Blown Head Gasket

[bluebird]

I also recommend Trans-go, but do not install the race version.
It'll shift too hard for a heavy vehicle, and tear the planetarys up.
B&M also makes a very good th400 kit.

383= big block power from a small block.

[Froggy1936]

Hi Do you have your homemade trans stand bolted to the back of the case ?  I installed a transgo kit in the Turbo 400 i took out of my mini I did not notice any improvement But it worked very well with no excessive slippage on gear changes  They are very easy to install esp with tranny out . Reccomend deep oil pan and temp sensor also Frank

[cncsparky]

I also recommend Trans-go, but do not install the race version.
It'll shift too hard for a heavy vehicle, and tear the planetarys up.
B&M also makes a very good th400 kit.

383= big block power from a small block.

So a 1-2 shift chirp from the duals isn't good LOL      

[M & J]

There is also a vaccum modulator that controls shifts. If its not working or no vaccum signal from the engine it can also cause a high rpm 1-2 shift.
Ours did that when we bought it and found a crack in the elbow connecting the engine vaccum to modulator. No rebuild needed.

[Peterbylt]

Been Busy, Got the transmission rebuilt. Remind me never to try that again (although I probably will if this one works).
Good thing I took it apart, the previous rebuilder stripped out a total of 8 bolts and glued them in with silicon, no wonder it leaked, I drilled tapped and hellicoiled them, found numerous seals and springs missing that needed to be purchased. The hard parts were within specs so did not need to replace any of them. The ATP rebuild kit from Rock Auto was very good, had all the new Gaskets, seals, bushings, modulator and clutch packs. I did destroy and had to rebuy the center support bushing while trying to drive it in, a press would have been nice. I also sprung for a new deep B&M chrome pan, the old one looked like it had been run into a few things and actually had a few holes welded shut on it.



I purchased the Crate engine from Summit racing, fast delivery, I placed the order wed evening and had to leave work to unload it Friday morning.
They said the freight company (FedEx) would contact me and set up a delivery time.
They contacted me when they were sitting in my driveway. Summit still showed the order as not shipped yet.  Fortunately I was able to get it off the truck onto my bike lift, The engine hoist was still at the shop. These things are not light, 450 lbs.



Today I transferred over a lot of the parts that I need to install before putting it in the RV, Balancer, Flexplate, motormounts, waterpump then I bolted the engine and transmission together. Maybe tomorrow I can get it setting in place on the mounts.



Peter

[legomybago]

How did the governor look in the tranny?

[Peterbylt]

The Governor looked to be in good shape, all parts moved freely, all the measurements they said to check in the book were perfectly in spec. The gears for the governor and the speedometer looked to be in good shape and meshed perfectly. I rotated the transmission through several revolutions before putting the tailhousing on just to make sure they were working with out issue. (of course I am no expert so there could well have been an issue with it that I did not know to look for).

The old vacuum Modulator was another story, it was actually bent and could not have worked, fortunately there was a replacement in the rebuild kit.

Peter 

[Peterbylt]

I got to do some more work on the RV, I added a Truss on the crane for strength and found the next weakest point, one of the Cables supporting the Boom. Fortunately the engine was most of the way in the front and only dropped about an inch, no harm done, except scaring the crap out of me.



Replaced the 750 Lbs. capacity cables with a couple of 6500 lbs. capacity straps and we were back in business.



I think it was Molly that chewed through the cable.



I ended up removing the lifting cable completely and ran the lifting chain over the pulley, I still could not maneuver the engine and transmission into mounting position. Then I had the idea, I placed two 2x4 across the cutout for the bunk over the cab and ran a ratchet strap down and around the transmission. Once I cranked up and took some of the load off the crane and balanced the engine a little better, it just swung back into place and dropped right onto the motor mounts.





One of the exhaust manifolds was cracked almost in two, I had a set of Long tube headers that I tried mounting but had clearance issues with the shifting linkage, After trying a few of the local U-pull-it yards with no success I ordered a set of new exhaust manifolds from Summit racing, price was not bad about $70 a piece.

