i put a bored 4.3/700r4 into my yj this year...
everything good except a little "issue" with the tranny...
i installed a big tranny cooler with its own fan (wired to ignition) up front to keep it cool.
on a run of over @10miles, the tranny vent line spurts fluid onto the passenger side valve cover, then runs onto the exhaust manifold!:eek: bad smell.....
what would cause this?
the torque converter lockup has never worked on it, the tranny temp will spike to @225 when it does it (throws fluid), and after shutting it off and restarting, the tranny temp will spike up, then go back to @150.
seems to do it the worst in o/drive on the highway
been told the t/converter is going out....just want a few more opinions before i rip the motor out of it again!
would also replace the oil pump for the tranny when i do the t/c, just for insurance....
go figure, the only part i didnt replace was the t/converter....

cheers
martin

I have had my tranny spit fluid out the dipstick for 2 reasons. Once it was a overfill issue and the other time the breather that is on top of the case was plugged and would not let air/fluid expand and contract with the temp changes.
After fixing these 2 things have not had a problem since. But I am not sure why it would be getting so hot. Where do you have your temp guage? I had mine in-line in one of the cooler lines and it moved a lot more than where I have it now in the pan which I understand is the best place fo the most accurate temp. I have the B&M tep guage and it came with the inline adapter, I also have the B&M drain plug kit. It just so happens that the drain plug and the temp sender were the same size so I swapped them.
Good luck

the fluid IS coming out of the vent line....so that kinda answers that question. which was also my first thaught.....blocked vent line and a vacuum in the tranny!
the temp sender unit (autometer) is going into the oil pan.....made a bung and tig welded it to the pan, its on the front passenger side of the oil pan. the exhaust is fully wrapped aswell, so doubt its the exhaust making it read too high etc. i didnt wanna put the temp sender inline due to the possibility of restricting oil flow, and read in a few places it gives an innacurate reading there...and i wanted a drain plug anyways!:D

martin

Usually the trans will only do this for two reasons. Overheating and over filling. The combo of both of them makes for disaster. Does this continually do it, or does it settle down once it spits out fluid? (i.e. fluid level being to full). Also, did you replace the pump gasket with the correct one? There are two different ones for years, and they have more gasket material around the vent area to keep from splashing or pushing oil out the vent. The later year pumps also benefit from having a hole in the top of the pump plugged from the backside. I can give more info on this if you need it later.

Also, running in OD without the converter clutch isn't good for extended periods of time. Too much heat is built up in it. And if you rebuilt your trans and didn't throw in a new converter, well, it's kinda like rebuilding a motor but using the old bearings.

Also, if you pump is operating properly, there is really no need to replace a perfectly good part.

it does it from time to time, not constantly....
didnt rebuild the tranny, just pulled the pan, put a new filter in there and refilled....to the correct level. it wasn't overfilled at any point.
since then had the oil pan off again, to get the bung for the temp sender tig welded in there, and no shavings or anything in the pan. again, filled to the level on the dipstick and thats it.
it has an external cooler that has a fan wired to ignition, so cooling the fluid shouldnt be a problem if all things are working correctly....
which is what i need to know, what isnt working correctly??? could it well be the t/converter????????
thanks
martin

Left lane:

Yer dip stick may be incorrect. Happens. You want the sump oil level to be even with the case pan gasket surface. next time you pull the pan check that against the calibration on the stick-it may be way the Hell off. If so simply use a metal scribe or hack saw blade to remark yer existing stick as the new full mark. Another way to look at this is when yer present stick is showing full and you were to loosen yer pan bolts-if you have a bunch of fluid excaping-then that is an indication yer too full-do this where the pan itself is sitting level. B&M also makes a lockup kit for this trans-yer asking fer trouble running it without lockup=overheating. Also if yer running a high stall convertor-yer gonna be making more heat in the fluid. Hang in there.

Since it may be the fluid level, just want to make sure you are refilling slowly. Usually my pan drop lets out about 4 quarts, so I put 3 in at first. Then starting it in park and going thru the gears and ckecking the fluid again ideing in park or neutral.
You must ckeck the fluid in park or neutral on level ground ideling.

Left lane:

Yer dip stick may be incorrect. Happens. You want the sump oil level to be even with the case pan gasket surface. next time you pull the pan check that against the calibration on the stick-it may be way the Hell off. If so simply use a metal scribe or hack saw blade to remark yer existing stick as the new full mark. Another way to look at this is when yer present stick is showing full and you were to loosen yer pan bolts-if you have a bunch of fluid excaping-then that is an indication yer too full-do this where the pan itself is sitting level. B&M also makes a lockup kit for this trans-yer asking fer trouble running it without lockup=overheating. Also if yer running a high stall convertor-yer gonna be making more heat in the fluid. Hang in there.

the t/converter is the stocker, as is the tranny....i run a large tranny cooler, and with the lines going to the cooler, would that not make it read a little higher when shut off? ie, removing the oil pan??
assuming that the t/converter is the original spec (lockup) would it make the t/c run too hot and blow fluid if the t/c was screwed and the ecm was trying to lock it up in od?? i used a painless performance harness and vss to make sure it would work correctly...figured if the motor thaught it was in the s10 still, life would be good....should have known better in a ferkin heep!:mad3:

many thanks
martin

Since it may be the fluid level, just want to make sure you are refilling slowly. Usually my pan drop lets out about 4 quarts, so I put 3 in at first. Then starting it in park and going thru the gears and ckecking the fluid again ideing in park or neutral.
You must ckeck the fluid in park or neutral on level ground ideling.

