What Transmission in 1989 33RQ w/a Chevy frame?

Rickf1985 · June 08, 2017, 09:49 AM

Not that I can think of other than the driveshaft seal if it was leaking but if you were that far over full and the fluid coming out was not foamy then the trans is probably toast. You can pull the modulator and make sure the pin is there. I am guessing you do not know the history of this unit so you do not know what, if anything, has been done with this transmission? When you take the modulator out there will be a pin in the end of it, do not lose it and make sue it is partially rounded on both ends. Sometimes people grind the pin to try to get higher shift points. Make sure you have a drain pan capable of holding several gallons of fluid. Nothing worse than having fluid pouring into your drain pan and approaching the top of the pan and you realize it is not going to fit. Keep a few bolts in the tranny pan in case you have to stop the flow.
I just realized you said you parked it up the side of your septic mound, (not a good thing for the mound!) but if the front is up in the air then be sure to let it roll back down flat when you refill it to get a proper reading. All the fluid you put in will be running towards the back and away from the pickup so you will need to get it flat before filling it.

Easternmost Winnebago · June 08, 2017, 10:17 AM

The previous owner kept everything he did to it including service and parts receipts with notes but there are hundreds of them and i was afraid i'd have to search thru them sooner or later for info on it's history. I Think if it is toast i'll pull the engine and tranny together and get them both rebuilt at the same time and update whatever else i can.

Rickf1985 · June 08, 2017, 10:29 AM

If your front end is the same as mine then the engine has to come out through the drivers door so you may want to rethink that idea if the engine is running good.

Easternmost Winnebago · June 08, 2017, 01:55 PM

I Was looking at the front end and everything is Bolted instead of being welded and it looks like if i jacked the whole front end up a bit i can get a boom lift in and maybe ease it up and out. It does look like it will clear if i get the front mounts separated .

tmsnyder · June 08, 2017, 02:02 PM

Seems like it would be a good idea to drop the pan and change the fluid and filter and get it filled to the appropriate level. Maybe there's something wrong inside the pan.

Easternmost Winnebago · June 08, 2017, 05:56 PM

I Finally got the filter delivered late this afternoon because it was apparently the only one in Maine and it was relayed driver to driver for 24 hours till it got here to the house...go figure. So if i don't get rained out tomorrow as predicted i'll get under it and drop the pan and look around inside good and report anything strange before i close it up with a new filter and gasket on. Then i'll check the modulator and get the old cooling lines loose so i can get those rebuilt and clean it up good before i refill it etc.

Easternmost Winnebago · June 13, 2017, 07:50 AM

Well the rain stopped and i was able to get under the 33 RQ and after fighting one bolt jammed above the cross member i finally got the trans pan off and it was very clean other than a little thick grease with about four fine pieces of metal stuck to the magnet in the bottom of the pan. They were paper thin and very small pieces of metal so i'm not too worried about them. The filter was rusted inside the upper part and the grommet was cracked on it. The fluid was clear but i'm not gauging or basing an opinion on anything because other people had dumped so much new fluid in it. The two steel lines coming from the front to the back right side of the trans. have serious rust issues and are all dry and clean except at the two lowest points close to the ground and have fresh wet spots on both lines so they are done. The top vacuum line is cracked like elephant hide and is also shot so i may be getting a bit of luck or whether or not the trans. itself is o.k. So i'll just keep picking away at it till i'm sure it's ready for the road. While i'm under the beast i'll clean up and touch up the light rust issues and repaint the frame and storage compartment box bottoms and undercoat them. I Was surprised at how many drive shafts were under that thing and will probably replace all of the universal joints while i can get to them easily.

Rickf1985 · June 13, 2017, 08:14 AM

Be absolutely sure to mark all of the shafts at the joints and splines so they all go back together in the exact same position. Any mistakes here and you can have a vibration that will be very hard to track down.