Mounted the manifold, Carb, distributor and set the timing.
 


I take pictures of everything, but I could not find the pictures I took of the mounting brackets for the Power steering pump, alternator, and A/C compressor. I also did not remember exactly how they went together, after about an hour of fiddling around and searching the internet (without any luck) for pictures I was able to figure out how they went together. Then I was able to mount the radiator. As soon as I get the exhaust manifolds I should be able to fire it up.





Peter

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

AC - Something like this?


PS



Alternator:


Link to GM Parts site:
GM Parts East

Dave

[Froggy1936]

Hi I see you added a reinforceing strap to the boom , No more bending ?  On the shifter linkage problem If you want to use the headers , You can install a floor shifter that uses a cable . I removed my dash cable shifter & installed a floor shifter wich i adapted to my 4 speed auto . Reinstalling the engine with tranny attached was also a problem for me Had to keep adjusting the hook up for angle See  my gallery And installing a 4 speed project  for shifter  Also the 95 van i took the eng & trans out of had a cable shifter from the column I have all the pieces if you want them incl the shifter cable and steering column Frank

[UK-Winnie]

I just saw this thread - I don't know anything about Chevy stuff but I'm loving your engine lifting rig.

And - "It’s just plain silly when you have to pull the headlights to change the engine."   

[Peterbylt]

Thanks for the offer Froggy, but I just got the new OEM manifolds in from Summit racing and I will stick with the stock setup for a while.
With new manifolds and what looks like a relatively new exhaust system I should be set for a while, I say OEM manifolds, but I purchased 89 manifolds instead of the 85, they are almost identical except they do not have the air injection fittings and I also left off the air pump and brackets from the front of the engine.
The Floor shifter does sound interesting should I get power hungry and decide that I really must install the headers and dual exhaust (and cam).Do you have a picture of what the floor shifter looks like? Mine is not controlled by a cable it has linkage all the way from the column shifter to the transmission.


Dave thanks for the pictures of the brackets, looks like I got them right. The pictures you show are good for the Alternator and AC, but the Powersteering pump also powers the Hydro-Boost Brakes and is completely different, I was able to locate the correct diagram through the GM Parts link you gave, Looks like I got that one correct as well.

The Truss and straps on the Crane really strengthened it quite a bit, I am sure I will once again push the limits at sometime and find the next weakest component, I am surprised at how often I have used it over the years, I have pulled many engines with it, Relocated the Hot Tub a couple of times, Relocated a couple of Concrete statues, Lowered roof trusses for the screen house into place and lifted Motorcycles into pickup trucks. I originally designed it to change the Inboard engines in my boat, when the boat was on the trailer I had to get the engine 11 foot in the air to clear the side of the boat. I stole the design concept from a show that I used to watch (and wish was still aired) called Junkyard wars.
Peter

[Rickf1985]

Ah yes, Junkyard wars. Where 90% of what they used sure as hell did not come from the junk yard! Clean, straight square steel tubing. Racing seats, DOM tubing.
I wish I had access to those type of junk yards!!!

[Peterbylt]

It’s alive, got her to the point today that I could take the first ride around the block.

Engine Ran good, plenty of power, no overheating, no strange noises, transmission moved forward and backward and shifted when it should.

I still have a bunch of things that need to be done, I need to finish installing the air conditioning components, The front of the van needs to be put back on, Grill, Bumper, headlights.  Some fine tuning needs to be done on the engine, Carb adjustments and wiring in the electric choke.

Then I get to start on the interior. The wife has already reupholstered most of the cushions and is waiting on me to do some carpentry before she can proceed.



