Transmission noise and won't move - 700r4

[ChevyStepside86]

My 1986 Chevy Pickup with a 700r4 Transmission and a 305 wouldn’t move and there was a metallic grinding sound coming from the transmission area. The problem was originally intermittent, but it finally got to the point where the engine is just barely hooked up.  Luckily, the truck quit in the garage, and not out on the street. 

The transmission is a 1984 700r4 Model MK.  I recently posted videos on Youtube to document the noise it's making, and to show what’s inside the transmission pan.  The Youtube links are:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7qem_yksnM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Api2TReQsVE

Unfortunately the videos are not as clear as I was hoping, The test gauge shown in the first video is a 0-300 psi gauge. Sorry if it is hard to read, but that 9 O'clock position for most gears is about 60 psi.  (Reverse is about 90 psi.)  The service manual I have indicates that these pressures are close to normal.   I will pull the transmission soon and then update this post. In the meantime, your guesses or comments about what the noise may be are welcomed.

[Fairlane514]

With all that metal in the pan, you will definitely need to take it part and rebuild it. Monster transmission has a complete rebuild kit, and you can find a DVD on how to rebuild it on eBay or maybe even Monster transmission.

[ChevyStepside86]

Thanks for the comment, I'll keep that in mind, although I am not really a rebuilder but more of a parts swapper.  I have now pulled the transmission out of the truck and examined the torque converter.  I posted another Youtube video to document this,  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx2XDyO8ycE&feature=youtu.be.  It seems the stator and stator bearing are faulty in my torque converter.  I'm thinking that this is what was causing all that noise and slippage.  I have bought a new torque converter and am waiting for it to arrive.  Do you think some of the metal in the pan could have come from the faulty torque converter?  More to come.....

[Fairlane514]

Yes, its possible some of the trash is from the torque converter failure.  The transmission should be cleaned internally before placing back in to service.

You might look into a DVD, its not quite as hard as you might think.

[Sartobuilt]

All that metal will take out the pump.

[ChevyStepside86]

How does one clean the transmission internally, short of taking it all apart?

[Fairlane514]

That's what I meant by getting the DVD, it will need to be taken apart to get all the metal shavings out.

If you have any mechanical aptitude, you should be able to handle the rebuild. It will probably require a few specialty tools, but all in all it will cheaper than a transmission shop.

I have rebuilt several manual transmissions and a Ford C4 with the help of DVD's.  And YES, they all worked great.

[Sartobuilt]

Your pump is junk. The trans needs to be taken apart and rebuilt.

[ChevyStepside86]

Why do you say the pump is bad?  The pump pressures were be O.K. (in the first video when the torque converter was making noise).  Also, the transmission was running fine before the torque converter started making noise and there was no whine or other evidence of a bad pump.  Are you saying the noise (in the first video) was coming from the pump and not the torque converter?

[Sartobuilt]

No all I'm saying in my experience with my transmission re-builder is when a converter goes out all of the metal goes straight to the pump. He always rebuilds the pump when a converter goes bad. And also your going to put a new converter on a transmission that's full of metal. That metal is going to contaminate your new converter. Then when your pump goes out in a couple of weeks maybe months your gonna be buying another converter.
There are also some other parts that are prone to wear like the planetary gear and the infamous sun shell that will just break one day out of the blue.

[ChevyStepside86]

Thanks to all who responded to my post.  I appreciate all who took the time to comment.  The comments did give me a lot of food for thought.  Sorry to disappoint, but I installed the new torque converter and old transmission with nothing more than fresh transmission fluid and a new filter.  The truck drives and shifts perfectly now, just like it did before the torque converter failed.  It was the bad torque converter that was making all that noise.  If I have problems with the transmission in the near future, I will look for a low-mileage or rebuilt later-model 700r4 or 4L60 with torque converter, probably on Craigslist.  Thanks again to all who responded!

[Sartobuilt]

Glad you got it fixed. Desperate times call for desperate measures.