How much fluid in TH400?

['65 chevy lover]

How much fluid in a TH400? Has just been rebuilt so, it has no fluid now.
Thanks,
Bill

[oldusafmsgt]

TRANSMISSION FLUID CAPACITY
Transmission (w/ Stock Pan) # of Quarts
GM TH350 4
GM TH400 6
GM Powerglide 4

[Wrenchbender Ret]

With a complete o-haul & no fluid in the converter, it will take about 12 quarts.

[mongocanfly]

ditto to what wrench bender says...I think we put 14-15 qts in a new 4l60 and convertor

[YoungPup1977]

A rebuilt th400 with new TC and flushed cooler lines:

1. pour in 6 Qts of ATF
2. Start vehicle in Park
3. Pour in 4 more Qts of ATF
4. With foot on brake, shift trans into reverse, engagement ? shift trans into Forwards, engagement ?
5. Check fluid
6. Pour in 2 more qts of ATF as required. should be in the area of 12 qts
7. Drive vehicle and achieve operating temperture, once you have successful road test, check trans fluid again to ensure level is correct. Add as required.

of course, vehicle should be on a level area when checking the fluid.

This is NOT for a trans filter and fluid change since the TC can not be drained....but I have seen people drill a hole in the TC and let it drain than use a pop rivet.....not recommended for a TC with a Lock up clutch similar to a 700R4/4L60

Good Luck !!!

[rideblue00]

good to know thanks

[Alex V.]

IIRC the deep pan 400 holds at least 12 quars, total.

['65 chevy lover]

I'm way late replying but, thanks to all for the help!

[SunSoaked]

Originally Posted by oldusafmsgt

TRANSMISSION FLUID CAPACITY
Transmission (w/ Stock Pan) # of Quarts
GM TH350 4
GM TH400 6
GM Powerglide 4

Not even close! I just drained mine ,added a drain plug and put at least 6 quarts in it without dropping the tq convertor.

[singleshot]

Not to make my initial post here a non-informative, but I just dealt with a th400 oil pan drop and refill.

New to me truck (78), super info from the PO (not) and a leaking out-put seal (rear seal). So after changing the rear seal I went to top off what I had lost after driving it home. Now mind you, this was not just a dripping leak, this was a steady flow of drips.

Here's where the first of many alarm bells started going off with this truck. I put three and a half quarts in and NEVER got a drop on my dip stick. Of which, I pumped probably a quart out the over-flow tube and onto my shop floor (ignorant error on my part).

Long story short? After dropping the pan, I noted that there wasn't any dip stick protruding into the pan. The PO and or the builder of the th400 put the wrong stick in the tube. After a fruitless search of the local parts stores and transmissions shops, I ended up cutting 6 5/8" off the tube so that the stick was in the proper position (really cleans up the engine compartment with the dip stick neatly tucked behind the valve cover).

5 1/2 quarts to fill after dropping the pan, filter and gasket replacement..

[Dead Parrot]

Any idea which dip stick you have? Part number or such? You might have discovered a nice mod for those really trying to clean up an engine compartment.

[singleshot]

there are no part numbers on the stick. It is just over 26.5 inches long and I cut 6 5/8" off the tube to make it work.

It's one of those chrome types that are hard to see if anything is actually on it and it's got the seal inside the cap.

I believe the tube itself is a factory unit. It's got a welded on tab that's much thicker than what the local part stores were attempting to sell me (junk).

Headed in to gather the next batch of parts so this thing is livable in the rainy Oregon weather (windshield washer reservoir and hopefully a intermittent wiper switch).

We shall see.. The local truck parts guy REALLY loves his parts.

[YoungPup1977]

Originally Posted by singleshot

Not to make my initial post here a non-informative, but I just dealt with a th400 oil pan drop and refill.

New to me truck (78), super info from the PO (not) and a leaking out-put seal (rear seal). So after changing the rear seal I went to top off what I had lost after driving it home. Now mind you, this was not just a dripping leak, this was a steady flow of drips.

Here's where the first of many alarm bells started going off with this truck. I put three and a half quarts in and NEVER got a drop on my dip stick. Of which, I pumped probably a quart out the over-flow tube and onto my shop floor (ignorant error on my part).

Long story short? After dropping the pan, I noted that there wasn't any dip stick protruding into the pan. The PO and or the builder of the th400 put the wrong stick in the tube. After a fruitless search of the local parts stores and transmissions shops, I ended up cutting 6 5/8" off the tube so that the stick was in the proper position (really cleans up the engine compartment with the dip stick neatly tucked behind the valve cover).

5 1/2 quarts to fill after dropping the pan, filter and gasket replacement..

What was the process you used to ensure the CORRECT amount of fluid was added to the T400 and it was at the CORRECT LEVEL ? How did you come to cutting 6 5/8 off the tube ?

[singleshot]

From my reading, the "full" mark on the stick should be at the pan/transmission joint (basically at the gasket).

The stick is already marked "add a quart" and "full", so the cut and filing was done until the full mark reached the depth of the top of the pan.

My first cut was lucky and I only had to file the top of the tube straight (sawzall cut)

Basic caliper measurement up the tube from the bottom until I hit the stick, added the distance from the bottom of the stick to the "full" mark, cut away... I filed the top so it didn't look some rat chewed the tube, cleaned it up with some brake cleaner and mounted it up.

I could be off 1/8" low (stick too long), but I can guarantee it wouldn't be more than that. We are talking about a transmission that has a variance (on this stick anyways) of more than 3/4" between add and full. So an 1/8" on a stick is pretty dang close in my opinion. That amount of fluid in a pan could be varied by the gasket material (cork vs. rubber).

I would honestly trust this set-up more than I would have trusted someone giving me a new stick and saying "trust me".

I was just considering an alternative. One could cut the top of their tube off until they liked the look, then they could simply cut the bottom off at the appropriate length. Then they would simply have to scribe or punch two marks on their cut stick to indicate full and add a quart at the proper location on the stick.

[YoungPup1977]

Originally Posted by singleshot

From my reading, the "full" mark on the stick should be at the pan/transmission joint (basically at the gasket).

The stick is already marked "add a quart" and "full", so the cut and filing was done until the full mark reached the depth of the top of the pan.

My first cut was lucky and I only had to file the top of the tube straight (sawzall cut)

Basic caliper measurement up the tube from the bottom until I hit the stick, added the distance from the bottom of the stick to the "full" mark, cut away... I filed the top so it didn't look some rat chewed the tube, cleaned it up with some brake cleaner and mounted it up.

I could be off 1/8" low (stick too long), but I can guarantee it wouldn't be more than that. We are talking about a transmission that has a variance (on this stick anyways) of more than 3/4" between add and full. So an 1/8" on a stick is pretty dang close in my opinion. That amount of fluid in a pan could be varied by the gasket material (cork vs. rubber).

I would honestly trust this set-up more than I would have trusted someone giving me a new stick and saying "trust me".

I was just considering an alternative. One could cut the top of their tube off until they liked the look, then they could simply cut the bottom off at the appropriate length. Then they would simply have to scribe or punch two marks on their cut stick to indicate full and add a quart at the proper location on the stick.

As the thread was posted as how much fluid in a rebuilt 400. How much fluid did your t400 take to make it full per your dipstick ?
Posted via Mobile Device. 5 1/2 qts. But fluid was still in the converter ?

[singleshot]

5 1/2 quarts

Everything else was full (converter/lines/cooler).