Well, I screwed up the oil and filter change on my 1983 F350, 460 C6 transmission.

I just finished changing the transmission filter and now the tranny doesn't engage in any gear (position on selector). I just replaced the filter and refilled the transmission with fluid after cleaning and reinstalling the pan and associated bits. I've never had any problems with this transmission until today when I did some maintenance and changed the fluid and filter. Now there isn't anything after warming the engine and then shifting into the different gears.
I did make sure that I did get the correct fluid and the pan was at the correct level when I made the attempts. The only odd thing that I found was a small plastic piston with a rubber o-ring in the drain pan when I pulled everything down. I didn't know if it was in my drain pan before so I looked to see where it would have come from but never could see where to put it and after looking on-line at some exploded views I was convinced that it wasn't part of the Ford. Well, I may be wrong but the truck doesn't move now and I need to figure out why.
Any ideas?

Thanks,

ray....

 

The plastic piece is from the factory. It's a plug that is installed in the dipstick hole right after the tranny is made to keep dirt out of the tranny. Then as the truck goes down the line, the line worker shoves the dipstick tube into the hole of the tranny, and it shoves the plastic piece down into the pan where it rolls around till someone changes the filter/oil.

That tells you no one has been in this tranny since it was built. How are you checking the fluid level? How many quarts of fluid did you put in? Did you just drain the pan and install the filter or did you drain the torque converter also?

 

Franklin2,

I am so happy to hear that the piston is actually a plug. I spent a couple of hours looking up C6 info and exploded views and never saw this plug. Now I know why. Thank you.
Now to figure out why it isn't working.
I simply removed the filter and drained the pan. I replaced the four quarts of fluid that was in the pan but did not go further and attempt to also drain the torque converter. I did measure the fluid I removed which was about four and a half quarts. That may be the problem, though I thought I had put enough in to regisiter full when I checked the level with my dipstick.
I removed the pan and gasket last night to find the location for the plug I found and noticed that the fluid did not start dripping until I was nearly finished removing all the bolts, in fact it wasn't until I loosened the last bolt that the oil would flow out.
So, I will make another attempt on this; install the pan and fill it with fluid again since I don't have to worry about the plug.
It is interesting that this is the first time the pan has been off on this truck. I bought it from a local wrecking yard with 78K miles on it and now I just turned 100K. The oil was slightly discolored and the pan was nearly clean making me think that someone earlier had changed the filter before.

 

Not enough fluid in the tranny .
Not to sound like a jerk but are you checking the fluid with the engine running ?
Sometimes if you fill the tranny then try to check the fluid right after the fluid that you poured into the tranny gets sorta wiped on the dipstick giving you a errounious reading
Add 5 quarts and let the fluid in the dipstick tube drip for 5 min or so with the dipstick removed . Then check it ...

 

My guess is low fluid too.
My buddys accord busted a hose going to the cooler. It ran a bunch of fluid out before slipping to let him know something was wrong (he was driving). When i fixed it i checked the book. It called for 2.5qt. We brought a gallon with us so i dumped about 2.5-3 in it. No engagement. After 5-10min i put the rest in figuring i could remove some if i needed to. It took it all in order to build pressure.

 

I will assume you both are correct. I was so freaked out trying to find where the plug came from that I missed the correct fliud level. I will reinstall the filter and pan then be sure I put enough fluid in it this time since I don't have to worry about a plug that is not needed.
Thank you all for the responses, it helps to now know the plug is not needed to operate the tranny.

Regards,

ray....

 

Way before the internet days, I ran into the same thing. I took my plug down to the local tranny shop and asked what it was, and he grinned and told me the story of what it was used for. He said he saw panicked people all the time asking about it.

 

When I replaced my filter and gasket I filled it up then started it, filled it up some more and cycled it through the gears. Then went down the street, changed gears to turn around and it wouldn't engage back in gear. I added some more to it went back to my driveway and added some more.

It just takes time for the fluid to get situated I guess, but I drained my converter too. Not to mention that I find it hard to read the fluid level on the dipstick.

 

Well, you all got it right. As Dave tells it, I am one of those guys that freaked out when I found something in the pan that didn't make sense or fit anywhere. Then after I looked it up found an exploded view of the tranny, I was convinced I had been sloppy and the part was not needed.
Then I put it all together, filled up the tranny, or atleast I thought I did, so when it didn't move when I shifted into a gear, I assumed it was the plug I found. Had I checked the fluid level as Dave asked, with it in park and warm, I would have noticed that I still needed more fluid.
Case closed and my truck is up and running. Thank you all again.

Regards,

ray....