[fiscus]

I'm helping my brother swap a TH-350 into his oldsmobile (it has an olds 350 engine, and had a 2004r trans). He bought the transmission used, it was originally in a '78 firebird, but at some point it was used behind a big block apparently. He took the valve body off to install a shift kit but saw it already had a trans-co kit in it so he just left it like that. We installed it, but the converter wasn't seated in the front pump properly and it tore up the pump gear. My brother bought a used pump from a local shop and installed it himself. We installed the tranny a second time, started up the engine, and the shifter got stuck in park as long as the engine was running, physically you could not pull the shifter out of park. It would come out as soon as you shut off the engine. So we started it in what should be neutral, but the car lurched forward as soon as the engine started. Reverse worked once for about 1 second, then we never got it again. In park if you rev up the motor the car moves forward a bit and you can hear the park pin popping. There is no engine braking in manual low, and it didn't hold low either, it upshifted or went into a neutral-ish place. And once the tranny got hot it started slipping like mad. Any one have any ideas? is this tranny toast? or could the front pump be installed badly?

[DHMag]

sounds like the valve body was not reinstalled correctly.

[grandpaslincoln]

When your brother removed the valve body, did he reuse the origional gaskets and everything? Usually if you do that it's a good idea to replace those, they can sometimes tear and then leak. Also, did he make sure to keep the valve body free of dirt and debris? It doesn't take much more than a grain of sand to jam a valve or check ball in a transmission.

[Crosley]

Let me see if I understand:

you are having troubles with a used tranny you bought.

The valve body was pulled for a shift kit , but reinstalled unchanged since there was already a kit there.

The pump was damaged on the install. You installed a used pump. DId you check anything else while the pump was out? A great time to check clutch packs!

Do you know the history of the used tranny?

No engine braking in manual low indicates troubles with the low/reverse clutch pack....... hence no reverse.

Slipping when hot, could be many things. damaged sealing rings on the install of a used pump, worn out clutch packs in the used tranny, valve body problems.

Problems with moving the shifter from park while the engine runs , can indicate very high line pressure holding the manual shift valve in position.

I would suggest a full tear down and proper rebuild with fresh converter. The tranny will work great I bet.

[fiscus]

Originally Posted by Crosley

I would suggest a full tear down and proper rebuild with fresh converter. The tranny will work great I bet.

I guess its gonna get the rebuild then..