i just threw a tranny into my 1983 280zx. i did everything correctly as far i know.
i went through the procedure of trying to put it into gear after filling it but none of my gears do anything. they dont move or anything. when i put it in reverse my reverse lights come on, thats about it. i dont get a *click* or *chunk* that even feels like its going into gear to begin with.
ugh im just frustrated....

 

Is it an auto or manual tranny?

 

Are you tilting your head the right way? Because you know that's like really really important ^.^. There, I gave my two cents :P.

 

its an automatic tranny on an L28E type engine.

hahahah yeh im tilting my head in many directions and its not changing anything

could it have anything to do with the small electrical cluster?

 

k, i'm stumped........where are the nice men to solve this one?

 

yeh i dunno either the tranny job was pretty simple.
when i got the car last year. the dude i bought it from said he blew the tranny trying to rock it in the snow the previous winter.. ive had the car since about oct. i got the tranny by myself in recently. i dont know is there anything that could be going on with the electrical system??

 

i do have a feeling i mightve gotten a junk tranny....i dont really see how the tranny cluster would keep the gears from engaging...

 

Is the vacuum modulator hooked up? It's located on the driver side of the transmission. This may sound stupid, but there is fluid in the tranny right? Those are the only things I can think of off the top of my head. Hope you get everything fixed.

 

torque converter working properly? cause it could be just spinning and not giving anything to the tranny (<completely random guess as well)
I guess another try to see if the linkage going to the tranny from the gear selector (I dunno the real name for that, the shifter deal) is working right.
I believe the reverse lights come on from the top part of that touching the reverse area, not necessarily the tranny section

 

yeh theres fluid in it.
whenever i shift it seems to just slip from gear to gear. but it does lock in P and locks when its in R (but i still dont move. when the brakes off) and it locks going from D to N. it slips all the way from 1 2 then D.
maybe the shifter thing isnt hooked on right at all. ill get the car up again tomorrow and see whats going on.
if anyone can think of other stuff to check on let me know.
ill try all this stuff and if nothing works i guess im pulling it out and checking the converter. when its in and working correctly i should be able to see all the gears move, right? this was my first time doing a transmission

 

yeh ill check that tomorrow too....it might not be actually

 

Did you put the torque converter in yourself or was it in the tranny to begin with? If you got the tranny with no fluid or the converter by itself with no fluid and you didn't put fluid in the converter beforehand then drop it and put fluid in the converter first then put it back in the car and fill the tranny as normal....then check all the tranny connections...or do this in whatever order works for you but you should have put fluid in the converter first...I am almost sure of it

 

Yes, the converter must be pre-filled before installing and filling the tranny reservoir.

 

And double check that the shift linkage is hooked up properly.
from what your describing in post #10, it sounds like the linkage may not be engaged/connected yet.
I hope ya get it figured out.... where'd anyone get the silly idea to put an Auto-Box in these rockets in the first place???!?

Todd/BC240Z

 

I might add... my thoughts come from what you've said....
the shifter moves pretty freely, right?..very little resistance?.. BUT still "locks" in P, R Etc.....AND the reverse lights work...? the shifter WILL "lock, or klik into the gear positions.... it sounds disconnected to me. The reverse lights work from the shifter position, not the trans itself. same with the "detents" or "lock" you are experiencing in the certain gears..the shifter has the locks.not the tranny. I think you may have missed a minor step during Installation, and perhaps the shifter is not hooked to the trans.... I HOPE this is all the issue is........ Good luck my friend.

 

I just had a minor brainstorm....try this,..
one surefire method to determine whether the linkage is engaged......
Put the car in "park", brake off..........rock the car, does it move? (it shouldnt), it should be "locked" in park.
reach in,..engage ANY other gear........rock the car again. it should roll this time. if not....the linkage is NOT hooked up.
P.S....... the same stands if the car rolls in "park"...linkage is not connected.
2 min test..... good luck

 

I have an automatic 3 spd tranne that didn't work except in reverse. When rebuilding had to do the torque converter also (water got into it from the radiator). The water screwed up both the tranne & torque converter's bands. You don't say if the converter or tranne were rebuilt? I still have both as the car I found out was a "Dead Man Walking" terminal rust, so I just put them away in the shed. The above comments are correct about putting fluid in the converter first, also the modules on both sides of the trannie need to be connected correctly (I forgot since I didn't reinstall it). Good luck