Shifting problem-NO oil in the trans

29restorod

29restorod

Senior Member
Today while installing hydraulic brakes,I took off the top of the trans,to have a look. I was surprised to find the trans empty of oil. When I pulled the drain plug only two table spoons came out. This may have been why I was hving a harder time shifting than normal. What came out looked like 600W. I had some 600W from Snyders,and some very old 600W my neighbor gave me 14 years ago. The old stuff was dark and thick,like pancake batter. The new stuff was thinner and amber in color. I used the old 600W. It was in one qt paint cans,with no label,just 600W in magic marker, $3.60 on top. When I am finished with the brakes I may reseal the torque bell.
 

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The "new" 600w sold by most vendors is just 240 wt gear oil with STP. I remember Mike's selling "true" 600w, the stuff that Mobil sells. The Mike's stuff is darker then the new stuff.

Does it make a difference? Most likley not any we will notice with the miles we put on our cars.
 
Thanks for that information Mike. I have only 6 weeks left to get this car in reliable driving condition, before I take it down to Florida,and leave it at our winter home. I won't be able to do much work down there,due to lack of space,tools,and comunity rules.
 
29estorod:

I don't have any suggestions for the type of oil; but I did notice a few things with the picture you posted.

Is there a gasket between the clutch housing and transmission? This tends to get compressed when the tower is installed. This can be a leak source.

I also noticed a LOT of oil/grime on the outside of your transmission/clutch housing/universal joint-torque tube housing. There appears to be signs of leakage all around the top of your transmission. Was there a paper gasket installed - and more importantly was gasket sealer used?

I just rebuilt three transmissions with my daughter and there are a lot of areas for potential leaks.

Just some thoughts.
 
I could not find any indication of a gasket,on any surface,just some type of brush on sealer. I did not have any gasket,so I used a generous bead of #2 Permatex,including all around the shift shafts going into the bell housing. I am trying not to do a complete resto. I will clean the trans so I can monitor any leakage.
 
There is a 3/16 vent hole about half way up the rear of the shift tower, if this vent is blocked with crud and maybe painted over it will cause pressure to build up and force the grease out at the point of least resistance.
 
29restorod, you can easily make a gasket for your ******. Get some light weight gasket material, lay it over the top of the ******, and then, using a ball peen hammer, tap along the edges (inside and outside) of the ****** case. Also tap around the edges of the bolt holes. This will give you a gasket outline that you can readily cut with scissors and hole punch. This will effectively seal the top cover to the case.
 
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I knew about the vent hole,and oil had leaked out of there. I cleaned the shift tower in my solvent tank. The tower was chrome plated when all the dirt was removed.
 
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