Big redo of the old bucket

Raining here, so time for my overview of TH400 pans. GM built the TH400 with a shallow, or "standard," pan, about 2" deep, for cars, and also with a deep pan, about 3", for trucks. This little-known fact has confused rodders for many years. I use a Derale pan, the 14201, which is 3" deep. Derale also has the 14202, which is about 4-1/2" deep, adding an amazing 7 qts over the GM standard pan's capacity. Note that each inch of pan depth is about 3-1/2 qts of fluid. The Derale pans have cooling tubes and are powder-coated and have a drain plug and a bung for a temp sender. Nice pieces:

Derale also has tranny coolers and filters and other goodies to rock your world.
OK, Derale, send me the usual payment for shamelessly promoting your products.

 

Welcome Tex! Austin is a great place. I'm originally out of Dallas, which used to be a nice place too. Please post pics of your T, and send me $1000 in small bills for the usual initiation fee.

 

As the red fluid ran over my hands and arms and dripped onto my face, I flashed on my experiences in the Great War and…wait, I was born in 1944 and have never seen blood except while working on my bucket. The red fluid was ATF, which spreads like the Bubonic Plague no matter how careful one is. And I have been hard at work on my back just so I can save you some grief. You’re welcome. When last we visited, I was in a bit of a pickle since my tranny had no vent (well, it may have had one but some dummy covered it with Bondo). This caused the fluid to spurt out the dipstick tube when the motor shut off and the fluid level in the pan shot up. So I made a vent:


It's just a vacuum tee in a grommet and some clear hose...I like to watch. I've never trusted dipsticks, they have a shifty look to them, so to monitor the fluid level I use a MSC sight gauge:


I tried a shorter one, but found a taller one (thank you, Indy) was needed as the fluid level will usually be well above the flange. I marked the gauge at the flange level to better read it when I was peering under the car. And here's the final configuration:

The sight gauge also has a drain, which is nice if your pan lacks a drain plug.
The fluid level is about an inch above the flange mark. So you need a really good gasket. I had been using a pricey Moroso gasket, but it was chewed up, so I'm trying this one:

It's LubeLocker, with an aluminum core and 3 beads of magic stuff on it. Very highly rated on Amazon.

 

Used a step bit, which makes bigger chips, and brushed away as I went. Very careful as it broke through. Yeah, wires...I just keep adding, thinking "I'll tidy this up later," and don't. Seems like pan gaskets used to cost $5...maybe when I was a kid. The Moroso was $30. And it looked like the dog had been gnawing on it. No ATF drips now. I have to put the electric shifter back on and then do some road tests. And I have one of those adjustable PCV valves to play with. Stay tuned.

 

It was $129, and don't call me Shirley. Well, good question. I'll use a clear hose to monitor if any oil is getting thru. And reading plugs will show too much oil. Here's an article on it: http://mewagner.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Hemmings-Muscle-Machine-Jan-2016-p64-67.pdf And here's a video on tuning it: How-to Videos – M/E Wagner Performance Products

I've been running a fixed orifice, but the idle isn't perfect, so thought I'd give this high-tech gadget a shot. And what else would I do with my time? Gamble, drink, chase women...shoot, I've done those to death.

 

I've crawled from my winter crypt and have confronted the bane of my existence: the mounting of the IRS in my T. When we built the car 25 years ago we were blissfully unaware of the forces at work. So the mount for the IRS was just six 3/8" bolts. But now 2 of them have snapped off. So I'm disassembling the IRS to replace them.

CAUTION: THIS POST CONTAINS SCENES OF DISMEMBERMENT, AND BLOOD (MINE), AND IS NOT SUITABLE FOR VIEWING BY ANYBODY.


With the disc brake rotor and side cover removed we can see the 3 holes at the top, where the bolts would normally be. Two of the holes contain broken bolt pieces. I have tried to extract them without success. Failing at that I will now drill out the holes and either Helicoil them or tap them for bigger bolts.
This is the first time the rear end has been opened in 25 years. That roller bearing looks and feels brand new, so bully for Halibrand.

 

Time flies. I had new mounting plates made for the IRS:

They connect to 5 bolts on each side of the differential. And I'm using ARP SS bolts, supposed to be stronger than grade 8. Still can't get the 2 broken bolts out, so will have just 3 on one side and 5 on the other. But it should be much stronger than the old setup.

 

I did this sketch and sent it to Discount Steel, a great supply house here and in Fort Worth, TX. They did a CAD from my sketch and used a CNC laser to cut them from 1/4" plate. They can fab most anything and are very reasonable.