Transmission slow to warm up

[Yadkin]

This is an update. The transmission problem got progressively worse, so I dropped the pan and drained the fluid out of the convertor. A noticeable burned smell and slight brown color to the otherwise red. Gunk in the pan, and the filter coated with it. Although the gunk had a grey color to it I think it was more fiber from the new clutch friction disks than metal. At least I hope so. So the transmission had to get real hot for viscosity to drop in order to pump fluid through the shifter circuit.

I bought a new filter from Oreilly's. China again, it took a lot of tweaking for it to fit properly. However the gasket it came with looked better (neoprene?) than the Felpro one that I had ordered separately. I worked the pan flange carefully to flatten it out as best as I could, then used Permatex RTX black on both sides of the gasket. Hand tightened in several stages in a radial pattern then let sit for an hour, then torqued to 5 #-ft. New stainless steel pre-bent cooling lines and using the OEM cooling circuit (in the radiator). The refill took 11 quarts of Valvoline.

I just test drove it- problem solved.

[simplyconnected]

Just a couple points...
On all pan bolts, I always use Loctite blue. Valve covers and oil pans distort when tightening their bolts past the recommended torque. If that happens, the cork gasket gets destroyed, then it leaks. Y-Block valve covers only use two nuts on top the 'dome' and NO bolts around the perimeter. It works, too. This is an engine with solid lifters so a major tune-up includes valve adjustments. That means frequent valve cover openings.

Five pounds is less than 'hand tight,' to me. That means the perimeter bolts can come out on their own, without thread locker.

Your transmission uses eleven quarts of hydraulic oil, mainly to carry heat away from all the hot parts, NOT for lubrication. The fastest way to burn any automatic trans is to run it with low oil. The dip stick 'sniff test' reveals a lot.

Keep up the good work. - Dave

[Yadkin]

Thanks Dave. I didn't use thread lock on this. The Shop Manual specifies 10-13 #-ft for the pan bolts; that would distort the pan a lot.

So far, my garage floor is dry.

[Yadkin]

The slow warm up issue seems to be slowly coming back. With the warm weather we've been having it takes a good 4 miles or so to finally upshift to 3rd.

I was hoping that the fiber plates were going to stop losing material, but if it keeps happening frequent cleanings and oil changes are going to keep me under the car more than I'd prefer. And I hate to have to rebuild this transmission a second time. If I'm going to do that I ought to just go ahead and install an AOD.

I'm wondering if I should just remove the OEM filter and install a cartridge filter in-line with the cooling circuit.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/der-13090/overview/

[simplyconnected]

Bring it back to your transmission guy. Transmissions don't take that long to shift and you should NEVER find debris in your trans fluid.

What kind of 'fibers' did he use??? You would have been better off re-using your original steels and fibers. That's what I did with my COM. I didn't like the way new fibers looked and my originals were very decent. OEM parts are frequently better than aftermarket offerings because they went through many years of testing and proof. - Dave

[Yadkin]

I'm the transmission guy. I ordered a kit from O's and that's what I got. When warm it shifts much better than before. I may still have the old plates, which are worn, around here somewhere but it's a big job that I would like to avoid. And if I do replace the plates it will be new ones that are not worn.