The heat exchanger can be cleaned out with some success, but the air to air cooler needs to be changed. I've seen some messed up trannys back in the day, but none with a complete varnishing like that! I'd bet that their was more than a couple "mechanic in a can" additives thrown in that.

My raggedy old parts washer hasn't been used in 14 years. We resurrected it for this job. Greg (owner of the transmission) had an old 5 gallon can of kerosene that he donated to the cause.
A good scrubbing got the planetary gear sets looking great. Now we need to do something about that valve body.







I'm afraid to open the OD unit. Is the goo in the splines a good indication of what we're going to find or did the tight fit keep most of the solids out?



Look at the servo spring in the background.

My memory is a bit fuzzy but i think i remember that about ten to fifteen years ago some automatic trans Diesel Ram owners were trying Mobil One Syn 5w-20 engine oil instead of ATF+2

I think the Diesel Trans forum in Canada had a number of posts on this

Perhaps some prior owner tried non synthetic 5w-20 engine oil in that 46/47 RH ?

Castrol Superclean is an impressive degreaser but one of the two formulations will attack aluminum if left on too long.

Grease Lightning detergent spray is also impressive on a few cruddy varnishes i have used it on, but be careful about breathing the vapor.

The kerosene is doing a fine job. It may take a little longer than other cleaners but it's a known entity with no hidden surprises.

We did find it a bit disturbing that the parts laying on the table actually stuck. Some of the snap rings had to be tapped sideways to break the bond. That servo spring in the second photo didn't want to be moved either. When pulled, it leaned over to the side before popping free.

It's just nasty.

Carb cleaner, the stuff in a spray can, plus a little rubbing, will get varnish off quicker.

R.

The current Berrymans stuff in the paint can isn't as good as it used to be, he'll be better off with spray cans of gunk

I've seen that sometimes in the older lockup convertor 3 speed trannys, they kinda had a weird oder but didn't smell burnt.

Mitch

Going back to my varnish post, the varnish in the oil is soft particulate that is much smaller than any clearance in the transmission. If transmission fluid got in there, the varnish is in there too. And if it's colder, it will have deposited a thicker layer.

In my experience the carb cleaner in a bucket is inferior to any cheap WalMart carb cleaner in a spray can, for cleaning varnish off the inside of a block or transmission. You'll see what works.

R.

One wonders if he's got a trans cooler that bypasses the radiator cooler.

This isn't fluid mixing. This is fluid abuse.
Best we can figure is that a previous owner used crappy fluid and never changed it.

I got the overdrive section disassembled in the press. After it was in pieces on the bench I had to pry the spring away from the other parts. It was glued together with this goo.

The Berryman's stuff helped free up the planetary gears more than the kerosene. The OD planetary set will need serious attention before getting a bath.


So, what do you think?

Mission Impossible?

forget my last post.... replace BOTH COOLERS!!!

No doubt!

The valve body makes a great repository for sticky nasty goo.
We worked on it until 11 last night. The valve body pieces and front pump housing are the only things needing to be defunked. I gave him a key to the shop so he can get over there and mess with it while I'm at work.
With luck it'll start going back together tomorrow.