Yesterday, when I was pulling the bird out to finish some nip/tuck for wiring, popped her in drive and she goes no where.
Reverse works, no forward gears. All signs point to a clutch pack. I dropped some Tranny fluid to take a look... No good. Guess it's back to the drawing board, pull the engine, pull the tranny, get that rebuilt, replace the torque converter and put it all back together again. Drained fluid on left, new fluid on right.
Last edited by Lit3; 06/22/1611:22 PM.
1957 Thunderbird 289 1967 Firebird Base 461 1968 C-20 327
Did you put enough tranny fluid in? I had that exact same scenario with my '70 Mustang. After an engine rebuild, I could drive around the block all day in reverse - but no forward gears.
Had it towed to the tranny shop. They put filled it up with the correct volume of fluid and Voila.
I had seen conflicting numbers for the Ford FMX tranny for a refill and got scared of overfilling it.
2012 Mustang Boss 302 #1918, Competition Orange. FGF replacement 2006 Mustang V6 Pony, Vista Blue. Factory ordered. 2019 BMW X3 (Titled to the wife, but I'm always driving it for her. So I'm claiming it) Old projects, gone but not forgotten: 1967 FB 400, original CA car. After 22 years of work, trashed by the guy who was supposed to paint it. I had to sell it. 1980 Turbo Trans Am 1970 Mustang fastback, 351C 4Bbl, auto 1988 Mustang GT, 5 speed 1983 F-150 4x4, built 302 1994 Chevy K2500 HD 4x4, 454 TBI
I am going to drain the whole thing, drop the pan, check to see if there is anything in the filter. If that's clean, I'll fill it back up and see where I am.
Fingers crossed!
1957 Thunderbird 289 1967 Firebird Base 461 1968 C-20 327
I had a "You've got to be ******** kidding me!!!" moment. I started thinking about the last time it was running correctly, and that was when I drove it home from the muffler shop. They had to cut out the old pipes and put new ones on to fit the new headers. Well.. They took out my speedo cable bracket and the speedo was laying on top of the pipe, which melted the jacket, so, while it was running, it was simply pouring tranny fluid out.
I have it filled back up, but I am not going to run it until I get a new speedo cable and check the volume. As we all know... if it was running dry, out it comes. Dammit, I am PISSED.
I've been kicking myself in the arse for days for screwing something up only to find out, it's not my fault, and it's gonna cost a decent amount of coin to have it rebuilt.
Double edge sword.. I'm super pissed it is probably hosed, but I am really happy it wasn't my technical skills that caused it.
1957 Thunderbird 289 1967 Firebird Base 461 1968 C-20 327
Double edge sword.. I'm super pissed it is probably hosed, but I am really happy it wasn't my technical skills that caused it.
Also known as a Pyrrhic victory. I have experienced many of them in my life.
1968 400 Coupe, verdoro green, black vinyl top 1968 400 Convertible, verdoro green, black top 1971 Trans Am, cameo white, auto 1970 Buick Skylark Custom Convertible 350-4(driver)
My little escapade involving low fluid in my Mustang did not damage my transmission.
2012 Mustang Boss 302 #1918, Competition Orange. FGF replacement 2006 Mustang V6 Pony, Vista Blue. Factory ordered. 2019 BMW X3 (Titled to the wife, but I'm always driving it for her. So I'm claiming it) Old projects, gone but not forgotten: 1967 FB 400, original CA car. After 22 years of work, trashed by the guy who was supposed to paint it. I had to sell it. 1980 Turbo Trans Am 1970 Mustang fastback, 351C 4Bbl, auto 1988 Mustang GT, 5 speed 1983 F-150 4x4, built 302 1994 Chevy K2500 HD 4x4, 454 TBI
Cal- I will stop by today. I know the owner, and they are a reputable local small business. I'll bring this to their attention. The shop is about 2 miles from my house. When I fired it up yesterday, it dropped about 6 ounces of fluid in less than 30 seconds.
Web- Indeed... The worst kind!
Sal- Let's hope mine is OK. I ordered a new speedo cable. Ironically enough, when I bought the car, it had no cable on it, but it had a cap from a Coke 2 liter bottle caulked to the speedo port.
1957 Thunderbird 289 1967 Firebird Base 461 1968 C-20 327
The TH400 is almost bullet prooof. I have seen things that you wouldn't believe on one and they worked without any issues. Fill it and see what happens after you inspect the pan and filter. Unless there are chunks in the pan, you shouldn't have any issues.
Stick a fork in it... It's dead. Looks like I know what I'll be doing over the holiday weekend... New speedo cable got here yesterday, so I dropped the pan and filter. There is a nice coating of metal on everything, and some awesome big chunks of clutch pack! Guess I'll start looking for a rebuild shop... Heard about this place called Aamco.... (I kid...I kid..)
1957 Thunderbird 289 1967 Firebird Base 461 1968 C-20 327
My turbo 400 died last year to. No warnings at all. Gave both of my brothers a short but spirited drive. Parked it and went to drive it a few days later. Had to rev it into the 3000's to get it to move. Dropped the pan and everything looked great. No sludge or parts and the fluid looked bright red.
Sorry, bringing this back to life. I had to take a few weeks away to calm down. Pulled the engine and tranny this morning in 3 1/2 hours. Tranny goes to be rebuilt on Monday.
Big question here: since the tranny was destroyed, should I replace the torque converter? I don't think blowing the clutch packs out would harm it, but it may have pieces of clutch pack in there I don't want in my rebuilt tranny.
Any advice is appreciated!
1957 Thunderbird 289 1967 Firebird Base 461 1968 C-20 327
Always replace the torque convertor when some this like that happens. $75- $100 is a small price to pay. Also flush out the transmission lines and cooler.
Always replace the torque convertor when some this like that happens. $75- $100 is a small price to pay. Also flush out the transmission lines and cooler.
Thanks for confirming! I'll get a new one ordered.
1957 Thunderbird 289 1967 Firebird Base 461 1968 C-20 327