Froggy1936 · June 13, 2017, 01:33 PM

The cracked grommet on the filter could have been the original problem (causing air to be sucked into the pump ) Possibly the reason for the overfill to supply fluid above the crack , With enough air in the pump it would be buzzing constantly, and quite possibly causing slipping of bands and clutches under load ! If there was no major wear from previous condition you might just luck out, Frank

Easternmost Winnebago · June 13, 2017, 08:05 PM

I'm waiting on the modulator valve to show up now then i'll pull the rotted steel cooling lines off and take them to town to the NAPA and get some new ones made up. Then i'm going to replace the trans. cooler with a newer more efficient model and take the radiator out and get it dipped and rodded out if it's worth keeping and reinstall everything with new water hoses and clamps etc. My Dad used to say that you should "polish every link in the chain" to cover all your bases.

Froggy1936 · June 13, 2017, 08:56 PM

You can make new cooler lies with copper tubeing ,reinforced hose and clamps,or flared with fittings T hey do not have to be steel ! Frank

Rickf1985 · June 13, 2017, 09:37 PM

Do not be surprised if the radiator is toast. I put am aluminum one in mine and it works just fine.

Easternmost Winnebago · June 14, 2017, 07:11 AM

When i looked at it up close it is heavy with chalk and corrosion to the point that flakes are coming off the cooling fins so i'll just change it outright when i change the trans. cooler. I Noticed when it was running and up to full engine temps. that the cooling fans were just barely moving. So i checked the fans and they seemed like they were sticking a bit and wouldn't turn easily so i'll have to find a newer more efficient upgrade. While i'm in the cooling business i was thinking of fabricating a air scoop to hang under the front bumper to attempt to throw more cool air up on the engine. I've built one before for a rat rod and built it to swing up out of the way if the scoop is hit by something in the road or if it's run into deep water but will drop back down to keep scooping air. I'm also thinking of rebuilding and redesigning the whole front clip below the windshield to draw more air into the front and to allow me to modernize the lighting and turn signals when i change all the guide lights to LED's.

tmsnyder · June 14, 2017, 08:03 AM

Those electric fans in front of the radiator won't come on unless you override the temperature switch on the drivers side of the radiator end cap. Ground the connector and they should run. Otherwise they won't come on until the engine hits about 220F iirc. They are just supplemental cooling, the main cooling fan is the belt driven one. They also come on with the A/C on another temperature or pressure switch iirc.
Yeah that bolt over the cross member is not the easiest bolt to get at. I replaced mine with a socket head cap screw so I could just use an allen wrench on it. Much easier than trying to get a wrench or socket on it.

A new more efficient aluminum radiator for mine was $140 from RockAuto. One difference, since the endcaps are plastic, they didn't put in the temperature switch probably b/c the switch wouldn't be grounded in the plastic. I relocated mine to the water pump. Also the upper tranny cooling line (return to tranny) was higher and required an extension. I used that opportunity to add a tranny temperature sensor at that location so I could see the tranny fluid temperature after it had been cooled.

You found a cracked grommet on the filter, change that so it's not sucking air, pop in a new filter, fill with the appropriate volume of fluid and drive it. It's probably fine.

What's wrong with the modulator?

Change the vacuum line, cheap and easy.

I doubt NAPA will bend cooler lines for you, just get brake line and do it yourself with a double flare tool. The lines are 5/16" on mine, probably the same on yours. A tubing bender also helps but if the rest of yours looks good just cut out the bad section, flare the cut ends and put in the new replacement tubing. They make unions for brake tubing. You could also use brass compression unions. Just trying to save you some work and money, as mentioned there's not much pressure there.

