Turbo 400 transmission

[Jeffrey S.]

I finally got the engine and transmission out of my '69 as a unit. There are 2 questions I have about the transmission (it is the original trans). There is a small pipe/tube coming out of the top of the main body. It looks like a vacuum fitting but there was nothing attached. Is it some sort of vent? The second is an electrical spade connector that had a single wire attached (I think it was red). What is this for? Attached are 2 pictures of these items. Thanks for your help.
Jeff

[Edward J.]

Re: Turbo 400 transmission

Jeff, that is the vent pipe for transmisson, and the spad is the transmisson kick down its a orange wire that attaches to it.

[Jeffrey S.]

Re: Turbo 400 transmission

Edward,
Thanks for the quick reply! Mystery solved.
Jeff

[Ralph S.]

Re: Turbo 400 transmission

Partial VIN should be stamped on drivers side where pan meets case. yellow writing on case looks like it came from a junkyard.

[Richard M.]

Re: Turbo 400 transmission

Jeff, Yellow writing on case could be name of mechanic that overhauled it, also the metal tag on the side back from the dipstick tube will give info as to what model and when trans was made, carefully clean plate and take a picture or give me the numbers and letters and I will translate it for you.

Richard

[Jeffrey S.]

Re: Turbo 400 transmission

Ralph- Last time I looked, prior to the Novi Nationals the numbers were there and they are right.
Richard- You are correct that the writing is from the shop that did some work on this trans around 20 years ago. I will take a photo of the plate tomorrow and post it.
Thanks,
Jeff

[Jeff P.]

Re: Turbo 400 transmission

Jeff,

Yellow markings might be a salvage trans. The ID plate on the right side should indicate 69, CK, and date.

[Jeffrey S.]

Re: Turbo 400 transmission

The characters on the plate are kind of faint and would not photograph well but they are: upper right= 231 (the car is an October '68 build). Lower left= CK space 69 and then 1886. According to the judging guide this last number is the source serial number (not the VIN derivative). This really scared me since Jeff posted that the yellow markings could be a salvage number. When I saw this 1886 number I thought that maybe the transmission shop had switched out for a rebuilt unit. Then I thought that this was judged at both the Regional and National level and no deduction was taken. Could it have been missed twice? I suppose, so I checked my judging guide and all the numbers seem to line up. I thought that the VIN derivitive was stamped someplace but I couldn't find it.
Richard- do these numbers line up for you?
Thanks for all your help!
Jeff

[Jeff P.]

Re: Turbo 400 transmission

Jeff
This is your correct trans and maybe the Rebuild shop signs the trans for warranty reasons. The yellow paint stick is not Original is it? Sorry for the Heart Rate increase.

[Terry M.]

Re: Turbo 400 transmission

Jeff,
Ralph Spears, in post #4 stated the location of the partial VIN for the TH 400.

[Joel A.]

Re: Turbo 400 transmission

The yellow paint marker is used by most trans shops to identify who built the trans only so they'll know who to blame if it comes back under warranty. Some builders use Magic Markers, but the paint markers last longer. I always sign mine on the top/side of the bellhousing where it's only visible from under the car, except if it is a resto job, then it only gets signed on the inside of the bellhousing. If it gets to where we're pulling dust covers off in Judging, I may have to do something different....

[Jeffrey S.]

Re: Turbo 400 transmission

Jeff,
Ralph Spears, in post #4 stated the location of the partial VIN for the TH 400.

I completely missed that post. Terry, thanks for pointing that out. The next thing will be to figure out how to remove the cooling lines from the fittings that go into the aluminum body- they were cut and spliced years ago. The fittings are pretty well frozen and the hex is somewhat rounded. I was thinking of cutting the steel pipes off at the fitting and then trying to remove the large "recepticle" fitting on the body of the trans but I'm afraid to apply heat on the aluminum case. Any thoughts or ideas?
Jeff

[Jeffrey S.]

Re: Turbo 400 transmission

Partial VIN should be stamped on drivers side where pan meets case. yellow writing on case looks like it came from a junkyard.

Yup- there it is. And it's good!!
Jeff

[Edward J.]

Re: Turbo 400 transmission

I completely missed that post. Terry, thanks for pointing that out. The next thing will be to figure out how to remove the cooling lines from the fittings that go into the aluminum body- they were cut and spliced years ago. The fittings are pretty well frozen and the hex is somewhat rounded. I was thinking of cutting the steel pipes off at the fitting and then trying to remove the large "recepticle" fitting on the body of the trans but I'm afraid to apply heat on the aluminum case. Any thoughts or ideas?
Jeff

Jeff, Your idea of cuttting the pipes of flush is a good idea then you can take a 6 point socket and remove the brass unions from transmisson and install into a vise to remove the fittings from the brass unions.

[Jeffrey S.]

Re: Turbo 400 transmission

Edward,
Thanks for you reply. I am sure that since the brass unions have been in there since day one, they are pretty well seized in. I am afraid to put too much torque on these for fear of breaking the aluminum. I can soak then with Kroil for the next month and maybe that will help but what about heat on the area that the unions go into the aluminum housing? Good idea or bad?
Jeff