92 T/C Tansmission

[ntwalker]

I recently aquired a 92 T/C. The transmission was slugish taking off until it warmed up. I changed the fluid and found a plastic part floating in the fluid.
(Sorry, but the easiest description is that it looks like a minature toliet plunger with an o-ring around the bottom round part).
K 351-3 8 is stamped in the bottom.
I could not find where the part would fit so I left it out and put the pan back on and added the fluid. Now the car will not move.
Does anyone have any ideas? Would this part cause the problem?
Thanks to all.

[Bearfoot]

The loose part should be a plug for the dipstick hole, put in when the tranny was made. It just pushes out when the dipstick is first inserted. If the plug was still in the pan it is a good indication the oil was never changed !

If the plug was out of the tranny itself and is the cause of it not working now, it would have quit working before changing oil - IMHO.

Did you drain the converter? Did you put enough oil in?

[ntwalker]

Thanks for your reply, I was worried. I just changed the fluid and filter by removing the pan. How do I drain the converter? I'll recheck the levels tonight. The car was very sluggish to take off from a stop before it warmed up but it shifted ok. I guess the fluid change didn't solve the original problem.

[Bearfoot]

Since mine is a '95 and I know nothing of any of the others I can't tell you for sure about draining the converter on a '92. On mine there is a drain plug in the converter and I used a large screw driver to turn the converter until the plug was on the bottom, unscrewed the plug and and let it drain for about 20 minutes. But, read on.

I guess I was lucky because if you go back through the forum you will find where Towncar has given numerous warnings about changing ALL the oil at once. I don't recall the time frame and amounts but read back to what he has to say. My '95 had never been drained when I bought it (the plug was in the pan - and there was a lot of filings on the magnet) and it had 170k on the clock. Unless you think you may need to put in another tranny anyway, my suggestion would be to read what Towncar has to say before draining completely and putting all new fluid in. This part I don't understand but Towncar is the TC guru - I'd pay attention to him.

Also, did you put in a new filter? They are cheap and easy to change and one of the primary causes for a "sluggish" tranny. It is very important on these cars to change the oil AND FILTER religiously according to the time/mileage frame in your owners manual. (I think it's every 30,000 mi.)

As I've said many times, I'm not a mechanic, but I am an old man and have had many cars and did "shade tree" work on most of them.

Also, when changing fluid, most of the guys put in a high quality additive, and wouldn't you know, I can't think of the name of the suggested additive - which you'll also find in some of Towncars posts about trannys.

[Bearfoot]

Sorry. Just re-read your last post and saw that you did change the filter.

[junk yard doggie]

The theory behind not ever changing the tranny fluid really applys to extremely worn transmissions. If you drain all the loose clutch material out there will be nothing left on the clutches to grab. In my opinion it's time for a rebuild at that point. I would think the trans would slip under load if the only thing keeping it going was loose clutch material. Most likely if the fluid is dark the trans is toast any way. How many miles on the car?

Mike

[Kitt1993]

Hello, I have used Lucus Transmission additive in my LTC. I swear by it. only costs 8 bucks a the parts store. I put a bottle in my 77 Caprice and got another year out of it...

[Bearfoot]

Thanks Kitt1993. That's what I put in mine last summer. Have used it in my diesel PU for years. Good stuff.

I'm getting too old...my forgetter is getting better and my memory is getting worser!

[ntwalker]

I finally let the car warm up, put it in gear several times. It needed more fluild, that was the problem. I have moved the car and it had no problem taking off. I haven't test drove the car on the street, but it seems ok.
thanks to all!