You mean horizontally right? It's sitting on the transmission jack still. I planned on putting it on sitting on there.
Correct.


Transmission lube right? I assume lubegard Dr. Tranny Assmblee Goo will work? Just want to confirm.
https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/b.../19250/4410002

 

I mean vertically, as in the bellhousing pointed up. That's the way the trans is oriented when the factory installs the converter. You can do it horizontally, it's just harder.

Yes, that will work.

 

I finally got it all back together. Struggle between work and the cold.

I have an issue but I think I just don't have enough fluid in there.

I put north of 3/4 of a quart in the torque converter when I installed it. I did drip a little but I was able to wipe most of it up.

Everything else went back together pretty smooth.

Then I put in 4 quarts per the haynes manual. Went through the gears. Checked it while running and in neutral. Checked the dip stick and it was at the bottom hole after running for a few minutes. Got in and tried to drive it, no movement at all. Okay, it's basically hydraulics so there isn't enough fluid. I added a 5th quart. Checked, was at the bottom of the stick. Got in, went through the gears. Got out and checked again. Stick was dry. So I added another quart (6th).

Same process, went through gears, while engine running, this time a little showed on the stick. Very little.

I added another 1/2 a quart, little bit at a time. I know I'm supposed to add a little at a time but that went out the window. Alright, went through the gears again, stick showed some fluid. Not much. Barely to the bottom hole. Not the hole at the end of the stick but the bottom of the two drilled holes. This time, I put it in gear and tried to drive. It worked in reverse! Awesome! Then I went in drive and nothing. I'm assuming there is an air pocket. I went in to 1st and I heard it shift. It was gentle so a good sign but I heard it. I didn't try to move it in first.

At this point I was frozen cold. It's -16 now here and I can't run the truck without the garage door open. So I came in and I'm have to work on it tomorrow.

Read some where to expect to put in about 6.5 quarts but I've got roughly 7.25 quarts in this so far and I think I might need more but I also know I need to check it when it's warm and I need to drive it yet before I can confirm proper level.

Anybody comment on why drive didn't work? Should I hold the brake and leave it in drive to work out any air pockets? I did wait about 10 seconds as I went through all the gears.

Is 7.25 quarts common or did I do something wrong? It did drain almost every drop from the transmission, the lines, and obviously the torque converter wasn't full. I assume the radiator cooler also was bone dry while I had it apart.

****** So it looks like I'm way low on fluid and the little I was seeing is likely from fluid dripping down from the fill tube. I'm at 7.25, Hopefully I didn't damage anything for the 10 minutes or so I ran the engine. I figure I can put in another 3 without issue and then check again. Everyone says it takes 16 quarts completely dry. I don't know if there is much fluid in the valve body. Maybe I should take it to 14 quarts total first and then start checking? Unsure. I'll start up again tomorrow************

 

Maybe you haven't destroyed your pump. Maybe, but I wouldn't bet on it. This is why you should take your haynes manual and throw it away. Going in with no knowledge is MUCH better than following what they told you to do.

The torque converter alone holds 8 quarts. You haven't even added enough to fill that, much less the 7 or so it takes to fill the pan. Running the pump dry is REALLY bad for it. Add seven more quarts before starting the engine.

 

Great... well I errored on the side of not adding too much. Boy I hope it's alright. I ended up putting 8 in last night. I figured if it takes 16 ish quarts, 15.25 should be fine and worse case I'll drain or pump out the excess. I'll report back how it goes today.

 

Great news! It's driving, works good. I did overfill it though.

I put in 16 quarts total. Must have been some left in the trans yet. Before I drove it, it was in between the cold holes.

I drove for about 20 minutes, let it idle for about a minute and checked while it was in neutral. Was very high, about 2 inches above the hash marks. And I looked at both sides cause I know you're supposed to look at the lowest dry spot.

So I'm going to pump it out with an extraction pump.

Only other issue related to the trans is the pan was leaking this morning but seems to have stopped. When I took the pan off, it was the rubber gasket. It had a small tear in it but I planned on reusing it. Well when I was cleaning it, it split in half. Picked up a felpro one. Cleaned everything, really nice. I'm hoping the gasket seals as it comes into contact with the fluid and some heat from driving it. I also went and torqued all the bolts again. I did it in a cross pattern both times so I don't know why it leaked. It was only the back end that leaked. Have cardboard underneath to see if it leaks anymore. I don't think it will.

And on a unrelated problem, the driver side window has given up. It's always been finicky. But would work at some point. Tried it today, no go. Another thing to fiddle with but not the end of the world.