Rickf1985 · June 14, 2017, 11:05 AM

The fans were turning slowly due to the airflow being pulled through them from the engine fan. My wiring had been hacked for some reason and as TM mentioned when you do to the aluminum radiator you no longer have the temp sensor so I just hooked them up to a switch on the dash and I can turn them on and off as I please. If I am in traffic I will turn them on and leave them on, It does make a difference. The factory temp gauge is absolutely worthless, It sits on the bottom side of warm. I have verified with the laser that it is running normal but I do want to put a full set of aftermarket gauges in there. I like TJ's gauge panel setup.

CapnDirk · June 14, 2017, 11:16 AM

There are many tubing outfits on the web. Even if they don't have yours, you can ship them yours and have them duplicated. Classic tube and PST come to mind.

Rickf1985 · June 14, 2017, 06:44 PM

Any place that works on heavy equipment is usually set up to make lines, the problem is finding the ends.

tmsnyder · June 14, 2017, 08:58 PM

The end on the radiator is a inverted flare (brake line) fitting. Not sure what the end is on the transmission, my bet is it's something common, this is from 1980s, might even be a pipe thread fitting. But if the bad section is cut out, a new piece of 5/16 tubing can be spliced in with two compression unions like these:

https://www.amazon.com/Dorman-800-142-Steel-Compression-Union/dp/B0049DXMZY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1497488220&sr=8-2&keywords=5%2F16+compression+union

Easiest fix, and cheap.

Easternmost Winnebago · June 15, 2017, 08:06 AM

Even if the fans weren't supposed to be running the fan blades shouldn't have been too stiff to turn by hand. They are covered in baked on grease and i'm pretty sure they aren't worth risking keeping them. As for the Modulator valve it has a bad o-ring and a big rock/debris dent in the sheet metal housing right against inner tube and it looks like original factory stock. NAPA told me they can make new stainless braided hydraulic lines up for me if i brought the old ones in, but i need the new radiator and trans cooler first to make sure i have the right end fittings.

Rickf1985 · June 15, 2017, 09:07 AM

Whoa! Braided stainless lines from trans to radiator in 5/16 are going to be really, REALLY pricey I would think. You are talking probably 15 feet of line and that is not counting turns to go around things. I usually use steel line along the frame and then a section of low pressure hydraulic hose on each end for the connections. The hydraulic hose is designed for hot oil and will not degrade and is good up to I think it is 300 psi.

tmsnyder · June 15, 2017, 02:08 PM

I just put in a new radiator ~4 months ago and aux cooler ~1 week ago including making up tubing from brake line (cheap and strong and OEM type) This is on my 1989 P30 chassis (1990 coach) . They are 5/16 steel lines. His being an 1989, I assume it's the same but whatever they turn out to be he should keep them the same as factory or bigger.

Easternmost Winnebago · June 15, 2017, 03:44 PM

Yeah i decided to take mine off and send them off to have new pipe made to match and go from there. I just want to see what i end up with for a radiator and trans.cooler to make sure my front ends match up and i don't screw myself. Right now i'm sick of hydraulics and lines. I've been messing with a old Farmall super C trying to find out why my 3 point hitch hydraulic ram stopped lifting and spent all day taking everything off from one end to the other and i'm sick of it all now. The motor home can sit for a while.

Rickf1985 · June 15, 2017, 06:10 PM

I never saw a transmission with 1/2 inch lines, doesn't mean someone did not modify them somewhere along the line. The fitting coming out of the trans is 5/16 so there s nothing to gain by going with 1/2" other than holding more fluid.

Easternmost Winnebago · July 10, 2017, 07:20 PM

Well I tried to order a Transmission dipstick top seal but ended up with the tube grommet with the right built in lips to seal the dipstick tube itself at the trans. but nothing available at Summit racing where i get a discount. I Even googled it under trans. dipstick seal, grommet, cap seal, wiper seal, you name it but no replacement seal like that or even any pictures of it can be found, but plenty of companies selling the complete dipstick , assembly. Any ideas? am i using the wrong terminology/name ?

Rickf1985 · July 10, 2017, 08:21 PM

That seal is part of the dipstick. Can't help with finding one though.