Peter

[Froggy1936]

Heres a couple I replaced the cable shifter from the dash (Because I did not like it)  The floor shifter is a B&M for a 3 speed On my 4 speed everything works but i cant select manual low. The bracket at the trans i made , The 3 speed bracket would not mount on the 4 speed ,The shifter lever on the side of the trans is flipped (it used to face up) Works flawlessly I added heat shields to both ex pipes To keep heat off trans and shifter cable Frank

[Lefty]

Good job Peterbylt. Nothing like the smell of a new engine burning off the paint....lol

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

 

Dave

[Rickf1985]

What's your gas mileage? I figured I would get that in first since I know it will be asked a hundred times. :)rotflmao

[Froggy1936]

Rick Look under projects froggy1936 replace ing TH400 W 4L80E  4 speed  I have not been able to get a good MPG run yet but looks like 11+ is in site old started @ 8.5 MPG added Air Tabs went to 9.8MPG Last trip home was 10.4 MPG  I also added TBI fuel injection at same time as 4L80E Frank 

[Peterbylt]

What's your gas mileage? I figured I would get that in first since I know it will be asked a hundred times. :)rotflmao

I've only driven it for about a mile, so far the gas mileage has been really good, haven't put any gas in it yet (not even sure where the filler cap is) i?? .

As soon as I get it finished (and get it legally registered with a plate on it) I'm sure I will be posting the bad news, My 78 Chevy Pickup that has a 400+ hp 350 in it only gets about 7 MPG so anything better than that will be good.

Peter 

[Peterbylt]

Ok, I’ve driven it for a couple hundred miles.
After the first 4 or 5 miles the transmission decided to stop shifting out of first gear.
Didn’t matter where the shift selector was, stayed in first gear, Reverse was good, Forward good, no shift to second gear.
Checked the new Vacuum modulator and the valve behind it everything looked  good, All new rubber hose connections to the steel line going to the modulator, plenty of Vacuum, The modulator moved when vacuum was applied and the valve moved freely, Next I purchased a new Governor and installed it, all the gears were good and the old governor looked good as well.
Still no shifting.
So, I drained and pulled the pan and pulled the Valve body. I removed and cleaned every possible valve, piston, spring, snap ring, pin and passage that could be cleaned. I did find a small amount of residue in the detent valve but nothing that would have prevented it from shifting. I really could find nothing wrong. Bottom of the pan and the filter were perfectly clean.
So I put it all back together and much to my surprise it worked perfectly and shifted when it should.
This worked fine for about 200 miles, then last Sunday we went to take it for a ride and once again no shift out of first gear with the selector in D. The difference this time is that if you rev it up to where it should shift and then drop the selector from D to 2 it would shift into second, then if you revved out and put it back into D it would shift into 3^rd, but when you came to a complete stop it would not shift out of 1^st in D.
I decided to let a professional look at it and yesterday morning I drove it the 5 miles up to the transmission shop. Wouldn’t you know it, It shifted perfectly, just like a new transmission, They kept it overnight and drove it a few times, no issues, they tested the pressures and said there is nothing wrong with it and don’t think work is required at this time, also said issues like this happen sometimes with a newly rebuilt transmission as the parts settle in.
They would like me to take it back and drive it some more, If it starts acting up again then we should consider taking the transmission out and having them go through it.
All this has me a little nervous about taking any long trips, we are supposed to take a trip of 150 miles each direction over the Memorial Day weekend, guess that should work out any issues good or bad.
On the plus side the new engine runs like a clock. And we are getting the interior squared away.
Peter

[legomybago]

Wasn't the "no shift out of first gear" your original problem when you started this project? Thats a bummer you can't find anything obvious wrong. Keep driving her around as much as you can before your trip, maybe it won't happen again i??

Does it have a new torque converter?

[Rickf1985]

Your symptoms are screaming bad modulator or governor, you replaced the governor but did you replace the modulator? I know it looked good but.......................

[M & J]

Does he have a TH400?

Modulator or the vacuum line feeding it. Had the same problem on our Allegro when we brought it home. Red line shifts. Bought a replacement modulator but when i got under to replace it the rubber elbow from the hard line to the modulator was rotted away.

[Rickf1985]

He checked the lines and did a visual on the modulator but still happens.