I need some help!!
I have a TH350 transmission in my 68 camaro and with the car off I can shift through the gear fine and they appear to be engaging but when I start the car and try to shift it into reverse it shifts into drive, and if i try to shift into any other gear (neutral, drive, 2nd 1st, park) it stays in drive. I have to shut the car off and reshift it into park to get it in park??? I all happened after a joy ride over the weekend the ride was fine no noises it drove normal. I would have to say that the previous own has had problems with it before (not sure what). Is there anyway to get some use out if it a little longer or has she finally kicked to bucket??

Thanks!!!

Steering column shifter? may be bad motor mount.
Floor shifter? could be bad cable/linkage.

It's a floor shift I installed a new B&M shifter a couple months a go nothing fancy pretty plain jane.

I would think misadjusted manual linkage if I read the symptoms correct. Put it up on jackstands and have someone inside w/ foot on brake take it thru gears while you watch at the tranny. Then disconnect the shifter and do it manually at the tranny.

As Tim suggested, place car up on jack stands and disconnect shifter at trans and with an assistant, run the trans shift lever through the gears and watch the tires for gear changes, automatically and manually.

Hopefully, the shifter/cable needs adjusting. If the trans does not shift with you at the shift lever on the trnas case, then dropping the pan will be required. The S-linkage between the lever and manual valve may be clocked some other way. There is one way the S-linkage fits so it becomes self-locking/locating in place. If it is flipped, it can fall out.

You guys are awesome!! I will try to jack it up and check it tonight and will let you guy know what i find. Hopefully its the shifter...

It kinda sucks that I have had the car two years working on it and have been waiting to go to a certain cruise meet this weekend and now my car breaks down.

I checked all the shifter linkage and it was a little loose but after i fixed it it did not solve my problem. So i put it on jack stands and shifted it through the gears while it was running (i watched the lever at the trans move) and still whichever gear i put it is it stayed in drive and I noticed when changing gear the shifter seems to move much more freely like is it not catching any gear at all.

Also is it possible for it to be stuck in second gear, because when you do give it a little gas it seems like it may be in second not first??? And now that I think about it more I cant remember it shifting out of first when pulling into the neighborhood.

So i guess the next step is to drop the pan. This is my first time doing that, is there anything i should watchout for or is it just like an engine oil pan?

Thanks!!

Did you try it with the shifter disconnected at the tranny? I would do that before I pulled the pan. The positions of the shifter must concur with the positions of the tranny shift shaft, else it won't land the piston in the valve body in the right spots.


Re pulling the pan. I always use a pump down the tube to suck out as much atf as possible first. But you don't have to do that it just makes it nicer.

Well I pulled the pan (what a chore) and sure enough the internal linkage had come off. The bolt for the internal gear was very loose and caused the linkage to come loose. I put it all back together and tried it out. But when the car was on jack stand everything seemed to be working properly so I lowered it and on the ground it acted the same all gears are drive. When I shut off the car and shifted through the gear they all seemed to work (I would shift and rock the car). I just hope the linkage somehow did not come off again... or if I didn't hook it up right.

To late tonight but maybe if I get it on the street and try it?

Any other suggestions?

I did take picture of the pan off if it would help?

Yes, picture would help. Dropping the pan on a TH350 is a pain.

I forgot to mention, you view the manual valve and have an assistant manually shift through the gears so you could see what is/is not happening.

Manual shifting, you should have all gears. Check vac modulator, by sucking on the hose, to make sure the diaphram is not broken and the rest of its hose/tubing is in good shape up to the intake manifold.

This is how we learn to develop procedures to check our work. The pan won't seem so tough this time. :)

I was gonna look at a 350 valve body yesterday to be sure on this deal I'm gonna tell you about but I forgot to. But what that S clip hooks to is a piston that goes into the valve body and if I remember right I never did like the way the piston is built. Also seems like my brother has told me 350's like to break that piston. But I'm not sure, haven't looked at one today, haven't done that many 350's and that''s been awhile, and I could be thinkin of something entirely different that's why I wanted to look at 1. You need to be looking at that piston to make sure it's moving while somebody inside the car is shifting it or you shift it at the side of the tranny with linkage disconnected. The piston in the valve body may be broke, or the linkage may have screwed up again. Good luck.

This is how we learn to develop procedures to check our work. The pan won't seem so tough this time. :) Good luck.Part of the cirriculum of the School Of Hard Knocks.

AND my compressor stopped working so I can't use my air tools!! AAAAHH

Here is a video of the internal linkage. What I did was I put the wishbone back in place and tightened down the loose nut.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyzD_c1GACg

Is there something that was suppose to go on that "L" shaped bracket of the side of the gear? I didn't see anything else loose and there was nothing in my oil pan.

thanks

The detent wheel is to go upon the detent plate, those teeth. Each one of the teeth, or in between the teeth is a gear position.

There is a 1/4" diameter rod going to the rear of the case and this rod pushes on a pawl to engage Park.

