should seal. i drill holes in my ****** pans and weld in a drain plug nut that way i keep the good heavy pan. works for me.
Todd? thats my name! it is sad that you are calling a gasket a gasget!!!! sorry! I'm just making fun! cork will work great if you clean it correctly! id skim coat both sides with blue seal, just in case theres a blem in your pan!
X2 and a dab of Permatex 16 or 598 (black) to each bolt where the bolt flange contacts the pan to stop seeps...
The shift shaft seal is a 5 minute fix with the little tool (18 dollars for the tool set). It's well worth the effort to repair it.
Got any more info on the tool?? Pulling and putting in a new seal is not hard. It'd just a pain to drop the pan and the rooster comb ect. Todd
let it drain real good, use some brakeclean or carb cleaner...whatever you use you want anything silicon sealer is going to be touching to be absolutely oil free and dry. If you really want it to last good just tighten the bolts down to where the silicon beds then leave it sit overnight and then lightly snug the bolts a day or two later. those bolts only need to be tightened a few lbs torque. thumb and forefinger with a 1/4" drive ratchet using the amount of force to snap your fingers or turn a doorknob with 2 fingers should be enough. I like to glue the gasket to the sheetmetal too and sometimes use silicon or a film of grease on the block or ****** case end. I use indian head or permatex aviation type. I coat the gasket and the pan, let the sealer tack up then stick them together like contact adhesive. the gaskets sticks real good to the pan that way and the silican makes it easier to come off re-useably. anytime I use coaltar based gasket sealers, they don't leak... ever...but the gasket's destroyed if you try to seperate. ever have a problem with your intake end gaskets leaking on a chevy after some hard hot running??? Instead of using silicon use permatex aviation type with solid, not ribbed end gaskets and put just a tiny dab of rtv in the corners where the gaskets meet. I don't race and don't have to tear down often. When I ****on one up it stays that way till most of the the paint burns off the block. I've had some real drippy engines in the past I hate leakers and got good at stopping them up.
What you are looking at are actually 2 tools. One is the remover and the other is the driver/ installer. You can find them by googling "GM shift shaft seal tool". You remove the shifter arm and put the tool over the exposed shift shaft. The puller removes the seal easy as pie. Then tap the new seal in place with the other tool. I used to work as a mechanic for the post office and we had to change a whole lot of the shifter seals. The mail man uses the shifter a lot during the day and it sure knocked the seals out quickly. With the tools, you can do the whole job in 5 minutes or so. No need to go in through the backside by dropping the pan and rooster comb. This is all external this way.
I have had good luck with using a cork gasket and rubbing it down with white lithium grease let it soak in then put it together. basically the grease will keep the trans fluid from seeping through the gasket.
With chrome pan take a sanding disc and rough up the chrome on gasket surface. I know it makes no sense but it works. Do NOT use any sealers on trans pans. If you do you more often than not wind up sealing a valve in a p***age in the valve body. Seen several ******s ruined that way. Don
I have done plenty of ******s and have had a heck of a learning curve. Mind you over 50% of the cars are customers so leaks and longevity are a concern. The best method. I general use a cork gasket and WIX filters. Clean Clean Clean. Carb cleaner/ Shop Solv. What ever. Make both surfaces dry and oil free. Now Use COPPER SPRAY. I use Permatex. Spray one side of the gasket with a decent thick coating, let it tack up for 5-10 min or so, Place it on the pan run your finger around it then spray the exposed side and let it tack. Clean pan of overspray. Cut the neck off of a lucas bottle and poor the contents into the pan and install. DO NOT OVER TORQUE or yuo will rip the gasket
I usually take a small hammer to the mating surface at the bolt holes tap them down then smear a light coat of wheel bearing grease on the pan lay the gasket on the pan the wheel bearing grease will hold the gasket in place snug the bolts so as not to split the gasket run the car for a day or two then snug them again if you go to tight with cork gaskets they tend to split at the bolt holes
Clean the pan good, clean the gasket surface on the pan with a wire wheel or scotchbrite, tap the bolt holes back down, clean the gasket surface on the case well, no sealer, torque the bolts to spec. Cork gaskets settle and need to be retightened, fiber usually don't. If the pan gasket surface is not flat, expect problems. Should not need sealer, if you do something is wrong.
Quick fix that works great for the transmission pan is factory grade ATF rtv. It's a great silicone I am partial to mopar parts having worked for Chrysler for several years. Over the counter it will run you 10 buck's or so but the stuff realy works. I have turned several co workers on to it now that I longer work on Dodge etc. Also it sounds crazy but after installing the pan tap it lighty at the suspect leak area with a hammer and kinda shape the pan to stop leaking. Or some times the best short cut is just to take the time and fix it the best way possible.
Also no finger painting with any type of silicone rtv. A small 1/8" bead is more than adiquate. I only state this because I have seen people use the whole dang tube and wonder why it still leaks. And it can plug up the filter etc...
I stopped using RTV years ago. I use Permatex blue gasket sealer/adhesive. It's in the small can with a brush in the lid. Straighten the pan rails and scuff them with scotch-brite or a wire wheel. Apply a very thin coat of the adhesive on the pan rail and wait for it to dry a few minutes. Lay the gasket on the pan rail and apply a thin layer to the top of the gasket. Pay attention and carefully coat the inner edge of the gasket with the sealer, too. Allow it to dry a few minutes before installing. Clean the trans rails with brake clean. I actually like to use a nut driver or in-lb torque wrench to ensure that the pan bolts are not over tightened. Re-torque then after a few heat cycles.
why would you be putting Lucas into an automatic transmission? atf is the only stuff that's made for them. everything else is bad...the fluid has to be able to circulate into and out of the clutch "papers" to keep them cool and clean and it has to have the right friction,viscosity, and additives or the clutches will slip and glaze over then burn.. Or glaze over, slip and burn. atf isn't just oil it's a highly refined base stock with very low ash. it's very clean. there are seal conditioner additives, anti foaming additives and strong detergents. adding atf to other oils doesn't hurt them in other things but putting anything into an automatic ****** but atf is a big no-no. I used to work the line at a factory that blended. kendall, Cat, traveller, and a few other brands I cannot recall come from one blending stock. Archer, their best product line only available to commercial customers came from it's own higher grade blending stock. Dextron comes from a lighter-cleaner blending stock and ford type II comes from yet a cleaner blending stock. The ford ******'s were having problems glazing the clutches untill they required an atf with lower ash content and more anti-foaming and friction additive. that's why typeII makes a gm ****** grip better. some of the aftermarket hi-po ****** fluids are only typeII with a purple dye You can run type II in a gm ****** but it's not recommended to run dextron in the c4. Some applications allowed dextron in the c6.
I messed with the pan gasket on my TH350 for years. I finally bought a budget cast aluminum trans pan from Summit for about $60 and have never had a spot of trans fluid on the garage floor since.
Damn, too slow. If they put yamabond on your coffin you'll never get to heaven. I use it on everything too.
LUCAS is made for ATF read the bottle. But Note if you break the ****** in with it you will always need to use it but on any used nonrebuilt ****** I and many people swear by it.
I keep hearing about this Dextron stuff but I've never seen any. All I can find is DEXRON. Regards, Ron Archer, their best product line only available to commercial customers came from it's own higher grade blending stock. Dextron comes from a lighter-cleaner blending stock. dextron in the c4. Some applications allowed dextron
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