1984 Ford 1 ton question - 6cyl, C6 transmission

[B&BGaryC]

Got a 1 ton van with a trashed engine(for DJ gigs) off of a local carpet cleaner. Drove it to my buddies house on 4 cylinders. We cranked the engine and tranny out of it and put an 82 six cylinder in there with the old transmission . Didn't quite get it timed and running before the snow flew. Once it thawed, we got it timed and running, but some leftovers in the vacuum pods and the wiring harness told it there was a cds hooked up and running and the engine was screaming at 3000 rpm. At this point it became apparent to me we never refilled the transmission as there was a ton of smoke pouring out of the dipstick and a very noticeable squealing. My friend insisted it was fine and kept running it to try and figure out how to bring the idle down from 3000. He shut it off a few minutes later. He then started it again, let the transmission smoke again until I got the old Guy next door to come over and tell him he's an idiot and he needs to put fluid in and quit shifting the transmission in and out of drive to see if he hooked the linkage up right. He added fluid, it stopped smoking and the transmission engaged. He let it run for ten minutes while disconnecting and reconnecting vacuum lines until it started running like it should. At that point the transmission wouldn't engage and there was hardly any fluid on the dip stick. We went to the auto parts store and bought 6 quarts of fluid. He put almost all of them in and the tranny still didn't run. He left it for a week and checked it and even though it wouldn't register before now it shows it is overfilled. We drained it, tried to get the level right and it still wont run.

Which thing broke it? Did we break it by smoking it up or did we break it by overfilling it? Can he take the trans cover off, leave it to drain overnight, replace the fluid and filter and gasket and get it to run or is it already cooked?

 

[B&BGaryC]

He just hasn't been the same since that semi t-boned him. He used to be able to get in a big damn hurry abouts fixing something and not forget a bunch of stuff, like where everything hooks up to or if he put enough fluid in this or that. While the transmission was burning he was arguing with me saying he put fluid in it and the smoke was coming from the exhaust manafold.

 

[B&BGaryC]

Bump -----
Isn't there anybody here who can answer this question?
Am I gonna have to join a mechanic forum and ask this question?

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Sad thread. (gives shadetree mechanics a bad name)

Pretty bulletproof tranny....'cept when it is out of oil.

Probably toasted clutches. Do you know the correct way to check the fluid level?

 

[bob vawter]

wouldn't come out the exhaust...would it?
lemme guess.....it was white smoke...right?
cracked ...
block
head
or head gasket....you have a water in the combustion chamber problem.....
anti-freeze will be a white smoke and have a distinctive smell.......

 

[joey895]

You didn't burn it up by overfilling it. The worst that would likely do is blow the front seal out and cause a leak.

That transmission likely holds a TOTAL of 10-12 quarts however if you drop the pan to change the filter and drain the fluid you are only going to get about 4 quarts out of it because the rest is in the torque converter.

If I were you I would drop the pan change the filter should be less than 10 bucks. Add about 3 quarts of fluid and a bottle of tvf or seafoam either should be available at any auto parts store. Start the engine, run it till its warm, then with the engine still running and transmission in park check you fluid and add as needed.

If that doesn't do it the good news is that is a very simple, cheap, and common transmission. You can then decide to have it rebuilt or get one from a salvage yard.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

 

[B&BGaryC]

wouldn't come out the exhaust...would it?
lemme guess.....it was white smoke...right?
cracked ...
block
head
or head gasket....you have a water in the combustion chamber problem.....
anti-freeze will be a white smoke and have a distinctive smell.......

The engine is running fine. It's the transmission acting like it's in neutral when you shift it that is the problem. After he smoked the hell out of it, he was able to get it to engage after adding some fluid, but then about 5 minutes later it was low on fluid and wouldn't shift. That's when we proceeded to overfill it. It never worked again except for that one time right after we smoked it up when we first put the fluid in it.

 

[Giorgio]

Is it possible the tranny was a pos to begin with?

Last time I installed an old tranny it got smoked in under 1000 miles.

86 mustang... unfortunately, the tranny held up long enough for my buddy to get busted going 100 mph in a 45 mph zone while intoxicated...

Lol... He was driving cuz I was even drunker than he was.

Side note, never try walking thru the drive-up window at Jack in the Box while intoxicated either. Poor Ricky... Cops knocked his front tooth clean out.

Shhhh... please don't tell my wife what a hellion I use to be. She thinks I've always been an angel..

Back to the tranny... if that pos tranny don't work just go to U-Pull-It and grab another. Think they usually come with 30 day warranty.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

TMI for public forum??

 

[Giorgio]

Seriously..

The amount of time spent trying to fix this used tranny you could have already installed another $150 used tranny.

 

[Giorgio]

also,

if you don't have the tools or experience to swap out transmissions yourself a quick search on craigslist should result in several mobile mechanics trying to build a reputable business.

And, like most carpet cleaners on craigslist.

THEY WORK CHEAP!

Good luck,

 

[davegillfishing]

did he fill the torque converter before he installed it? that should have been filled with
trans fluid then installed then the trans filled with fluid..why instead of arguing with him
didnt you just go turn off the truck and grab all the full bottles of trans fluid and say see here..
especially if he was shifting it when you knew it didnt have fluid in it..he smoked the trans and you
were a big part of it..i would not let anyone start my engine if i new they forgot to put oil in
it even if they argued with me..you did just that with the trans..your goofiness amazes me

 

[B&BGaryC]

Yeah, it was pretty stupid to watch him trash my van. I guess part of it was because at first I wasn't sure, maybe we did fill it with tranny fluid. Shoot, it was over six months ago, and I know we changed the oil in the engine. But once it started smoking I should have just taken my keys from him because it was obvious. I don't know why except that he was the mechanic and I wasn't, and in the past ten years I've told him he's gonna break it every time we work on something and he never has. He's kept every car I have running for the past ten years and never charged me a dime. Its hard to take the keys and tell a free mechanic you don't want his help this time. Kinda rude too, especially considering I was wrong every other time I told him he was breaking something. By the time he was shifting it through all the gears I was just dumbfounded. I knew if it was going to be broken because of low fluid level it was good and broke so I'll just hope it can still be used.

Still really stupid though Dave. I know you ate always looking for opportunities to point out I'm an idiot, but you can have this one.

 

[davegillfishing]

your not a idiot but you need to grow a sack..if i thought someone was doing something wrong i will point
it out..if i am wrong a simple oops sorry bout that is in order, if i am rite then i just saved a bunch of money.
i dont mind someone correcting me and if i am rite i will point it out if i am wrong them my face turns red and
we make it rite..
stand up for yourself at all times no matter what..protect yourself at all times..even free mechanics make mistakes..

 

[Giorgio]

Yup.

Gotta love them classic Econolines!