i never actually counted the fluid containers, just filled it, then ran it and checked the level and topped it off.
would a cooler make a big difference in capacity?? i will try and find the cooler info when i get back home and see if it lists the capacity. after that its just the cooler lines...which the original should account for near enough, as it had a cooler on the rad.
still the issue of the t/c lockup not working?????

thanks!
martin

still the issue of the t/c lockup not working?????

thanks!
martin

I would really think yer back to that. BUT if that trans is too full it is gonna get aerated by the spinning parts and the cooler will not be as efficient or at all in exchanging heat from air in the oil. Also if yer not sure about lockup-you can always put a tach on that beast. My R-4 drops 150 RPMs when it goes into lockup according to the tach I checked it with. I actually have a rocker switch on the dash that i can lock it up at any speed. Basically wired from the lockup solinoid a ground wire and a power wire with a 5 amp inline fuse to a 12 volt source. Crawling it will never get into lockup mode otherwise. Most R-4's I have driven usually go into lockup around 55 mph. Some of the Corvette calibrated ones will go into lockup in second gear. I prefer the manual override. No point in smoking a perfectly good trans.:smokin:

i have full autometer gauges in it, and have watched for the rpm's dropping while in od, but never has....
could try and drive it i guess and find the positive wire to the solenoid, and check to see if it is getting the voltage to trip the solenoid? that would at least tell me that the ecm is trying to lock it up.....
gonna also try to unplug the lockup plug off the tranny and see if the tranny temp levels out....figuring that if the t/c is on its way out, and the lockup is trying to engage, that may throw fluid out due to excessive pressure/temps?

even with the headaches, its still 100,000 times better than the pos 4 banger...:laughing:

martin

If yer convertor is going out yer gonna be making metal OR the clucth inside for the lockup is gonna be flaking off clutch lining into yer pan. Usually when this happens the torque convertor turns blue from the heat generated plus yer trans oil is gonna go black and stink. So if its pink and don't stink-yer probably ok. Also that dumshit lock up solinoid can be simply shot. All it takes is reverse the polarity to it one time and kapow it will blow a diode in it. Having fun yet? Part of the journey::p

fluid looked ok when i drained it to tig the bung for the temp sender unit into it...
gonna be home this weekend, so will try and unplug the lockup and put a catch tank on the end of the vent line....
if it is fine with the lockup unplugged, then screw it, it can wait!
will see what happens this weekend, will be wheeling saturday i guess, then have to leave out again sunday morning again...

cheers
martin

ok, quicky update.....managed to get home friday night till sunday morning. so went wheeling (of course)
i unplugged the t/c lockup and tied it out of the way. tranny did the same thing, temp rose to @220, and spat fluid out into my new home made catch tank.
this point more to the t/c or tranny???
didnt have time to do any other tests, wanted to go wheelin!

cheers
martin

Tells me yer cooler is not exchanging heat-or yer simply making too much of it. A high stall convertor will do that easily. Hopefully yer cooler not plumbed into the stock factory cooler in the radiator in a series fashion. If it is re-plumb it to be stand alone. Also if it is a tube and fin piece of shit-go to a stacked plate design like Tru-Cool or B&M.

one thing i couldnt do when i installed the cooler, is find out the output side of the tranny...
would that make a difference if the output of the tranny was going into the output of the cooler? i think they do have a output/input side if a remember right.....
just remembered that little detail.....dammit....

I never sawr a cooler that was directional. The output to the cooler from the transmission (700R-4) is the bottom fitting/line on the side of the case.

I never sawr a cooler that was directional. The output to the cooler from the transmission (700R-4) is the bottom fitting/line on the side of the case.

ok thanks! so i guess it doesnt matter which line goes where then on the cooler, as both fittings are on the bottom of the oil cooler....
it doesnt get hot on the trail, just goin up a long hill etc...if that narrows anything down?
bout ready just to get a new tranny/t.c.........:D

martin

ok thanks! so i guess it doesnt matter which line goes where then on the cooler, as both fittings are on the bottom of the oil cooler....
it doesnt get hot on the trail, just goin up a long hill etc...if that narrows anything down?
bout ready just to get a new tranny/t.c.........:D

martin

Is yer cooler plumbed in series with the radiator trans cooler? Engine operating temp will have a direct impact on the trans operating temp if so. If you are gonna change that convertor-get one that the stall speed matches yer use. If you have a tach that works-you can determine the stall yerself on the one already in there. Think positive-nothing wrong that money won't cure.:grinpimp:

yeah i know the money thing already......:D
i like the stock t/c for the low stall, nice to take yer feet off the pedals and just climb!
the tranny cooler is stand alone. its in front of the rad, with its own fan that is wired live when the ignition is on.
screw it, whats another couple of hundred anyways.......:shaking:
looks like i'll be yanking a 4.3 out of a yj when i get my next time off.....and may have a line on a rebuilt 700r4 for $200, so may just do it all and say SCREW IT!:eek:
if i wasnt so lazy, i'd think about a manual........
martin

....and may have a line on a rebuilt 700r4 for $200, so may just do it all and say SCREW IT!:eek:
martin

$200 doesn't begin to cover the rebuild parts let alone the core. Watch yer ass on this "Deal":homer:

$200 doesn't begin to cover the rebuild parts let alone the core. Watch yer ass on this "Deal":homer:

fer sure mate!
asked the guy for documentation on the rebuild...so we'll see!
is kinda a friend of mine, believe he paid $500 for it.....but without documentation, its just another POS to me...

martin