Hey Guys, I sifted threw search results for an hour or so and didnt see anything that was answering the questions I have. What I'm wondering is if you are on the hunt for an automatic transmission for your project, for conversation sake a th350 or 400. Your looking for a transmission thats good to go into your ride with out a rebuild, but with most of these transmissions for sale they arent in a car for you to cruise around the block and check the trans. So what do you do? How do you go about checking a th350 transmission to make sure its runable with it sitting on a bench? Automatics are alot of black magic to me so i figured the HAMB would be of some help thanx in advance timm
Check your local junior college that has an automotive school. I got the TH350 for my son's 57 Chevy from a guy who just graduated from the transmission cl*** at San Jacinto College here in Pasadena TX. Your grad project is building a transmission which is tested and must p***, all new parts etc.
If it's local, i ask the guy to pull the pan, if there's fluid and it's not been rebuilt (just advertised as "good"), i'll inspect the fluid, should look nice and red-not look or smell burnt. A little material in the pan is fine, but be wary of tons of material, or signifigant piles. tiny piles are ok. Usually not able to do this on a whim, but If it's opened up, i shoot air into the p***ages to hear/see the servos/pistons actuate. move the shuttle valve to inspect for stickiness. That's about the most you can do with out really tearing it open. Once you go past that, you might as well do the rebuild... rick
Don't pay more than core value, but only after carefully inspecting the case for damage. If you know all about the transmission, like it's your buddies and you know when it was rebuilt by whom and you know how he drives and maintains stuff, you might pay a bit more.
Very hard to tell without driving the car. Fluid can look perfect, not smell, the outside can be clean, and it can still be no good. We bought one at a swap meet years ago that p***ed all the tests and the guy said it was rebuilt. It is now a dummy that we use for mockups only. The worst part isn't the initial cost, but the work to put it in, the cost of a new filter and gasket, and all the fluid you waste. Used automatics are a ****shoot, unless, as mentioned, you get it from a trusted friend. It also pays to change the front seal and the shift shaft seal before you put one in, so much easier to do when out of the car. Don
thanx guys, that all helps i honestly will probably end up just buying an entire car that has the motor/trans i want. figure that way i can test drive it all and most likely end up with a good alternator/battery and etc. but thats not always an option so i had been trying to figure out how to 'bench test' so to speak, the trans. thanx again
Here's the intermediate clutch from the TH400 in my 55 when I rebuilt it last month. It was working fine.....but it had been in the car 7 years and a blown big block is hard on a transmission, I had the engine out, and I figured it would be a good idea to go thru it. Point being, you never know what's inside an automatic trans until you take it apart
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