i put a 350 turbo in my 87 iroc yesterday. when i started it up trans fluid poured out from behind the torque converter. so today i dropped it back out and replaced the front seal again. it was fine for about 15 minutes and then it began leakin again , and i mean it is really pouring out of there. the guy that sold me the trans was not sure if the torque converter he gave me came from the trans i got or not. he had quite a few laying around . could this be the problem?i thought that all 350 turbo t.c's were interchangeable.i drove the car today and the trans was working good before the leak started. does anyone have any idea what the hell is wrong with this thing. i'm not much of a trans guy and i'm lost.

 

Perhaps he did give you the wrong converter, or perhaps the front bushing is shot and is killing the seals. When you removed the converter, was the seal intact or was it blown out?

 

Was the pump bushing flush with the casting? Sometimes the
bushing comes loose and moves forward which blocks the drain
channel. The fluid is then free to squirt past the seal and onto the
converter. The neck of the converter could also be worn
enough that the drain hole in the pump can't handle the volume of fluid leaking past it.

 

the 1st seal got pretty mangled when i took it out but it wasnt blown out. i dont know what to look for on the t.c. neck or the front bushing.i am sure the trans is good ,it drove fine before it started leaking.even my shift kit was working right ,nice snappy shifts and all.i dont know ,but all help is welcome. i am dreading dropping this for the 4th time but i know it has to be done.

 

what do i look for on the pump bushing? like i said ,i can put a tranny in and install a shift kit but that about the extent of my tranny skills, i know i need some help. i can get a tci sat. night special for $30.00. it only has 1500 miles on . do you think this will solve my problems?

 

The bushing should be flush with the bore it is driven into. If it sticks out into the area behind the seal it may be loose in the pump. The neck of the converter must be smooth, round and undamaged in any way. When the converter is fully seated in the
pump, there should not be a lot (over 1/4") of movement when you lift it from below.

 

thanks , i'll be sure to check those things once i drop it. i'm hoping it is something simple. i'll drop it in a couple days ,i'm fed up right now.

 

if the front bushing is bad,is this something i can fix myself?i have put a shift kit and the b&m changeover kit on this trans and i would hate to have to do it all over on another trans.
i am positive i put the shift kit in right so i dont think that has anything to do with the problem i'm having.it went too smooth for something to have been wrong . do you think it would be worth my effort to buy the TCI sat. night special?as i said, the guy wants $30 for it. i think thats a good price. he said i would have about 500 stall over stock. how much difference will this make?

 

My local tranny shop will replace a pump bushing and seal on
a carry-out basis. Ask around- maybe you can find one that will do it while you wait. It only takes 15-30min. The downside is finding a way to get the tranny there and back.

 

that sounds alot like my problem, out fo the blue my 700r4 started POURING out fluid, ..like a faucet, ..id let it run for 5 mins in the driveway and there would be a puddle the size of half my car when i went back to look. so im figuring the tranny must be dropped, how hard is it to drop a tranny?? what all has to be disconnected??? i dont wanna pay someone 300 bucks to drop the tranny for a 2 dollar gasket heh

 

This may sound stupid, but are you sure your dipstick tube is in all the way and it's not leaking from there? It's just a press fit.

 

it is not hard to drop your tranny. the main thing is getting the car high enough.if you dont get it off of the ground ,you will have problems getting it out from under the car.

disconnect your TV cable. put a floor jack under the pan(put a piece of plywood between the jack and pan to prevent damaging the pan).raise the jack just enough to put tension on the tranny. remove the driveshaft. disconnect the torsion bar. remove the inspection cover.take out the torque converter bolts. disconnect the speedo cable,tranny lines,and shift linkage.remove the crossmember. lower the tranny just enough that you can get to the top tranny to block bolts( use as many extensions as you need to reach them ,a u-joint also helps)remove the rest of the tranny to block bolts and drop it out. its not very hard. the worst part is doing all of this while laying on your back. also be sure you dont damage your distributor cap. i would take it off to be safe.the rear of the engine will come back against the firewall when you lower the jack.it only takes a couplke of hours and about a 12-pack to do it.take your time and pay attention to what you are doing ,its not that big of a deal. good luck