Metal in the pan, shifts good, fluid great any guesses before I pull it down?

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70Roadkill

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So I did drag week, put about 1100 miles on the car and struggled all week. Did the forward manual valve body kit they sell, didn’t put the cable or linkage on for the lever for trans pressure, didn’t think I needed it. So I put on a zip tie to survive the week. Finally dropped the pan and a bunch of small shavings. Trans shifted good overall, fluid is in great shape. Decided this weekend to pull it out to inspect it. Not sure if something not happy in there or not.

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If it doesn't have a manual valve body, it must have the kickdown linkage. Must, must, must.

EDIT: I missed where you said you modified it to manual. I think when you do that, you have to wire the lever on the transmission all the way back. On the ready made manual valve bodies, that's not necessary.
 
Did you use the TransGo TF3 manual kit? If it is, the throttle valve linkage and it's proper adjustment is just as critical as it is on a LoadFlite equipped tow truck. The rule of thumb Go/No Go gauge for a three speed automatic is somewhere around a level table spoon full of wear material debris in the bottom of the pan after everything settles out. Is there a magnet in the pan to catch ferrous debris? Those shavings look more like bushing and drum material than steel and clutch pack, which would coincide with the fluid not being outright scorched black.
 
It’s coming out either Friday afternoon or sat, if I have time tonight I’ll strain out the pan contents and put them on a shop towel. See exactly what materials are there. Going to get a full rmvb from John cope, when I used the forward went into neutral 2x, hated that, that and I don’t have to screw with the linkage.
 
Good plan! If you don't mind sharing, show us what you find when you get in there.
 
Don't forget that the crud in the pan, is also in the transmission cooling system and in the converter and will be needed to be cleaned out. Surprising the number of people that forget that.
 
transman said:
Don't forget that the crud in the pan, is also in the transmission cooling system and in the converter and will be needed to be cleaned out. Surprising the number of people that forget that.
Click to expand...

I have a buddy that used to do transmissions for 40 years has the equipment to flush and clean everything 1/2 mile from the house. He said swing by and use it. Plan on doing the case, cooler, and converter.
 
Here’s a couple of pics. When I drained the pan through a paint strainer a real fine one to catch everything. There ain’t much there. Filter has a little clutch material. I’m thinking everything is ok. 1100 miles.

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Sent the pics to my trans guru buddy and he said to slap it back together and have fun. Time for a rmvb and let it eat.
 
70Roadkill said:
Sent the pics to my trans guru buddy and he said to slap it back together and have fun. Time for a rmvb and let it eat.
Click to expand...

Not sure how long the trans guru is going to be your buddy. But if it was my trans, I would want to know where those pieces of bronze and aluminum were coming from.
 
Normal wear materials don't look like that, and there are no other parts in that transmission that are expendable. Since so much of it appears to be aluminum, and so few parts in there are made of aluminum, it could be very serious; cuz that is just NOT supposed to happen.
About the only choices are; thrust washers, the governor support, the servos, and sometimes, the planetaries. And of those, the only ones that also have bronze/brass in them are the planetaries, and the thrust washers.
'Course, all those materials are also found inside the convertor............
 
Could very well be coming from the converter. Flushing it isnt good enough. Send it to a good converter shop to have it opened up and inspected, otherwise your fresh trans could be contaminated again.
 
If the aluminum is indeed coming out of the converter, then the stator is starting to fail. 99% of converters have an aluminum stator and an aluminum stator cap. The high dollar performance converters though will have(or could have as an option) a custom made steel stator and cap. I agree with AJ that most likely the aluminum/brass is coming from something inside the transmission.
Other than someone brazing, not tig welding the tips of the converter vanes, there is little brass internally in a converter. Most Chrysler converters I've seen apart, come with the pump half of the converter already furnace brazed for added strength, and I doubt that the brass material is coming from there.
As d55dave has pointed out, you can't effectively flush out a converter. It should be taken apart by a good converter shop and cleaned properly. At this time, the shop will also be able to detect any areas in the converter that require attention.
 
Trans is coming out this weekend, to check everything out and make sure. I made up my mind that I'd rather rip it apart now and make sure ready for April. The converter is not stock, it is a 3500 stall Turbo action. We'll see what comes out of it when I dump the fluid out.
 
Particles that dump out of the converter that are too big to pass thru the filter; originated in the converter. And if you don't find the metal sources inside the trans; it's the converter. Not normal particles; even in a burned up trans.
 
So here's what happened. Pulled the trans and not a thing wrong inside, not even a spec of metal. Took a hard look at the converter and after spending a few hours draining it over time, not one single piece of metal came out, took it to a shop and had it flushed for 30 min and not a spec of material came out. Pulled the trans cooler and full of ****. So the cooler a friend gave me that he picked up somewhere was full of trash and it went in the pan after running, that dacron filter did its job cause that where it stayed. Need to flush the lines and get a new cooler and put it all back together. Dumb *** luck good or bad not sure yet. Strangle my buddy hell yes.
 
I scrolled back to find where you told us that you installed a nasty, dirty cooler that your now deceased buddy gave you that came from a burned up tranny, but I couldn't, for the life of me, find anything...Anyhoodle, check that end play on that input shaft.
 
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