Th400 needle bearings in pan

[jimmyjammoto]

I dropped my pan for an aluminum replacement and lokar locking dipstick install. I found these bearings stuck to the magnet with a bunch of metallic "goop". These bearings are approximately 3/8" long. Any clue where they could've come from?

Truck is a 1986 K20. Drove it around for a few weeks prior to starting an ls swap. Trans shifted great and had no weird things about it.

Regardless, I'm dropping the transmission today and starting teardown as well as attempting a rebuild for first time. Disappointed because this weekend I planned to drive the ls swap for the first time.

Thanks in advance!

[Bigdav160]

Those look like they support the planetary pinion gears in the carrier. I hate to say it...... time for the transmission to come apart.

[truckdude239]

well so far only bearings ive seen like that are the ones in the tail shaft for the drive shaft, and in the plantearies

[jimmyjammoto]

Originally Posted by Bigdav160

Those look like they support the planetary pinion gears in the carrier. I hate to say it...... time for the transmission to come apart.

Am I correct in thinking the planetaries just get changed out as opposed to rebuilding?

[Bigdav160]

It's got to come completely apart to inspect the planetaries and clean out the metal. Might as well put a kit in it.

edit, planetary failure is usually a lubrication problem so it's important the the lube circuit and your transmission cooler are in good condition.

[jimmyjammoto]

Got the trans and transfer case out yesterday about 30 minutes after sunset. Started disassembly and will just turn this into a rebuild thread.

Since I'm in this far I'm going to rebuild the 208 case also. Probably start a different thread for that one.

On a side note, does anyone recommend a rebuild kit? I've seen them from $119-500+.. not including hard parts of course.

[Captainfab]

Have you seen this thread located up at the top of this page in the FAQ section?

http://www.67-72chevytrucks.com/vboa...d.php?t=668062

You might find some helpful info there.

[jimmyjammoto]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

Have you seen this thread located up at the top of this page in the FAQ section?

http://www.67-72chevytrucks.com/vboa...d.php?t=668062

You might find some helpful info there.

I've read through that thread a couple of times. Photobucket has screwed up a lot of useful info in the form of pics now days. Still good info.

[Captainfab]

Depending on what browser you are using, there are fixes to bypass what Photobucket did, so that you can again see all pics on all websites. I know that Firefox and Chrome both have downloads to take care of it.

Originally Posted by jimmyjammoto

I've read through that thread a couple of times. Photobucket has screwed up a lot of useful info in the form of pics now days. Still good info.

[jimmyjammoto]

I got the 400 tore down over the week and took pics. Nothing is out of the ordinary. I'm not a transmission guy, but I do work on airplanes and have a good grasp on mechanical failures.

The only thing I could find that stood out was a Torrington bearing race that had some pitting. That's it. No chunks of metal. Fluid looked brand new in the deep recesses of the case. All bearings looked great with minimal wear if any. It has a date in grease pencil of 03/13 inside the bellhousing, which I'm assuming was a rebuild date.

And nothing looks like it takes the bearings that I found in the pan. Regardless, it's getting a full kit put back in and the recommended upgrades. In the meantime I'm keeping an eye out for a 4l80e to go with the ls swap.

[cadillac_al]

I was curious to see what failed since I have never been able to kill a th400.