Transmission Swap Tips

[Ross Love]

Originally Posted by MagicRat

Now, do you really have two O-rings holding that filter in?? All the trans manuals and service procedures I have specifically recommend against doing that because it places the filter pick-up too close to the bottom of the pan, possibly impeding flow. The old O-ring should come out.

But is it runs okay, forget about it, especially if you can sell it.

The old O-ring did not want to come out, so i cleaned it up on the inside and just put the new filter in without a new O-ring. The new filter pressed in nice and firm. I just dont know why there isnt a better method of holding these things in, and why the necks holding them in are made of plastic. I dont think i could have gotten it out without just snapping the neck off like i did.

On another note, now that the car is running okay, i will either do some other work that could be done (waterpump and valve cover gaskets) or i will have my brother run it through the auction so i can finish my VW project.

Does anyone know when the timing belt (or is it a chain) is supposed to be replaced? The car has 100k on it and i dont want it to snap and give me some bent valves.

[Ross Love]

Originally Posted by Ross Love

i will either do some other work that could be done (waterpump and valve cover gaskets) or i will have my brother run it through the auction so i can finish my VW project.

I think ive got a sixth sense, becuase i think my water pump just went out

Okay, so i was going to pick up my buddy from his house and there was an aweful sound coming from the engine bay, i was hoping that the tranny fluid filter didnt come loose or something and was knocking around in the pan. So i pulled over, and opened the hood with the engine running, and the sound was coming from the pully side of the engine. It sounded like there were some small rocks or pebbles bouncing around behind the pullies, terrible noise. So i babied the car home and took another look and there was coolant on the pully side of the engine around the engine mount, and just all over the pullies. I looked under the car and it was dripping off the crank pully to the ground. The water pump is right above the crank pully right? I also checked in the oil cap, and there was no coolant in it which was nice, i know that with VW's sometimes if the oil cooler goes out it can leak and get coolant in the oil.

On another note, i was keeping my eye on the water temp, and it stayed at 195* for the drive, so it didnt overheat. I think the water pump had been whining before this happened, so its not a huge surprise...

So, what do you guys think the noise was? Broken fins on the water pump? What are the fins made out of, plastic or metal? Also, if they did break off, could the parts circulate through the engine?

I called Schucks Auto Supply, and a reman. pump is only $16 which is nice. Ill probably end up doing the valve cover gaskets too when im in there.

Now i have to take tomorrow off school (just weight training ) to fix it.

Any tips on replacing the pump?

[Ross Love]

Okay, just finished the water pump and it runs well.

But the Haynes manual is kind of deceptive. It said that i would have to remove the engine mount if it had a FRONT mount, but ive got one on the SIDE of the engine, not what i would call front mount. But i had to remove it which was kind of a pain, but who cares, the car runs well.

Oh, and when i took off the old one, there was MAJOR shaft play, and half of the fins were shaved down, apparently they were grinding into the engine block

Thanks, guys.

[MagicRat]

Waterpumps often make a noise like a coffee grinder trying to digest pebbles. This is the bearings that make that noise. Sometimes the seal starts to leak coolant into the bearing cavity, which cuts the bearing life right down. Sometimes the bearings are just so old and worn they seize or the bearing race breaks.

Bad impellers tend not to make noise, they just allow the engine to overheat.

As for the filter, I think it is held in place by the valve body casting and the pan itself... which is why its critical to just have the one O-ring. I do not think the neck takes very much strain.

FWIW, I think its fine just to reuse the old ring, so long as its snug and in good shape.

Other trans filters use screws to hold them in place, including other GM transmissions, such as the THM 350.
I think the filter design for your trans, (the THM440, THM700R4 and 4L60, etc all look much the same) is more forgiving of low fluid levels than the screwed-in-place design, because the filter pick-up sits lower in the pan.