turbo 400 plug bug

[prateroad]

I don't know if this is the right place but here goes. I have a rebuilt turbo 400 that the PO didn't have the torque converter installed on the input shaft. I noticed that a few inches back on the input shaft a small hole that a bug has plugged with dirt. I do know that those plug bugs put spiders and such in the whole for food before plugging the whole. Does anyone know where that hole leads to in the shaft? I assume it leads to a hole in the center of the shaft but don't know how far back in the shaft it goes. I was going to try to use a pick to get the dirt out while using a vacuum cleaner on it. I don't want to install this tranny with that causing an oil flow problem. I don't want to but I would like to know if I need to pull the front pump to resolve the matter. Thanks for any help.

[kwmech]

That hole goes all the way down the shaft to the center of the trans as an oil feed

[prateroad]

Any way to blow it out from a port anywhere? If I can get it cleared enough for passage. Does that shaft come out with the front pump?

[kwmech]

Nope, it is pressed into a drum. If you pull the pump you will see a drum on top that sits into this drum with a band. You can try blowing air into the front cooling line fitting, but I doubt that will do anything. I don't think it would hurt to try

[prateroad]

Which line on the tranny? upper or lower?

[kwmech]

Pretty sure it is the bottom one, top is return

[BigBird05]

Better to take it apart and clean it out. To hard to install the trans find out you still have a problem and have to take it back out. In my shoes I would take the trans apart and check it out. You don't know what shape the rest of it is in.

[prateroad]

It is rebuilt, never been run.

[BigBird05]

Do you know who rebuilt it? If not I have learn the hard way not to believe the phrase just rebuilt. If you know who rebuilt it take it to him to have the bugs removed.

[prateroad]

No, but the man I bought it from also gave me a new torque converter with it. I'm pretty sure he would have someone do it right. It just sat around a little too long and the bug found it. I bought a K30 frame and it was a freebee. I know these bugs pretty well, they will plug almost any hole that looks good to them. They go in so far, plug it, pack it with their goodies and then seal the end with dirt. I have only seen one of them, one day looking for a hole.

[Accelo]

It's doesn't take long at all to take it down far enough to get to the Torque converter shaft feed. Half an hour tops. That's $50 shop time if you can get someone to do it.

[BigBird05]

2x Accelo, I would want to make sure it was right before I installed it. To much time and money to put it in and have a problem. How much does 2 gal. of tranny fluid cost now?

[Accelo]

Originally Posted by BigBird05

2x Accelo, I would want to make sure it was right before I installed it. To much time and money to put it in and have a problem. How much does 2 gal. of tranny fluid cost now?

It will take 2.5 gal or 10quarts if it's a shallow pan. Napa has it for $7.29 a quart. With tax is is over $80 in most places. I know the question was rhetorical but I had to do it.

[prateroad]

Update. I didn't know the shaft was hollow all the way front toward the back. The bug had plugged the 2 small holes by the stator end and filled to the front of the shaft. Also didn't know there were 2 holes there when I started digging. I did manage to clean it out and blow through the bottom line input on the tranny and blow the junk out the front. I think I'm good to go now, thanks for the input. It's not who you are, it's who you know.