TH400 leaks

[chromebumpers]

I hope it's just a bad gasket job and not stripped out threads in the trans case, as I see more times then I care to. There are a few different types of pan gaskets, which is considered the favorite, cork, rubber or paper?
When I was reviewing the receipts that came with the car, I saw a $40 charge to "re- torque trans pan nuts." And now it leaks pretty good, somebody light a candle for me tomorrow?

 

[DorianL]

: - ///// hoping for the best here...

 

[87vette81big]

I hope it's just a bad gasket job and not stripped out threads in the trans case, as I see more times then I care to. There are a few different types of pan gaskets, which is considered the favorite, cork, rubber or paper?
When I was reviewing the receipts that came with the car, I saw a $40 charge to "re- torque trans pan nuts." And now it leaks pretty good, somebody light a candle for me tomorrow?

Use The Cork and Rubber Turbo 400 pan gasket Richard.
If the pan rails are not flat find a good used TH 400 OIL PAN OR PURCHASE A NEW TRANS PAN.

 

[87vette81big]

There is a special paper gasket that works nice.
Has to be ordered from Trans Star.
No one else has them .
Sometimes included in Pro Trans rebuild kits for 900-2000 HP Drag Race use.

Cork and Rubber still superior overall found local otherwise.

 

[Grumpy]

in most cases I find where the trans pan leaks its the result of using a CHEAP stamped steel trans pan with flimsy thin gasket rails,
that are all too easy to bend if even marginally over tightened,
rather than the thicker OEM steel pans or a decent thicker and more rigid aftermarket aluminum oil pan OR
the trans pan under car clearance allows it to hit speed bumps and road trash, that will damage the seal even if its not always doing significasnt damage to the oil an itself
youll generally want the trans oil pan to hang down under the car no more than 1"-1.5" under any cross member and have at least 4" MINIMUM ground clearance meassured with two large adults sitting in the car!

READ
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...mps-and-driveway-enterances.10516/#post-44486

yes its very much worth the cost/effort, adding a deep pan dropped my trans oil temp 10-12 degrees.. while that may not sound like much it potentially increases trans life significantly, 30% or more and YES it sticks down an additional 1.5" so road pan clearance on a corvette becomes enought less that speed bumps could potentially be a problem

http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=2146&prmenbr=361

http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=3196&prmenbr=361

http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=3510&prmenbr=361

get a quality oil pan for the transmision and check ground clearance very carefully
Every once in a while I see, some guy driving a corvette try speeding over speed bumps, or turning into a drive way with a noticeable dip or stepped concrete rain gutter at the entrance, too the property or try speeding over man hole covers that stick up well above the road surface level, the usual result is damage to low hanging chin spoilers or the suspension, or deeper oil or transmission pans or low headers etc. you quickly learn that these low clearance performance cars like most corvette, and similar cars , that they have limited ground clearance, and you have little choice but to slow down, and cross over these hazards slowly or do your very best to avoid them, I know several places I choose not to drive my corvettes due to excessively steep drive way entrances or speed bumps, if you drive a corvette youll quickly realize its NOT a 4x4 truck, and can,t drive over stuff that would hardly be noticed by one.
Now purely from a geometry and clearance perspective , many times you effectively gain a bit more road to under the car clearance, if you use an angle of 30-45 degrees of approach vs perpendicular to the dip in the pavement on entering a drive way or trying to cross a speed bump AND REMEMBER too cross it at very low speed,.... obviously not always an option. but failure to anticipate and drive carefully can get rather expensive and time consuming as a result of damage inflicted to the cars lower areas
I added a deeper trans fluid pan to my corvette it was about 1.5" deeper than the stock pan, and reduced the ground clearance by about 1" I avoided issues with ground clearance by having previously swapped to larger diameter rims and tires which had previously raised my under car clearance by about a similar 1.5", but without that previous wheel and tire upgrade I think I would have been in serious trouble with the lower ground clearance under the vette!

PART OF THE PROCESS OF LEARNING TO DRIVE A PERFORMANCE CAR,(ESPECIALLY A LOW GROUND CLEARANCE CORVETTE)
IS IN REALIZING ITS NOT A 4X4 and YOULL NEED TO LOOK FOR THE POTENTIAL ROAD HAZARDS AND POTENTIAL UNDER CAR CLEARANCE ISSUES THAT DRIVING OVER ROAD TRASH CAN CAUSE OR NASTY AND EXPENSIVE DAMAGE RESULTS FROM LACK OF ATTENTION

IF YOU DON,T THINK GETTING YOUR OIL PAN,TRANS PAN,HEADERS,AND FRAME UP AT LEAST 4" UP OFF from the pavement as you drive is important!

where are all the grooves in the concrete speed bump from?

HERES A RATHER TYPICAL RAISED OBSTACLE, (its a fuel tank access port but man hole lids can be very similar)that can cause quite a bit of under car frame, and oil an damage