New here / need help

[Bonanza76c10]

i have a 1976 Chevy c10 Scottsdale bonanza I’ve been driving it since November. It was my great great grandpas truck. I am the third owner It only has 56,*** miles. I have a three fifty motor with a three fifty transmission. The truck sat ina barn for two years without being touched after my cousins death. One day I put it in reverse and as I took off it shook and seemed to grind a tiny bit. It burned my transmitter fluid and will not shift into second or third. I noticed when watching videos of th350 rebuilds that mine may be missing parts. They seem to have three or four “trays” in them one of which the filter sits on. Mine seems to be missing the one the filter sits on and the one above that. Can anyone diagnose my problem and tell me if it is worth fixing or getting a new transmission.

 

[animal]

Hi Ryan and I moved your post from introduction to automatic transmission for better visibility.
@HotRodPC maybe able to answer your question.

 

[Charlie]

 

[HotRodPC]

Not sure I really understand that. So what are these "trays" you speak of? Why would it be missing parts? Did someone take parts from it while it was sitting? So if it's a 56,000 mile truck from 76, that tells me it has sat alot. Fluid drains to the pan, eventually the seals dry out and get hard then they don't seal so fluid is allowed to get around them. Sometimes, they'll work at first with cold thicker fluid and as soon as it warms up it begins to slip due to clutch piston failure within a drum because the seals can no longer hold for the thnner warmer fluid to compress the clutch drum pistons. Then people will tend to keep trying to nurse it back home, or give it alot of gas thinking more rpms is helping when all your doing is spinning clutches and burning the hell out of them then it's just cooking them and there's no hope in sight. Only hope in sight there POSSIBLY could be, and I say POSSIBLY because it's not assured to work, is to try a Trans Conditioner additive. One of those magic potion additives that I don't like. Trans conditioner might soften and swell the dried out seals from all the sitting and not being used. If someone has already driven it and fried the clutches due to excessive slipping then it's all over good night see ya later, pull it and have it rebuilt.

 

[1973c10]

 

[Bonanza76c10]

Thank you. I’m pretty good with cars but I’m not very informed on automatic transmissions. The trays are in the picture here. Yes the truck was basically driven to church by my great great grandparents and no more. My cousin then got it and actually put most of the miles on it but it’s sat for two years after he died. I put the transmission in reverse once and the fluid burnt. From then on it will not shift.

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[RoryH19]

Since you already have the trans apart I assume you are rebuilding yourself?
I see the valve body but not sure what may be missing since you've started the tear down process. Have you pulled the clutch packs already? Is there any friction material left? How is the front pump?

 

[Bonanza76c10]

This is not my transmission. I have no clue where to start on tearing down mine. I have very limited knowledge of auto transmissions. I’m saying my transmission as it sits in the truck looks like the top picture but should look like the bottom.

 

[bucket]

So you have driven this truck before the problem, right? If so, someone stole your trans parts and that's why it no longer works. There's no way you could have been driving the truck before with a missing valve body.

 

[Bonanza76c10]

I got the truck and a week later I but new atf in it. That was about two or so months before the problem if that part is called the valve body then the valve body had been missing for about two moths before this problem

 

[HotRodPC]

Geez, I feel soooo lost. I'm really not sure what you are referring to as trays. I know we're just having a terminology problem here but I just can't figure out what you're calling trays. Transmission Pan maybe? But there is only one of those. Valve Body? There's only one of those too.

So has the transmission been pulled apart at all???

 

[Rooster336]

My 79' has a newly rebuilt th350 in it. The gentleman I bought it from had your similar problem only it happened to him in 1st gear. The truck had sat for a long time while he was rebuilding the engine allowing the tranny seals to rot. Once he drove it the hard/rotten old seals and fluid were throughout the entire trans. Its got ~1500 miles on the rebuild and going strong.

 

[hatzie]

You're loosing me too...

Some marked up pictures would help get everyone on the same page. Not sure what you're calling trays... If I'm correctly interpreting the pictures you posted... It looks like you're calling the valve body a tray.
Did someone else pull the pan and lower half of the valve body?
The valve body has a sheet metal separator plate between the upper and lower sections with several different holes drilled and several different sized check balls.
Did you drop the check balls?
Are you missing the separator plate for some reason?

I assume "transmitter fluid" is Automatic Transmission Fluid... otherwise known as Dexron.
The original 1976 GM ATF is, the now long obsolete, Dexron II ATF. You should be running Dexron VI ATF now. You can get away with the stuff that's labeled "compatible with Dexron III". However. Dexron VI is usually cheaper than the "compatible" fluids and it's actually licensed by GM and tested to meet GM specifications.
How do you know the ATF is burned?
It should be bright red. Burned fluid is dark red to brown and smells burned.


A suggestion about posts...
Posting a wall of text with no breaks makes it difficult to read.
I'm not trying to be nasty just trying to make it easier for us to help you.

Example:

This is the same as the above but it's a wall of text...
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You're loosing me too... Some marked up pictures would help get everyone on the same page. Not sure what you're calling trays... If I'm correctly interpreting the pictures you posted... It looks like you're calling the valve body a tray. Did someone else pull the pan and lower half of the valve body? The valve body has a sheet metal separator plate between the upper and lower sections with several different holes drilled and several different sized check balls. Did you drop the check balls? Are you missing the separator plate for some reason? I assume "transmitter fluid" is Automatic Transmission Fluid... otherwise known as Dexron. The original 1976 GM ATF is, the now long obsolete, Dexron II ATF. You should be running Dexron VI ATF now. You can get away with the stuff that's labeled "compatible with Dexron III". However. Dexron VI is usually cheaper than the "compatible" fluids and it's actually licensed by GM and tested to meet GM specifications. How do you know the ATF is burned? It should be bright red. Burned fluid is dark red to brown and smells burned. A suggestion about posts... Posting a wall of text with no breaks makes it difficult to read. I'm not trying to be nasty just trying to make it easier for us to help you.

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Not easy to wade through...

The first half of my post with breaks is a heckuva lot more understandable.

 

[yevgenievich]

pictures of your transmission in current state would help

 

[Bonanza76c10]

Sadly I have no way of getting to my transmission right now. The truck is at my friends because it got stuck in first gear there. I have not had time to bring it home yet. After doing some research the “trays” I am referring to is the valve body I guess it’s a two or three piece part. I don’t have the money to have it rebuilt, and I don’t have the know how with transmissions to rebuild it myself. I’m looking into buying a new transmission if rebuilding it is the only way to fix the transmission.