Could be the shift linkage (Shift shaft) seal. I need to replace the one on my truck too. Fluid just piddles out, i replace it when it gets low and it piddles out some more.. 
Could be the shift linkage (Shift shaft) seal. I need to replace the one on my truck too. Fluid just piddles out, i replace it when it gets low and it piddles out some more..
Could be the tailshaft seal. I also had the vacuum modulator go bad, but it just sucked the ATF into the carb. Always low on transmission fluid, engine oil was always over-full, hmmm.
I've had the dipstick tube leak a lot also.
Tony Sestito said:That high-compression V8 sound with long tubes is just the bee's knees.
Wait, high compression? (First-time caller, long-time listener on this thread).
In reply to DarkMonohue :
Yes, high compression.
.060-over Pontiac 400 with giant domed forged Speed Pro pistons and #96 heads from a 1971 GTO. I think it's around 9.3:1. A stock 400 from 1974 (which this was based on) was around 7.9:1. Basically, I told the builder that I want to get as much out of it on pump gas and stay streetable. I was chasing HP figures and being dumb when I built it. Should be good for around 400hp with the cam that's in it. I would have built it much differently if I did it today. Hell, it would probably just have a big LS if I did it today.
So, thinking about all the transmission leaking issues...
Waaaaaay back when the car was still running around with the 403, I used to have an issue where trans fluid would puke up through the dipstick tube. This would make a mess and smoke a lot, obviously. I read back then that it could have either been caused by a plugged vent or the vacuum modulator going bad. I bought a modulator, but never installed it. When I pulled the 403 out and swapped in the 400, I cleaned the vent then, which was clogged with grease and gunk. The problem seemed to go away after that. Also, this would only happen when it was running.
I'm thinking that I should snag all the O-rings, grommets, and seals, grab that modulator I bought 20 years ago, and schedule some lift time at my friend's place and just replace all of that.
I found this kit on the Jungle Website that seemingly comes with ALL the seals for an affordable price, so I'll have to schedule some lift time to get this done. I mean, it has to be one of these, right?
RIGHT???
Great to see this back in service! I was following this one when you first started cutting the floors. 2nd gen F-bodies (mostly Camaros) were the bulk of what I learned to do rust repair and body work on in the late 1900's. 😅 Catching up on this thread I'm realizing how much I forgot about them since then.
I just wanted to say "Thanks a lot" for sharing those Sparcos. The herringbone pattern ones just nail the aesthetic I'm after in my wagon, and I needed something out of budget to lust after in vain. lol
In reply to Tony Sestito :
We ran T350's for 2 seasons on our circle track car and pan leaks were a constant struggle.
We eventually resorted to RTVing the paper gaskets to the pan on the bench (and letting it cure) then copper coat spray on the trans and the other side of the gasket, and that solved just in time for a manual swap.
We also ran a reinforced pan with a +/- 3/16 metal strip on the bolt side of the flange. Want to say it was a Milodon product. Otherwise even a tiny bit over torqued and the pan would distort and leak between the bolt holes. So I guess make sure your pan is dead flat and maybe use a torque wrench + RTV.
Later when I got my Kingswood Estate with a T350 I used the same RTV/Copper coat procedure with a stock pan without issue unless I over torqued it.
This Spring has been busy between family and work stuff, so I haven't had much time to wrench on anything, but the wheels are still turning thinking about my project vehicles. I'm starting to come up with a list of what I'd like to do with each one this year in terms of fixing stuff.
And before I forget, I wanted to post here that with the help of some other 2nd Gen owners in a FB group, I've ID'ed my missing blower motor wire:
It's confirmed to be a BROWN wire. It has to be in there somewhere; it may be that broken one pointed out previously. At least I know what I'm looking for now! Should be a simple fix. I should also probably reinstall all of the heater ducting at some point now that the car has floors again.
