Rusty, crusty splines - Oh My!

[Don'tCallMeJimmie]

Ugh.

I have finally gotten my life back together enough to retrieve my project from storage and what do I discover?My never-run, 'fresh' from the rebuilder TH350 input shaft and stator shaft splines are heavily rust-encrusted and now look like they've spent the last 3 years under water.

I'm trashed from moving everything the last weekend, so I've not looked at them more than in passing, but I don't think they are saveable.

Research says the input shaft is simple enough to find, either OEM or beefed up aftermarket. But, it seems the stator shaft is only available with as an entire front pump assembly or with the pump rear plate, aka the stator plate attached. Either are about the same outlay.

Makes me wanna abandon the '350 and consider a 700r4 core and benchtop rebuild for about the same outlay. Or am I thinking about this all wrong?

Opinions accepted with grace and appreciation. Pictures soon, but don't hold yer breath.

 

[Screaming Metal]

OK, the splines are rusty, thats not a biggie. Those can be cleaned up.

Now, get a pen light, look past your front pump seal, and you'll be looking for the tongs that engage the 2 cutouts on your torque converter. Is there any rust in there???? Also, pull the pan off, is the valvebody rusty? Roll the trans so the valvebody is straight up, look past it on up into the coutouts inside the housing, you should see a little of the clutchbaskets and shafts. ARE THEY RUSTY?
If not, the trans is worth cleaning up. Now, the splines should have been protected. Usually when set a trans up for storage, I leave a filled converter on it. Or I oil the shafts down good, and stick a piece of rubber gas line over the splines to protect them.
If theres no crap in the front pump and the the pan, carefully wrap some duct tape up around the shaft close to the seal area, bust out the wire brushes!
Get them clean enough to eat off of, then smear some transfluid on them. Even if there is some slight pitting, its still ok. As long as your not gonna be launching a #3800 Camaro with slicks@4200rpm with a transbrake, you'll be ok.
Now, if you wanna yank out the shaft and front pump assembly, thats not bad, won't cost alot either. You'd have a piece of mind that the trans shafts are new, clean, pump is fresh.

Sounds like water got sprayed on a completely fresh clean rebuild, or one of those guys with a really sweaty hands grabbed the trans shafts loading it up....or unloading it, or both.

 

[Don'tCallMeJimmie]

Food for thought, thanks.

 

[Screaming Metal]

Let me also add, you can probably trade it to somebody for a overdrive trans thats in good shape. Just tell them what happened, they can yank out the front pump, no problem. Usually the local speed shops have a bulletin board, just throw it up on there that you want to trade. And put a Ad on CL, also. That way you can run some low gears and still get good mileage too! Alot of folks make all you need to use that overdrive in your bucket....

 

[Mike]

Have someone glass bead the shafts and drive on.

 

[Don'tCallMeJimmie]

Both are worth considering. With a 3.55 the lower 1st is attractive, and I've got nothing to lose by trying a trade.

OTHH, one of my other (too many) interests is reloading so I have a medium-sized vibratory polisher. It won't accept either part completely, but I could suspend the rusty bits in the polisher and see what happens. Corn cob or walnut shell is slow but a lot more gentle than glass beading.

Wheels turning, pun intended.