Elsewhere on the detent plate is a smaller hole, 1/8"?. and the S-linkage gets attached to this hole and corresponding hole in the manual valve in the valve body. You'll need to remove the filter to get to it.

You will need to remove the detent plate so you can thread the S-linkage into the detent plate and manual valve at the same time, then tighten the clamp on the detent plate. I know you don't want to remove the valve body to thread.

The detent plate goes against the case and the clamp gets tighten. This allows little movement sideways not allowing the shift linkage to come out of the case. The detent plate and roller should be in alignment when done.

Nothing goes onto the L, it is to prevent over selecting the gear pattern.

Good luck.

This is all new to me.. Is the filter the small square piece with all the holes in it. Held in by the two bolts? and does it just come off or to I need to be ready to catch anything? I guess I got too anxious and put it back together to soon, dang. Do you reckon I can reuse the gasket? Here is another video I took. I will post another when I get the filter off to get your option if thats ok?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz48zocNJAk

yes those 2 bolts come out and nothing falls out. that linkage is missing a part. you probally found a s- looking peice in the pan. that part moves the manual valve to the outside linkage. tommorow ill get you some pics of what is missing. http://transgo.com/rpg_generalmtr.php also if you go here you could download a 350 video of putting shift kit in but it shows you what you missing and how it goes into valve body.

At 43 seconds, I see the S-linkage laying there. The end of this S hooks into the L piece once the detant plate gets aligned onto the roller, the two, the 'L' and the S-linkage will be aligned. The other end of the S-linkage is hooked to the manual valve just outside the valve body, still hooked to it.

Bill's video will show it. Visit the library and look through the reference manuals. Take a picture home.

I'm not sure if that video was from the OP or not, but there is another part missing. There is a funning looking clip that attaches over the shifter shaft between the case and the detent plate. The clip keeps the shifter shaft in position with the detent roller. I also suspect that the nut that holds the detent plate to the shaft is loose also.

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa157/hereitis67/350tranny.jpg
heres a pic for you to see and print if you want. ps dont mind the wires and solenoids they are from a later style 350 lockup tranny.also take off or loosten up the 1/2 inch bolt on the detent lever as it goes like in the picture. i recalled your pic was to the side. if you need that s-hook pm me and i will send you 1. or a tranny shop by you will have them laying around.

Thanks for the pic hereitis67!! It really helped.. Here is a vid of it assembled
http://youtube.com/watch?v=cm_SidNvD5s
Does it look right?
I wanted to see if someone can confirm that it is now assembled correctly before I put on the pan, I would hate to have to do this all over again. Good news is that I got my compressor working again so that made taking the pan off much easer this time :)

It appears to be correctly assembled. As long as the detent plate cannot move sideways or the clip on the shaft falls out, you should be able to go.

I'd have a trans professional look at the video before buttoning it up.

Looks good to me. Did you rack it thru the gears a buncha times while watching it?

No not yet. I will before I put the pan back on. I am just a little concended that the 's' hook doesn't seem to grab much of the control valve. Hopefully I will be back on the streets tonight!!

THANKS GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As long as the S-linkage does not fall out, you're good to go. Min depth is 1/8 inch.

yes it looks fine in the video. when putting filter back up. it says front on it. put that towards the torque converter. did you make sure you tightened the nut back up all the way. 3 and 1/2 quarts than start it go through gears and recheck.

Man thanks for reminding me of the filter!!! I put the filter back on last night but I totally forgot to make sure that the filter was facing the right way. I will have to double check that. Yes I did tighten the nut back up. I will get the pan back on tonight.. I have my finger crossed.

The filter is held by the two bolts mentioned. I'll let the tranny experts continue to walk you thru the diagonistics & repair, but be sure to install a transmission drain plug before you reinstall the pan. Just be sure you have a gasket on each side of the plug and put a good amount of torque on the bolt because you can't retighten it once the pan is back on. Charlie

THANKS FOR THE HELP EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:hurray: :beers: :hurray:
She looks to be back in action. I wasn't able to get it on the road tonight but from the driveway she's look'n good!!!!!!!

wtg on your job. :beers:. that wasnt so hard was it.

YEAH and it beats paying a transmission shop $$$$$$!!!!!!!

One other thing is that I got it on the streets tonight and noticed that I could not feel it shift. I can manual shift it and I can tell I'm in 1st then 2nd. But before all my problems when it shifted oh boy you noticed it shifted so hard it was almost uncomfortable for a street car. Could it have been shifting hard before because the linkage was loose? Also since I was working on the car I also fixed some vacuum leaks could that have something to do with it? I'm not complaining but just concerned. It was to dark out tonight so I never really got on it, I will find out more in the morning.

Thanks again.

yes most likely your vacumn leaks was your problem, low vacumn to tranny it will shift later and alot harder.

A stock 350 is a pretty mushy shift tranny, they made them like that for Mom and the kids.

Thats what I was thinking. Thanks guys