OK, it all started when I was backing a load up a hill. I heard a small noise, the truck shut down, then when I started it back up I had no forward or reverse gears. I called Brian at BTS and he stated that my TC went out. I purchased a new TC and then compared the two while they were both on the ground. Everything wobbled inside comparably and the only difference I could see was that the one I just took out had three cracks in the very bottom hub, right at the weakest point. The new one didn't look like this, so I figured YIPPIE, Brian was right and I will have my truck up and running soon!! So, I got everything put back together except re-attaching the rear driveshaft, started the engine and low and behold nothing!!!! I had my buddy step on the go pedal a little bit and the rear of the transfer started to spin very slowly but I could stop it with my hand. After reving the engine up to 2500 I then started to get blow by out of the tranny tube! Did I not do the refill correctly? Did I forget to do something? I put 16 quarts of Mercon V in and was going to top it off after I checked and ran the tranny up the operating temp, so I thought maybe I don't have enough fluid in it, but the dipstick reads full on the H side. Do I need to bleed the lines, which I did do a little of, I loosened the line coming back from the cooler just to make sure fluid was working through and as soon as it started to drip out I tightened it back up.

Sorry for the long winded post, just trying to add everything I can in hopes that somebody may have some suggestions.

Thanks for any help in advance!!!

 

When I broke the TC in my truck it took the pump out as well. Broke the drive gear that the TC slides in to. Did you check that while you had it down? No pressure = no go. Also look at the splines on the snout of the pump.

 

Thanks Darrell, I don't know anything about transmissions so I didn't go any further then removing the pan and the filter. I did just order a shift kit (Transgo HD2) figuring if I have to get the tranny rebuilt I will have the shop install the kit while they are in there. How hard is it to get to the pump? Can I do this while the tranny is in or do I have to remove it..again?

 

You have to remove the trans to get to the pump. When you pull the torque converter out, the pump is the first thing you see at the front of the trans. If you notice on the snout of the TC it has two flat sections, this is what slides into the gear in the pump. Look inside and take a screw driver and reach in there and spin the gear to make sure it is in one piece. If you decide to pull the pump, you have to pull the pan and filter first because the tube on the filter goes directly into the pump.

 

Oh wow...I was so close to being able to check the pump but didn't. We only pulled the tranny far enough away from the back of the engine to replace the rear seal and pull the TC off. Another two minutes and I could have checked the pump. Live and learn I guess!!

Thanks again! I hope this is the problem, I was so ready to get my PSD on the road again!!

 

So I only had a couple of minutes today to mess with the truck so I decided to pull the rear return fluid off the tranny and see if anything came out while running. I started the engine, pulled the tranny into drive and got not a drop of fluid out of the line. What I did get though is oil coming out of the blow-by line!? Is this a classic tell tale sign that the pump is not working? Why would it be creating enough pressure to push fluid out the blow-by but not push it through the cooler and out the return line?

I wish BTS was closer!! I am starting to get very frustrated here!!!!

 

I would highly recommend that you flush the tranny cooler and lines as well. When a TC goes out, it can send some trash into the lines.

 

We did use low air to blow the cooler and lines out and saw nothing real noticable come out. The only thing we saw worth mentioning was some very small glistening particals come out of the TC when I dumped the fluid out. I have a brand new 6.0 32 line cooler to put on the truck sitting in the shop waiting to be put on, I guess we were just in a hurry to get the truck running again before I tackled the next mod...foolish!?!

Would these particals be enough to completely stop the flow of fluid out of the cooler?

 

Would it make sence to think that the pump IS working which is why I was getting flow out of the blow-by because it was being blocked by going out to the cooler??

 

If distance is the only thing keeping you from going to Brians, you have no excuse not to do it...trust me on this!
If you have the money get your truck to BTS, or at least have him ship you a trans.
Most people here have read the nightmare I am currently going through with a local transmission shop that said they can rebuild my trans and add a tugger kit......6 weeks and no truck.....
John Wood Towmaster:Riffraff Diesel: John Wood Towmaster Trans
Suncoast:Sun Coast Converters Diesel Transmissions, Fort Walton Beach FL

 

Frank, I did read your entire nightmare with complete disgust! I talked to Brian (BTS) and he advised me against putting in a new tranny because he didn't think I needed one. His words were something to the affect "I wouldn't feel right selling you another tranny because you don't need one". I have a lot of respect for a business man like that by the way!! He told me I should only need a new TC which I did put in but I still have no go. I tried calling Brian back today and he must have been very busy, he didn't return my call as of yet. The TC was obviously damaged so I was hoping that would fix the problem but the tranny will still not go like it should. We didn't hook up the rear drive shaft yet so as the tranny is turning, very slowly while in gear at idle, you can reach up and stop the tranny from spinning with your hand!!

There is still a problem somewhere, I feel I am close to getting it repaired without spending big bucks at a tranny shop, but I am still at a loss as to why it is not turning correctly.

 

What's a blow by line? I've never heard of that.

If nothing is coming out of the cooler line with the engine running either the trans doesn't have any fluid in it, or the filter/filter o-ring is missing, or the pump is broken, or the torque converter wasn't installed correctly and isn't driving the pump gear.

If the torque converter wasn't installed all the way and isn't driving the pump you will need a new torque converter and a new pump.

 

Thanks Mark. I guess the correct term is a vent tube and not a blow-by tube? It is a black tube that comes out of the top of the tranny and basically goes nowhere. It rests above the tranny just beneath the cab floor.

I put 16 quarts of fluid down the transmission dip stick tube, ran the truck for about 3 minutes, checked the fluid level and it read full on the hot side.

We feel pretty sure we put the torqe converter in correctly against the pump because when we turned it manually to tighten all of the bolts we got about 3/4 of a quart of fluid on the bottom of the pan. Would that also tell you that the pump is working fine?

When I replaced the filter with a brand new FoMoCo filter, I also confirmed that the filter O-ring came out along with the old one.

I hope to pressure test the tranny tonight and will let you know what, if any, the pressure is.

Thanks again!!

 

First, thanks for all the help from the FTE brotherhood!!
When I finally got everything torn apart I found that the very bottom "hub" in the torqe converter was snapped in four places, right at every weakest point, so I new that was a problem and hoped that was all that needed replaced. If you followed this thread you will read that I put everything back together without first checking the oil pump When I got it all back together I found it still did not work correctly so after refering back to FTE and especially Nissandoc's posts (thanks man!!!) I tore it all apart again and sure enough the center gear was in about 6 pieces on the oil pump. After getting a new oil pump, installing a new 6.0 32 row cooler and flushing the entire system, the truck is running again!! Well kinda...see my next thread!!

 

WooHooo!!!! Glad its all doing good. I have put roughly 50k miles since I did mine, with 161k on the rest of the original innards. Did you buy your TC from BTS?