CUCV Transmission Questions

[AZDeuce]

Friday driving my M1009 home from work I saw a bunch of smoke in my rearview mirror doing about 75 MPH down the freeway.....it was from me!

I pulled into the right lane so I could pull over but once I slowed down to about 65MPH the smoke stopped, I had about 4-5 miles to go to my turn off, so I kept going.

I was doing fine until I hit a slight incline and the transmission didn't want to pull anymore, no matter how many RPMs I gave the engine. I pulled over checked the tranny and the fluid it was NOT showing on the dip-stick.

I had one quart wth me, I put it in, and it got me about another mile and a quarter, and I pulled into Cheveron and bought 4 quarts. I filled it up and took off and limped it to a Walmart where I bought 3 gallons and eventually made it home., but I did have to stop and add fluid about 3 times.......but it wasn't smoking, however the entire tailgate/rear window was covered in tranny fluid.

I could only do 35-40 MPH as it would not shift from second to third.

The next day a friend told me he had the exact same thing happen to both a Turbo 350 and T-400 equipped cars and replacing the modulator fixed both.

Today I replaced the modulator, it didn't change anything, there's an adjustable screw just inside the inlet where the vacuum hose fits onto, I adjusted it and still no difference. And it still would not go into third.

I noticed the oil was brown instead of it's normal reddish/purpleish color, and it smelled burnt.

I figure I burnt up the clutches.

But another friend said he had a 64 Chevy that would not shift into third, and sometimes not into reverse either, the oil was brown and burnt smelling.

He claims he changed the filter and oil and it worked fine after that.

I'm SKEPTICAL.....so I'm asking for a second opinion here.

I hate to waste money on a bunch of fluid and filter, to find it was all for nothing.......on the other hand if somebody else has had similar experiences, I'd give it a shot.

What do you all think? Anyone out there with actual experience?


Thanks in advance - AZ



.

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

Duece, I've deleted my previous post to replace it with a sincere apology. I should not have spoken to you like that, and I deeply regret it. It's not my normal character.

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

I'm SKEPTICAL.....so I'm asking for a second opinion here.

.

Good thing to do.

 

[Warthog]

So where did all the tranny fluid leak from? That would be the first place to fix something.

More than likely you did burn the clutches and might need a rebuild.

 

[Goose2448]

Time for a 700R4 swap.

I would give swapping the filter and oil a shot. $75 may be wasted or it could save you from buying a new trans. Sounds like something went south and you lost all your fluid, and something is really messed up inside the trans. Changing the fluid may at least buy you a few days till you find a new trans for it. You are not really going to know what damage there is unless you pull it apart.

 

[doghead]

You must stop, when you see smoke.

When the smoke stopped, that meant your out of oil(and damage is now happening faster than you can blink).

You need a transmission rebuild.

 

[JGBallew]

Friday driving my M1009 home from work I saw a bunch of smoke in my rearview mirror doing about 75 MPH down the freeway.....it was from me!

I pulled into the right lane so I could pull over but once I slowed down to about 65MPH the smoke stopped, I had about 4-5 miles to go to my turn off, so I kept going.

I was doing fine until I hit a slight incline and the transmission didn't want to pull anymore, no matter how many RPMs I gave the engine. I pulled over checked the tranny and the fluid it was NOT showing on the dip-stick.

I had one quart wth me, I put it in, and it got me about another mile and a quarter, and I pulled into Cheveron and bought 4 quarts. I filled it up and took off and limped it to a Walmart where I bought 3 gallons and eventually made it home., but I did have to stop and add fluid about 3 times.......but it wasn't smoking, however the entire tailgate/rear window was covered in tranny fluid.

I could only do 35-40 MPH as it would not shift from second to third.

The next day a friend told me he had the exact same thing happen to both a Turbo 350 and T-400 equipped cars and replacing the modulator fixed both.

Today I replaced the modulator, it didn't change anything, there's an adjustable screw just inside the inlet where the vacuum hose fits onto, I adjusted it and still no difference. And it still would not go into third.

I noticed the oil was brown instead of it's normal reddish/purpleish color, and it smelled burnt.

I figure I burnt up the clutches.

But another friend said he had a 64 Chevy that would not shift into third, and sometimes not into reverse either, the oil was brown and burnt smelling.

He claims he changed the filter and oil and it worked fine after that.

I'm SKEPTICAL.....so I'm asking for a second opinion here.

I hate to waste money on a bunch of fluid and filter, to find it was all for nothing.......on the other hand if somebody else has had similar experiences, I'd give it a shot.

What do you all think? Anyone out there with actual experience?


Thanks in advance - AZ



.

You can try a filter and fluid fix, but I'm going to bet you cooked the trans.

At best, your trans is damaged, and while a filter and fluid may make it driveable it is on the way out.

At worst, you'll change the fluid and filter and it still won't move.

 

[ODdave]

I guess I'm tired or something, but I'm about to do something I don't usually do on a forum....



That was stupid. That was ALL stupid!

What are you, 17 years old or something? You had a major problem that was obvious, and you kept driving because the smoke went away???

And then you start replacing parts because a friend had a problem that sounded similar? And you did NOTHING to try to troubleshoot it first?

And you start adjusting a screw without having any idea what it does and what your real problem is?????


You are going to spend a lot of money, time, and frustration in your life if you don't get a clue!

