Been wrenching on my 76 F150 2wd 390/c6..The truck has been sitting since October (5 months)...i had water in the oil, and oil in the water when i pulled the engine to rebuild.

Got my new 390 installed and running, got it set at 12* initial timing... it seems to be running great. Still havent driven it though, seems like theres always more problems coming up..

Coolant running out from bottom of ac/heater box onto the ground. Heater core?? Cab seems to be dry..Could the oily water 5 months ago cause the leak now??

Brand new TCI streetfighter c6 doesnt go into gear at all...nothing...right now i got 8 quarts total in it, it takes 11 quarts total but the instructions from tci say to add a few quarts at a time shifting through all the gears before adding more fluid, other wise it will over flow....

WTF $1000 tranny should at least go into gear!! It came from TCI with all the paper work that it was tested etc...Hopefully I am doing something wrong Im gonna be pissed if I have to pull that tranny and send it back...

Thanks in advance for the advice, it seems like nothing ever goes smooth, easy, or 'as planned' when working on my truck...

 

Ya I would say it is your heater core. I don't think the oil would have anything to do with it though.

Do a search on heater core replacement, there are a pile of threads on how to do it. Lots of people have said it is the worst thing they have had to do but I didn't find it that bad. Read lots and take your time. I did mine from the inside as most people do but there is the odd guy that says they were able to get it from the outside.

Did you put any oil in the torque converter before installing it? Just a shot in the dark.

These old trucks need lots of TLC. Don't get discouraged, sooner or later you will have fixed everything that can break and you can drive it for a little while without having to fix it.

 

I think I will just bypass the heater core for now, summer is almost here and its just a cruiser/toy anyways. I've been sitting here reading about heater core replacement with a/c, that sounds like a nightmare!! Maybe I will save some cash till winter time and take it to a shop and let them deal with it...

 

Like I said. Some people think it is the worst thing in the world but I didn't think it was that bad. It does take patience though.

 

Don't get mad at your tranny until all the oil is in it and it doesn't work, plus like above I have always put at least some in the converter before putting it all together and then make sure the dipstick says full before driving it anywhere..

 

Its got the full 11 quarts in it now, I have let it idle and revved it up in all gears PRND21...It does absolutely nothing just acts like its in Neutral.....except in Park it does hold the truck still....linkage is hooked up and shifts smoothly as is the vac line from intake to modulator valve. I put one quart in the converter and 10 quarts throught the filler.

Im gonna call TCI in the morning and see what they say, I'm guessing I will be pulling it back out

 

Does the dipstick say its full? Mine took 13 or a little more but it should still do something with elleven quarts in it..