250C Runs (but Won't Move)

[ctaylor738]

Team -

Went through the front carb last night - no problems except that the little circlip on the choke rod got lost somehow. I even spent $100 on a low-end compressor from Sears. That makes the job easier!

Anyway. The engine fired and ran, missing at idle, but sounding good. Much better than before. Next step is to balance and adjust the carbs.

Problem du jour -

I had drained the transmission and torque converter earlier. Per the manual, I added an initial 3 quarts of ATF before I started it. I realize that I need to add another 2 1/2 quarts.

The car idled for probably 15 minutes last night and the fluid level is now about two inches above the "full" mark. Putting the transmission in gear has no effect - the car will not move.

Question - how long does it normally take for the transmission to show signs of life after a complete drain and fill? Or do I have other problems?

Chuck

I have no information about the transmission from the seller, since the car was not running when he bought it.

[cth350]

? Wasn't there a different thread on this yesterday? Whatever.

Over full isn't a good thing. But if you've got 5 quarts of fluid in there, starting it up and counting to 5 should be all it takes.

As you walk through the gears from P-R-N-3-2-1 and then back you should feel it step into and out of each directional gear. If not...

- Linkage doesn't really work. Which DOES happen, crawl under and check. Worse case, disconnect the lever arm that the linkage points to and hand move the metal shaft by hand.

- Front pump or torque converter is shot.

Used transmissions are easy enough to get. Installing it in your drive way is next to impossible, unless you regularly bench press 100lbs with one arm while laying in a confined space.

-CTH

[ctaylor738]

The manual says that after a complete drain, to add three quarts and run the car, checking and topping up as the torque converter fills. Herr Fuchs says that the car won't move until at least five quarts are in and circulated. Guess I need to be more patient.

Fortunately, I have a garage.

When the car arrived, the engine was set in and the trans was in the trunk. I tried putting the trans in using my floor jack and a board to support the trans, and some clever wedges to vary the angle. Needless to say this met with dismal failure. I ended up pulling the engine, bolting up the trans and reinstalling the complete unit.

I am sure that the linkage is working.

If this trans turns out to be bad, I think I will look at a conversion to a 4-speed.

Chuck

[cth350]

The conversion is rather straight forward. All you need is a 4-speed parts car. Take the drive shaft, tranny, flywheel, clutch, whole pedal assembly, and the shifter. There have been several philosophical discussions about the need to rebalance the crank when switching to the new flywheel. The jury is evenly split on that subject.

There's a 4-speed 69 model 250 with a bad cam (runs, but doesn't drive all that well) in CT. The owner has been beaten down to $400 for it.

-CTH

[cth350]

I thought this problem sounded familiar. There's another thread under "tech help" for a similar problem with a 250se. Here I thought I was spending so much time on the forums, that I was like Karnak; saying the answer before reading the question.

-CTH

[opossum]

chuck,
yes it's true, I have the same exact problem with my 250se. cth has led me to believe it could be the front pump. I'm going to look at it closer this weekend. keep you posted if I find anything.. good luck and thanks cth!!