Before I can even mess with that, I do need to source the location of the transmission fluid leak. I have a sneaking suspicion it's the speedo gear housing, which seems to be a common failure point, but we'll see. Once it stops leaking things, I can move onto all the other stuff the car needs, and be able to cruise in it as I fix things. That will be nice!
Yesterday, I decided to take a peek under the car and see if I could locate where that transmission fluid leak is coming from. And yeah...
It's pretty clear that the speedometer housing is the source. I read somewhere that if you see droplets hanging from under the housing, it's where the leak is. And yup, that checks out. The problem I have now is the "reseal the entire TH350" kit I ordered of course doesn't have the speedo gear housing O-ring. Apparently, TH350's had two styles of speedo gear housings:
This kind:
Or the larger style:
It appears that this car has the latter. The O-Ring I have is for the smaller style. So I'll need to source that.
I'm also guessing there are more leaks all over the thing, so I may just throw all the seals at it.
That will be satisfying to have the whole thing resealed!
While I wait on seals to arrive, I've been thinking about dumb things like valve covers. I have to pull the valve covers anyway to adjust the rockers, so it's a "while I'm in there" kind of thing to swap the rusty, lame, tall chrome ones on there now with something cooler.
Back when I originally built the engine, I had a set of vintage Mickey Thompson cast aluminum covers on the thing. You know, these:
Some people find these lame, but I have always liked them. When I switched over to Harland Sharp roller rockers, they ended up being too short. And to add insult to injury, one of the rails cracked at some point, which relegated them to wall hangers. I've been thinking of fixing the crack, getting some thicker gaskets to clear the rockers, and getting them back on the engine. I need to take some measurements to see if that's doable. They do make valve cover spacers, but at $100+, I would rather not deal with those if I can.
What would be even better than thick valve cover gaskets is when you're having them fixed have the welder Fab and install a thicker plan. You're already going to have to sandblast them and re-polish them might as well make it all one Fell Swoop
In reply to Dusterbd13 :
The "welder" is my buddy Greg. He's 1000% not doing that. 
I can do thicker gaskets. They make up to 5/16" thickness for this reason.
These will likely get painted crinkle coat black (like they are now) to hide the imperfections and get polished fins and letters this time around. The ones in the pic above aren't the ones I have.
I have the super thick felpro gasket setup on the cal customs in my duster for this reason. They do work for the most part....
Last night, I decided to remove that speedo housing to confirm the leak.
After looking at the leak, it appeared to be coming both out of the perimeter seal and right out the speedo cable itself. And man, it was leaking A LOT. After some wrangling, I got it out and cleaned it up.
The seal on the inside is held in by a little C-clip, and I think 75% of the leaking is happening here. And the "complete transmission seal kit" once again was missing this seal. 
So, now I'm waiting for another kit:
As far as I can tell from the research I've done, the B-O-P TH350 could have had either the small speedo housing or the 2" housing like I have. The seal kits out there (like the one I bought) cater to the more common "bullet" housing that's mainly on Chevy stuff. Granted that the seal is 46 years old now, it was probably due for replacement. So, now we wait another week for that to show up. Gah....
Tony Sestito said:While I wait on seals to arrive, I've been thinking about dumb things like valve covers. I have to pull the valve covers anyway to adjust the rockers, so it's a "while I'm in there" kind of thing to swap the rusty, lame, tall chrome ones on there now with something cooler.
Back when I originally built the engine, I had a set of vintage Mickey Thompson cast aluminum covers on the thing. You know, these:
Some people find these lame, but I have always liked them. When I switched over to Harland Sharp roller rockers, they ended up being too short. And to add insult to injury, one of the rails cracked at some point, which relegated them to wall hangers. I've been thinking of fixing the crack, getting some thicker gaskets to clear the rockers, and getting them back on the engine. I need to take some measurements to see if that's doable. They do make valve cover spacers, but at $100+, I would rather not deal with those if I can.
$100 for valve cover spacers. That's the kind of thing that would be $15 in the '90s from P.A.W.
