turbo 400 trans trouble

[trooper632]

Hey all, Bought an old 86 m1009 from the gsa, it belonged to a vol. fire dept.
Vehicle starts but nothing from the tranny. The fluid smells a little burnt and is a darker color than it should be. I go though the gear selector and it doesnt do anything. took the pan off and draind the fluid and cleaned the pan. thinking about putting new fluid in along with a new filter and trying it, or am I just wasting my time. Dont know anything about auto trannys. should I pull it and do a rebuild or what.

 

[CCATLETT1984]

I'd pull it and have a shop look at it. Darker fluid could have also been friction material in it, also pull the torque convertor and at the very least have it flushed.

 

[tacoma]

Sounds to me like you're going to need a new tranny. The good news is that TH400's are fairly cheap to have rebuilt.

 

[tlm47201]

Yep, and actually one of the easiest to learn. Most shops will rebuild one for the cheap, if you r n r it and take it to them.

 

[superburban]

I agree. Dont waste time messing with this tranny, just pull it.

 

[randyscycle]

Before you condemn it, drop the pan and have a friend operate the shifter while you check to see that the linkage is operating the selector valve in the valve body. It should be moving the plunger as the gear ranges are selected. I have seen the selector pin break off several times.

If you do need to rebuild, pick up a Chilton Automatic transmission manual, or an ATSG manual, and do it yourself. The TH400 is pretty forgiving and really requires no special tools if you have the patience to do it. Kits are cheap too.

I've done plenty of them and they are one of the easier trannys to rebuild. Good learning experience and takes some of the mystery box factor out of it.