Two basic, dumb questions

Two dumb questions:
I have a 350 Chev engine and a champion aluminum radiator in my T roadster. Approximately, what should be the capacity of the cooling system?
When I pulled the engine and trans out of the donor truck, quite a bit of trans fluid ran out and got all over. I did not separate the trans from the engine. The trans cooler is contained in the bottom of the new Champion radiator. Can anyone give me a ballpark idea of how much trans fluid to add before I start it up the first time?
Thanks for not making fun of my questions.

 

You dont know whats in the trans so how can we say what to add? Start it in park and check the stick.

 

best bet with the trans is to pull the pan and drain it and refill with fresh fluid.

no idea on quan***y though.

 

i think you'd want at least 2 or three quarts before starting. while you do check it with the motor running, some should show on the stick when cold, at least mine does.



skull

 

do a half and half mix of distilled water and coolant until it's an inch or two under the radiator cap. you should have a trans dipstick to check level.

 

I take it we're talking an automatic?? How much would you say poured out?

 

Good Lord.

 

Yep, it'd a TH-350. I was just wondering how much coolant and trans fluid I should start out buying. Can't afford too much right now, and don't want to buy more than I need.

 

you will need it eventually anyways, have you checked specs online?

 

Actually, I took the lazy way out and just asked the question here. Figured there must be a thousand HAMBers who have been there, done that.

 

If you just lost transmission fluid out of the internal mounted radiator cooler, I'll bet it's less than a quart. Those internal coolers are very small. It it's what ran out of the rear tailhousing when you lifted the transmission out, I would guess 4-5 quarts.

Radiator coolant, 2 gallons of straight coolant should do it and then dilute the rest with water.

 

Your probably looking at a little over two gallons of mixed antifreeze, so you will need to buy two gallons of antifreeze and you will probably need six quarts of Dex tron ATF. That is just a educated guess.

 

Not pointing fingers at anyone here.

BUT

How do some people make it in this world not knowing the smallest of infomation
about the cars they are driving?

How much oil ?

How much antifreeze ?

Really !

Is it just me or what,

AND

If it is just me

(I.m sorry ) THAT I even said anything....

 

You will need 2 jugs of antifreeze. Get four quarts of ATF. As far as starting, make sure the trans is at the full hot mark, that way you know there's enough and you can top it up after it's been warmed up

 

Some of these girls got the rag on today, forgive them.

What shawnsauto1 said. It's better to underfill the ****** than overfill it, put in a couple of quarts, crank it up and run it a few minutes, shift in reverse, low, back and forth, check it with it in neutral. If it isn't showing on the dipstick add just enough for it to show. The fluid will expand and come up on the dipstick when the fluid gets hot, so the first time after you've driven it for a while and it's warmed up add to the full mark.

 

Hey, Wetatt4u, cut me some slack here. My daily driver is a Dodge Ram with a 6-speed manual. I've never messed with a TH-350 before. Told you it was a dumb question up front. And thanks to everyone else for the advice.

 

****** man is correct. This is a good ballpark for you to start at.

I personally keep a case of antifreeze on hand at all times. Its pretty cheap at Sam's Club. You can't even begin to imagine how many times someone has overheated and wanted me to come after them. There's always a use for antifreeze.

 

With the engine off,add enough fliud til it just touches the dipstick,fire it up in park let the engine run a few minutes then check fluid,if need be add fluid until just above add mark on stick and run through each gear including reverse,check fluid again and add if needed,do not overfill.If I remember right a complete empty system including convertor takes 9 quarts to fill.but you probably lost most of the fluid out the tailshaft when pulling so your convertor is still full. after doing all this let car set overnight and check fluid again before driving.Good luck,

 

I would err on the side of buying too much, you can always put it on the shelf for later, or return anything thats unopened!

 

OK, now I will add yet another dumb question...On my '27 T roadster project, drum brakes on the rear, discs up front, all new components, totally dry - How much brake fluid should it take to fill the system?

 

Is this thread a joke or are you serious about the brake fluid question? See if you can find a Hamber in your area that will give you a short lesson in car maintainence.

 

OK, now you really are being lazy. Get two quarts of brake fluid. Probably won't even use half of that, but now you'll have some in stock. And for the auto trans level, before you fire it up, I have had good luck with filling it to the top level of the hash mark(with engine off) before start up and it will be full enough to start without worry of it being overfull. Usually takes another quart or so after that. Now get off the damn computer already and get to work!

 

That last question about brake fluid must be a joke. You fill it until it's full, no?

 

No, this isn't a joke. I am doing all this for the first time, and I was hoping to get a little friendly advice. Is that a problem? I just want an idea of how much fluid to buy.

 

Well then, buy four of the smaller bottles and you should be good. If your on a budget, you can always return some if it's unopened. It's always a pain to have to run out and get more. The amount you use also depends on how much you waste bleeding. Good luck!

 

Hazing seems to follow basic advice here, just keep a thick skin. I would advise you try to find someone with some knowledge on what you're about to do with juicin up the brakes. Bleeding brakes is in that category of 'not hard to do, but easy to mess up', and you're going to want a skilled hand to ***ist you if not show you how to do it. Be safe.

 

best thing to do..pull the ****** pan, replace filter, reinstall. Get a case of ATF [ type F wil give ya a firmer shift] Put in 4 qts to start. Add as needed after starting. Get a gallon of green anti freeze. If more than a gallon is needed just use water.

 

Thanks again, guys. I hate to sound so stupid, but I am on a tight budget here, and really can't afford to buy stuff that I won't need right away. I do agree that I'd rather buy a little too much than not enough, however.

 

After you buy... remember to bleed the brakes

 

when its ready to drive. fill the fuel tank at least half full.....



skull