TedH

I've had the 700R4 sitting on a bench this weekend with 4 qts of fluid in the pan. I wiped the case down and have been keeping an eye out for leaks. The first indication of a problem is the gear selector shaft seal (the one the trans shop said they replaced...). It is leaking. The fluid travels along the case edge and obviously is whetting the exterior surface of the pan gasket (making it appear to be oozing when it isn't). The fluid drips from the front pan area (right where I had suspected the front seal leaking).

I need instructions on replacing the selector shaft seal. Anybody?

:seeya

J75

Ted,
It`s going to be a little harder to do with the shaft in place but not to bad.First thing is getting the old one out.If you have a seal remover[looks like a t handle corkscrew]try it,if not take a thin blade screwdriver and carefully start at the edge of the seal and tap it toward the shaft.Do this around half the seal and it should be lose enough to pop out.You will have to deform the seal to get it lose so work at it.Take the new seal and put adab of rtv around the edge and slide over shaft.Use a deep well 9/16[check socket against seal ]and tap new seal in.Your done! :D

Smokehouse69

TedH, check with Paul79 he had a similar problem with a seeping seal (even after replacement) he ended up replacing the shaft, (it was scored) and fixing the problem. I don't know on a TH700-r4 how hard it is to get the shaft out, but it was pretty easy on a TH400 or TH350. You have to remove the pan, there is a nut on the end of the shaft where it goes through the detent plate that has to come off. There is a small finishing nail that is through the end of the rod and it has to come out to take the nut off. The nail/pin is tough to get out, but if you bend it a little it will come out. You can straighten it after you replace the shaft.

TedH

I'm guessing at this point that a look at the selector shaft is in order. The trans shop (Zeigler) says they replaced the following seals: pan, selector shaft, tail shaft/bushing, speed-o gear. So, I'm guessing the seal alone will not solve the problem. Will investigate the cost of the selector shaft.

Anybody know the appropriate part number for the selector shaft?

TedH

Incompetence! I just pulled the selector lever off of the selector shaft to find that the selector shaft seal was hardly installed. It looks as if they situated the seal on the shaft and gave it a tap to seat one corner only. The seal was actually crooked and the seal was understandably leaking. I have since driven the seal 'square' onto the selector shaft and have cleaned the surface around it. I should know later this evening if this fixes the leak.

I paid over $100 to the trans shop for replacement of this seal and others. Now, I find that I may have removed the transmission to solve a $.25 leak.

To put it mildly, I'm mad as HELL! What a bunch of :bs

Paul L

I would still replace the shaft. Here is the old one from my TH350. Not a good pic but you can see the pitting and scoring on the left side where the seal sits. No number of seals will fix this problem.

TedH

I'll check with Bow-Tie to see about obtaining a replacement selector shaft and seal. I'm inclined to go ahead and perform the re-install of the trans now as it will be easier to replace the selector shaft and seal whether or not the trans is in or out of the car. I also mangled my trans lines after a header install (and after pulling this trans) so they are also on their way. May also go for that ezTV from Bow-Tie while I'm at it...

ka-ching ka-ching!!!