'79 F250 Transmission Issue
 

I recently got the engine back to a running state and I had a question about the transmission. It's been leaking pretty consistently since I put her in the driveway. When we started it up, we shifted it into drive and it took a good 10 seconds for the transmission to kick into gear. I'm wondering if replacing the pan gasket and filling up the transmission fluid could fix the issue.

Yes, if the transmission is low on fluid it will not engage in gear. If the pan is where the leak is then drop the pan, change the filter and make sure to get it sealed up.

Great! Hoping to get a shot and replacing that next weekend. Thanks for the info!

X2 on drop the pan and change the filter as well as the gasket. And then get it back to the level fluid it should be.


FYI there is no "drain plug"on the pan, just get a BIG enough drip pan or build one out of a 4x4 sheet of plywood with 1x2 edging and a covered some plastic.


Maybe loosen all the bolts and try to get one corner lower than the other to drain it a bit. No matter what, it is a mess.

I always completely take out the bolts on one corner and then start to loosen the others, starting nearest that corner and moving outwards. It usually reduces some of the mess.

Got the gasket and new transmission filter at a local shop and finally scored some time on Sunday to take a swing at replacing the gasket. I ended up buying a new pan that had a drain bolt on it so if something else goes wrong I don't have to worry about dropping the entire 6 quarts of transmission fluid onto a tarp. Dropping the pan wasn't as bad as I thought it would be since the transmission has had a slow leak since we moved it to my place. When we dropped the pan, the majority of the fluid was down in the pan (yikes).

I replaced the filter, filter gasket and pan gasket without too much trouble. There is that support beam under my F250 that blocks 3 screws and that was a total pain to get around. Looks like it's supporting part of the transmission. Do you guys typically remove that thing?

Once back in place I filled it with 6 quarts of fluid to see where we're at on the dipstick. Transmission now shifts easily into gear without that delay I was seeing initially. Thanks for all the suggestions!

Get a universal swivel, that will help you get around the support beam