Hey all,

I have been searching but thought I would throw out a call for help. I just did a conversion of a 5.3L/4L60E/NP208 to my 77 wagoneer. I have everything back together and the engine starts and runs fine. The problem I am having is that When I go through the gears you can hear and feel just slightly that the engine and trans are trying to work. Other than the sound and a faint touch of feeling the vehicle won't move at all.

Now I know zero about transmissions so my trouble shooting skills are seriously lacking. Can some one help me figure this out? I have verified the fluid level and I am 99% sure I installed the TC bolts. I am going to disconnect one of the cooler lines to see if it is pumping fluid.

What do you all think? I realize this is probably a Newb question, but as of now I haven't found an answer.

Thanks!

 

Well the pump would be a first thing to check.Is this 4X4? does it use a GM or jeep transfer case if jeef was and adapter shaft needed. If you place it in gear and then move the shifter to park do you hear a loud racheting noise?

 

If the fluid level is good and you separated the engine from the trans it is possible the converter was not installed correctly and crushed the oil pump when you tightened the bell housing bolts. Pull a cooler line to see if it has oil flow if it has little or none the >. If not time to pull it out and see how extensive the damage is. Do you have the correct dipstick for the 4l60 in it? You may also pull the pan to see if it is something as simple as a filter that fell off or was not installed correctly. If it's not moving try adding a few more quarts and see what happens worst case scenario you overfill it and have to drain it anyway when you pull the trans.

 

thanks for the quick reply. The whole drive train is chevy/gm so there isn't any adapters and stuff. When going through the gears there isn't ratcheting or vibration. come to think of it, it was kinda hard to mate up the first time so there is a chance that I damaged a seal or something. I am not looking forward to having to drop this thing. Guess I will test it for the pump in the AM. Thanks for your help, I will let you know what i come up with.

 

If the transmission engages firmly, if it will accelerate from a stop and has 1st through 4th gears I seriously doubt the problem is a lack of pressure.

My recommendation would be to get a scanner of some sort on it and drive the vehicle. Information gathered from the PCM will help you to understand whether or not the condition is monitored by the PCM. Most likely it is not as you have not mentioned a Service Engine Soon lamp being on.

What did the powertrain come out of? Based on the fact that it takes a bit of throttle pressure to get the vehicle moving and the fact that the "engine and trans are trying to work" it might just have a higher than stock stalling torque converter in it.

Feel free to give me a call to discuss this... I'll be in the shop all day until 4:00 central.

Good luck,

g

 

He says it wont move at all.

 

If I was to not have power to the tranny in all the right spots would that make it not shift into any gear? Sounds like a super stupid question, but I thought I had power to it all but last night realized I hadn't tested the wires going into the passenger side of the case. I will test them this morning too.

 

If it did not have the proper electrical connections it would defaut to 3rd gear.

g

 

No even with no B+ it would stll move. Reverse would be normal and forward you be in a higher gear "3rd" but it would move.

 

Well I have no pressure, or so it seems. I took off one of the cooler lines and it was dry, not a hint of fluid. So.... that makes me think that the pump isn't pumping? Now I am not rocket scientist but when the tranny has pressure building up fluid should pass through those lines, is this a correct assumption? What else could cause the same outcome (not moving but hearing it kind of engage)? I am going to hate life if I have to pull this POS out again, it is such a pain in the sack!

Thanks a lot for your guy's help!
Brian

 

If theres no fluid flow start pulling , You likley broke the pump

 

Sounds like a broken pump. When you installed this trans how much oil did it take? You did say that you have verified the fluid level to be full. If the pump was broken when the install was done you should have not have be able to put much in. The only other thing I could think of is if the filter was missing. However I have seen when this is done, the vehicle still moved but neutrals when turning.

 

It took one large (1 gallon) container of Dextron III. The level hasn't changed at all, so i figure it isn't being pumped to the empty parts in the tranny. This blows, I thought I done and ready to run

 

Sorry to say it but one gallon is not enough. I believe that you have a broken pump. Vince

 

Great, so I got the thing out and looking down the hole it looks like I may have crunched up the pump. What a dumb ***. So I guess I can just replace the pump? If so do I need to be worried about anything else? Is this something that an average weekend warrior can do? It sounds pretty straight forward.

Thanks a lot guy, I just cant afford a complete rebuild at +1K $$$.

 

so what happened with you? did u turn out to be replacing other things?

I was driving slow at like 2nd gear and suddenly a very small pop is heard and my transmission is not shifting into anything... no rev, no D, no OD...

Could my problem also be a pump?!

Thanks

 

If your trans does not engage in any gears, then a broken pump or an internal hard failure could be the cause. Also if your speedo is working then I would suspect a broken rear end and at which point park would be effected. Vince