Uh, Hold on there. Actually its not that stupid. All though it dosnt apply in his aplication it is possable. On a gas engine the modulator can leak fluid through the diaphram and it is sucked into the intake, causing lots of smoke. Replace the modulator, problem solved.

 

[JGBallew]

Uh, Hold on there. Actually its not that stupid. All though it dosnt apply in his aplication it is possable. On a gas engine the modulator can leak fluid through the diaphram and it is sucked into the intake, causing lots of smoke. Replace the modulator, problem solved.

I think the real point of Marcus's post was that when you have copious volumes of smoke pouring from your truck, you don't press on.

Sure, the modulator can fail in that manner, but it's a moot point now that he's got a tranny pan full of stinky cake mix.

 

[marchplumber]

Sorry about your experience with your trk! OUCH! Sometimes we do things that we shouldn't, those are called "Mistakes" . I know I've made QUITE a few in my life. Anyone on S.S. perfect? I agree with DH. No smoke when you are out of oil. OUCH again. I'd do the 700R4 swap, as suggested by Goose2448. What better time would there ever be? They are available, and there are threads here about doing it.
Finally, I thought that this site was about HELPING one another! NOT about "name calling" and such! IF I EVER CALL SOMEONE STUPID< PLEASE BAN ME MODERATORS! What am I doing here anyway if that's all I have to share!
God bless,
Tony

 

[ODdave]

I think the real point of Marcus's post was that when you have copious volumes of smoke pouring from your truck, you don't press on.

Sure, the modulator can fail in that manner, but it's a moot point now that he's got a tranny pan full of stinky cake mix.

Understandable, But why kick the guy while he is down by saying what he said was stupid in giant letters. Thats the point im getting at.

Lets explain why it dosnt apply to his situation insted.

 

[JGBallew]

Understandable, But why kick the guy while he is down by saying what he said was stupid in giant letters. Thats the point im getting at.

Lets explain why it dosnt apply to his situation insted.

I bet he never forgets to check his trans fluid.

As to the mod failure? Depends on the color and volume of the smoke. I've seen cooler lines fail and spray on a header or exhaustpipe and make a pretty good imitation of the Thunderbirds.

 

[original]

That was stupid. That was ALL stupid!

Really helpful! Way to go! You've just helped no one. He seems to have moved on, no knowledge here.

 

[AZDeuce]

To marcusoreallyus, thanks for the rude critisism that helped alot, to bad you didn't put any technical information in your post. Obviously you are smarter than me, and knew why I made the decision I did, to keep driving.

To everyone else:

I haven't driven the truck in months and the night before I checked ALL the fluids, all was well. I was in rush hour traffic and got off the freeway after the incline incident and started looking for leaks, even after pouring the fluid in there was none leaking out, but obviously it was at high speed, as the whole back of the truck was wet, so I kept putting fluid in it, and limped it home. I had picked up some expensive items for a friend and I was NOT going to leave the truck on the side of the road!

I'm figuring the clutches are burned up, from the brownish oil and burnt smell, but was just wondering if anyone had resurrected a "broken" tranny by simply changing the filter/fluid. Maybe i'll give it a try......although I don't hold out much hope.

 

[kenz5380]

Comments like Marcus made here are why SS has the reputation for being full of A-holes across all of the internet forums pertaining to trucks that I read and participate in.

 

[Skinny]

First things first...

If the modulator failed, transmission fluid would be sucked into the engine to be burned. That would smoke but you would have white smoke coming from the tailpipe. Very doubtful that it would leave liquid ATF to spray the back of your rig.

If a cooler line came apart and sprayed ATF in the engine bay or underneath, this would coat the back of your rig in ATF. I would have hoped you would have noted the entire engine bay coated in oil while you were in there filling it up.

Just because you had smoke, it doesn't indicate the trans is burned up. If you ran the truck low on fluid then YOU may have caused the transmission to burn up. Either way, if you restore the fluid level and try driving it, it will give you an idea of what is going on.

Good luck and be careful when working with oil leaks.

 

[doghead]

If the modulator failed, transmission fluid would be sucked into the engine to be burned

Please explain how the vacuum pump will feed the engine.

 

[doghead]

Comments like Marcus made here are why SS has the reputation for being full of A-holes across all of the internet forums pertaining to trucks that I read and participate in.

Please take a moment and share with us, a few of these truck websites, so we know of a better group of people to get help for our MVs. I'm very tired of all the A-holes on SS too.

 

[doghead]

Really helpful! Way to go! You've just helped no one. He seems to have moved on, no knowledge here.

Have you all forgotten what the report post button is for? Have you all forgotten(or not noticed) we have a group of moderators on the site that deal with posts like his?

It's been dealt with, move on to the issue the OP has.

If we need more moderators, you'll read about it on the forums.

 

[Goose2448]

AZ dont feel bad about driving it. My F550 had a turbo failure and fuel line rupture. The boss said drive it back to the shop 55 miles away, so that's what I did. Better to make it a few miles south I guess than foot a $1000 tow bill for the thing as its too big to fit on any of our trailers. Besides the massive smoke, the sound of a impeller slapping the housing, and using almost 20 gals of fuel to go 55 miles, it made it back. When I got off the highway, as the turbo was slowing down, it started screeching as if it was about to seize up. Some times you just have to keep on trucking down the road. To top it off, after the new fuel line and turbo went on, We lost 3rd gear and 2nd started grinding really bad.

Like I said, try changing the filter and oil and see what happens. Maybe it could get you to where the "new" 700R4 is and back.