Bolts a TH400 to a standard 2-3/8 inch engine stand post so you can rotate the case 360 degrees and work the pump and valve body.
If you are about to tear down a Turbo 400 out of a C10, a motorhome or a big-block Chevelle and the only plan is to roll the case around on the workbench, this fixture changes the job. It clamps the transmission case and slides onto the post of a standard rotating engine stand, so you can turn the unit nose-up, pan-up or sideways and lock it there while you pull the pump, drop the valve body or set up the servos. The same fixture is listed for a long run of GM, Chrysler and Ford rear-wheel-drive cases, which makes it a one-time buy for a home builder or a small shop.
The GM service procedure for the Turbo Hydra-Matic 400 starts teardown by mounting the case in holding fixture J-8763-01 on base J-3289-20, bottom facing up, before the modulator, governor, pan, filter and valve body come off. From there the case is turned so the pump can be pulled with slide hammers threaded into the pump body, and the drum stack, center support and gear set come out the front. Every one of those steps is easier when the case is held rigid at the angle the job needs. This adapter does the same job as the factory fixture-and-base combination, using an engine stand you may already own instead of a dedicated bench base.
The frame is a bent steel bar with a tubular mount on one end that slides over a 2-3/8 inch engine stand post. Threaded pins with a hand knob pull in from each side and seat in the bosses on the case, a center screw with a lifting eye lets you hang the assembly from a shop crane, and the kit includes two formed support arms with bolts, nuts and washers. Because the stand rotates on its own lock, you get the full 360 degrees without unbolting anything.
Measure your engine stand post first: this fixture is made for the common 2-3/8 inch post, and a stand rated for an engine handles the weight of a dry Turbo 400 easily. Then confirm your case is on the fitment list below. If you have not decided whether the unit needs a full rebuild or just a valve body or pump job, start with our TH400 common problems guide and the pump failure symptoms guide, both of which lean on the factory pressure tables.
Case castings changed over the decades, so look at where your case bosses sit before you start. You supply the engine stand. Browse the rest of the TH400 parts collection to line up the rebuild parts before the case comes apart.
Most builders put this fixture to work alongside a TH400 master rebuild kit and a T-0015 lip seal tool for the piston seals.
| Fits engine stand post | |
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Doing this repair right usually means replacing these at the same time. Same transmission, ships together.
Yes, if the stand has a 2-3/8 inch post. The fixture's tubular mount slides over that post and the stand's own lock holds the rotation angle.
No. Threaded pins pull in from each side of the frame and seat in the bosses on the case, which leaves the front of the case open so you can pull the pump and drum stack.
Only with an adapter that is sold separately. TH350, 200-4R, 700R4 and the 4L60-E through 6L80-E family are on the fitment list without one.
No. You get the fixture frame, two support arms and the bolts, nuts and washers. Use your own engine stand rated for the weight of the transmission.
Yes. There is a lifting eye on the center screw, so you can hang the case from a shop crane and walk it onto the stand post.