In reply to GCrites :
Right? They should be $25 at most! It's dumb.
Kind of makes one wonder whether one could send one's CAD file to sendcutsend and save a six-pack or two worth of currency.
Just over a week later, and we're back.
Seal on the left is the new one, and the seal on the right is what came out of the housing. Hard to tell, but the old seal did shrink a bit, which is how I suspect most of the fluid was escaping.
And all buttoned up. Getting the housing back in without getting gunk in the housing bore was a real pain. Getting the car up high enough was the main issue; I couldn't clean it as well as I wanted to. I did hose the area down with degreaser and did the best I could to get the area de-gunked. Eventually (and carefully), I got the re-sealed housing back in place, and it seems to not leak now. I hope. Time will tell. If I do have to remove it again, I have a couple of spare outer O-rings, just in case. I'll be dumping some ATF back in and sending it, for now. I'll also keep an eye on all the other seals, grommets, and O-rings now that I have them all.
Also, I had my friend take a look at my M/T valve covers. He said that he could attempt to fix them, but because of how they broke, they aren't going to look pretty. He suggested that they are better as wall hangers. Bummer. I do have another set of tall chrome ones I will be swapping on once I go to adjust the valvetrain. That will be sooner than later. I'm also keeping an eye out for some old school blue anodized tall covers. It would match the rest of the "Day Two Car" vibe the car already has going for it. Plus anodized stuff rules hard.
Fired up the car tonight for the first time since November. I wanted to see how much fluid I lost in the trans, and you have to do that with the car warm and in park, so that was a great excuse. Fired right up with no issues and sounded healthy, save for that valvetrain tick it's always had. And yep, bone dry with no reading on the stick. I went out and picked up 6qts of ATF and stuff for an oil change. I realized I haven't changed the oil since 2022! 😳
Also, on the seat replacement front...
I checked with my dad, and those Corvette seats are a no-go. He thinks he tossed the broken seat out. I looked around and found the passenger seat, but not the broken driver's seat. Bummer. So, I've been looking at other budget options, mainly stuff I could find on Marketplace or a boneyard that I can get covers for on lseat.com.
One intriguing option are 1st gen Audi TT seats. They look cool and sort of match the back seats I have. I can find them for cheap from time to time. The other option is kind of an easy one: 4th Gen F-Body seats. I found a set of leather Trans Am seats that need to be recovered for $100 locally. New covers in dark red (or black) are $350. Also, with a little modification, the rear seats will fit, too. It's a well documented mod. Either way, they will be a huge upgrade over the busted Camaro seats in the car now.
A bit more on the seat stuff.
For reference, here are the Mk1 Audi TT seats:
And here are my back seats:
I think they are "close enough" pattern-wise to work, and they look comfortable. I don't know anyone with a TT, so I can't take measurements. My biggest concern is that they would be too tall in the car. Modern seats seem to be much taller than old bucket seats, so it can be an issue in these cars. I also don't know how I would adapt those tracks to the car; the Trans Am floors are kind of funky in that respect. I also don't know if CANBUS would become an issue.
On the other hand, these are the 4th Gen Trans Am seats:
These don't fit as aesthetically as the TT ones do, but the other bonus is that you can swap in the rears into a 2nd Gen as well. They are nice and dumb with no CANBUS stuff, and they bolt in with little modification. Hell, I could probably just bolt my tracks to these seats.
Lseat.com makes leather upholstery kits for both of these for $349 in all sorts of colors. They have 3 shades of red, too. Either way, this is a cheaper route than going aftermarket, and I can keep the seats red if I want to.
Any other seats I should keep an eye out for? Mainly looking for stuff that came from a coupe so they flip forward for rear passenger access.
I have a set of the 4th gen seats in my 3rd gen, and I really love them. Super comfy and handsome, IMO
Second gen neon seats. I have them in my duster. And have had them in other cars. Freaking comfy, low to the floor, cheap and readily available.
You'll need to log in to post.
