Hello! I have a bit of a story here...I posted this in the General Diesel section on TDS, but would like as many opinions as possible.

I'm working with a non-profit youth program that has a 40' former admiral's gig, with a 6-71 (4 valve head, non-turbo) coupled with an Allison tranny (not sure on the model number). Last spring, the boat almost sank, so seawater got into the crankcase and into the tranny. We got the oil/water out, put fresh oil in, and fired off that night to make sure that the engine didn't seize. We only ran it for a little while (basically enough time to get the oil to mix in with any water that might still be left in the crankcase), then shut down, let it sit for a few days, and drained the oil again (real PITA: had to use a handpump for most of it ). This time, the engine oil looked pretty clean, although the tranny oil was milky enough to imply that there was still water in the tranny. We were told at the time to let the crankcase and the tranny sit empty for a while, so we did...until today (a period of maybe 3 months). Today, I changed the filters, got oil (40 weight Delo in both the engine and the tranny; I was told to use that in the engine by someone at a shop, but wasn't sure on the tranny) in both the engine and the tranny, and fired off.

The good news is, she runs. Fired almost right off, as a matter of fact. Engine oil still looks clean and water-free, and engine oil pressure looks happy. Bad news is, there's an idle problem. The engine will fire right off cold or hot, but once she warms up, she starts loping. This actually isn't new; she's been doing this for quite a while. However, it seems to be worse now. Before, at the "low" spot in the loping, she would get to a real low RPM but would continue to run. Now, she's actually dying. Sometimes the governor will catch up in time to keep the engine running, but sometimes she won't, and the engine dies and I have to fire her back up. Once she's revved up above 1000 RPM, the RPM's stay even and happy.

I heard once that this was a governor issue and that we needed a mechanic to come and adjust the governor and the rack. Does this sound right, or is it something we can do ourselves? I don't have any special tools per se, but I'm fairly competent mechanically.

Also, how can I find out what oil's supposed to go into the tranny? I've got the same 40 weight oil in there that's in the engine, but I'm not seeing very much pressure on the trans pressure gauge, and the tranny will shift into reverse, but not into forward. I think the tranny needs to be drained again, but I didn't get a real good look at the fluid (couldn't tell if it was milky or just foamy)...

Any thoughts would be appreciated. I'll see if there's a rating plate on the tranny or not so I can give a model number. Thanks in advance!

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2001 VW Jetta TDI, 5 speed, daily driver
1991 Ford F-350, work in progress
1984 Ford F-250 4x4, 6.9l turbo diesel, 5 speed manual
Previous oilburners: 1980 IH Scout, 1984 E-350, 1985 M-B 300D, 1979 M-B 300SD, 1983 M-B 300D
Spark-free since 1999