TH350 Governor Removal While Transmission In The Car

[Tynan918]

I want to take out my governor for inspection.

2nd and 3rd gear seem to shift fine, but 1st gear to 2nd gear is kind of rough, hesitant, and "jumps" into 2nd gear.

This car sat for a year or so I was told, and I'm reading that sitting will cause a governor to stick.

I've replaced the transmission filter and replaced the vacuum canister because transmission fluid was in the hose, indicating it was failing. I've adjusted the shift points by turning the adjuster screw clockwise and counter clockwise before, and it was hard to see a difference in shifting.

I see a lot of other guys saying the crossmember needs to be removed and the transmission dropped in order to get the governor out and replaced. Seen a guy on YouTube only remove his exhaust pipe and without dropping the transmission on a'79 Corvette in 30 minutes.

My thing is, the less I need to remove, the better and easier it makes things for me.

My question is, is there any way I can remove the transmission governor from a TH350 without removing anything else to get it out and in ?

 

[Tynan918]

Can anybody tell me why the top of the transmission would leak fluid from the top of the transmission ?

Was filling it up and heard a faint pop and gurgle sound to find some fluid leaking from the top of the transmission...

"Vent tube" leak...

 

[08Malibu]

Was the fluid burnt and did you find a lot of clutch material in the pan? I’d make sure it was full and put some miles on the car. You would be surprised what running your car can do, they don’t like to sit.

 

[dmac35242]

I'm going to speculate that its very much overfilled. The dipstick may not be right for the trans and not show an accurate level.

 

[CopperNick]

Right about where the body of the transmission starts to curve up and out to become the bell housing there is a short length of plastic line that is the breather vent for internal pressure. If you have oil drooling from anywhere, maybe take a light and a mirror and check that tube. Also how much ATF have you put in the box and have you pulled the stick to check the level?



Nick

 

[Tynan918]

Right about where the body of the transmission starts to curve up and out to become the bell housing there is a short length of plastic line that is the breather vent for internal pressure. If you have oil drooling from anywhere, maybe take a light and a mirror and check that tube. Also how much ATF have you put in the box and have you pulled the stick to check the level?



Nick

No tube there, just an open hole...should I put a plastic tube in it ?

 

[Tynan918]

Governor is out without removing the crossmember or dropping the transmission...

How do I inspect it and what should I be looking for ?

 

[Tynan918]

 

[Tynan918]

I'm going to speculate that its very much overfilled. The dipstick may not be right for the trans and not show an accurate level.

Possibly... I did check the fluid level with the engine warm, in park, and car level...showed completely empty...but with a cold engine it showed less than 1/4 full...

 

[CopperNick]

About the absence of that breather tube topside on the case, it is not just a surface mounted item, it actually continues on past the case down into the guts of the transmission. Getting the stump out and a new one installed is a drop the pan proposition. If there ix enough of the old tube accessible then it might be possible to slip a hard plastic vacuum connector nipple into it and add the exterior tubing to that. If, however, the tube broke internally, then instead of venting to the outside it is venting internally and for the consequences of that you would have to speak to a transmission specialist. Basically whatever air pressure or movement that that tube is supposed to relieve is remaining in the case.

As for the governor mechanism, the picture seems to show an assembly that is clean and absent of rust or crud that could hamper the deployment of the weights in response to the centrifugal force being applied to it. If the weights move freely in and out and don't seem to flopping or wobbling on their pivot pins I can't think of any other issues. The only item that commends itself to me is that the Corvette version of the governor is meant to work with a high performance transmission to give crisper shifts and faster response to acceleration input. If the rest of the t-box is not built to work with the governor, hip friction plates and stronger shells and planetary gears then what you get by way of performance may be less than optimal.

As for what is showing on the stick, two possibilities. One is, as has been mentioned, the stick is not correct for the box. Alternatively, if you are running a deeper pan, then the stick can register low but the pan have the correct amount of fluid in it. In either case you need to figure out if the stick is correct and swap it out for the proper one if it isn't.



Nick

 

[CopperNick]

And probably get a totally different reading when they do it. That always drove me nuts because the manual wanted the ATF checked with fluid hot and the car in gear. Seeing that admonition always set off that alarm bell in my head; that "Danger, Will Robinson, Danger" vibe that doing it that way might not go all that well. Visions of the car deciding to wander off towards the garage wall or the nearest flower beds or the street or?? don't make for a good night's sleep!



Nick