I think I found the answer, just not sure on the settings. I have a 28 Ford hotrod that had a 327. I changed it to a 350, used the same transmission and had it overhauled. The Powerglide worked well but it does not shift. I thought this might be the vacuum but checked and adjusted the modulator... no change. The downshift linkage was not hooked up on the 327 so I did not hook it up on the new engine. I have come to the conclusion, from reading posts on here, that I need to hook it up or at least set it at a certain position... reason I think this is that may have been the way it was before. Not real interested in the kick down but would be nice to get out of first gear (might be a song there...) Thoughts and recommendations?
If the linkage is set in "full throttle" position, the car won't shift until you get up to around 4500 rpm. I would connect the linkage, but I'm kind of weird about wanting things to work the way they were designed to work.
I I was looking around and ran across a hook up device since space is limited and thought about hooking it up. For now it is just "dangling" there. I think is all the way forward and will check it out. If that is full throttle then makes sense. I might play with the positioning and see if i can at least get it to shift below 4500! So far I only had it up to 3000... Thanks for the comments!
I had this problem on a th350 and it was the plastic gear on the governor. Looks like the powerglide has one as well. Wrong pic, but that's what it looks like anyways. The gear is just a few bucks.
Aluminum Glide? What gears does it have, if any? My guess would be the shifter is not adjusted correctly, or the manual valve in the valve body is't set with the "rooster comb" correct. Rooster comb is the internal detent mechanism each gear steps into, including neutral and park. It also bends easily, and even breaks. Pull the pan and have a look. None of the Glides I build utilize the kick down/throttle pressure feature, but they also have shift kits and other mods. They also are't connected to vacuum; race transmissions primarily. Get a copy of Carl Munroe's book, "Powerglide Transmission Handbook-How To Rebuild Or Modify Chevrolet's Powerglide For All Applications". About $16.00 on E-Bay. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
Powerglides do not have governors like a TH350. No plastic gears, the governor is bolted to a flange on the output shaft. Accessible by removing the tail housing.
I was told if the linkage isn't on there it will burn up your transmission I just had my pg rebuilt had to get linkage off eBay then had to mod the rod to get it to shift .. Just my 2 cents
well...sort of....the iron powerglide that he has, does have a governor gear. The aluminum ones do not.
Ok, been out for some time.... the powerglide is aluminum and I was able to lock the downshift to a point that has it shifting at about 25 MPH. I now have an issue with the reverse. When I shift it into reverse I can barely feel a power load. I have to rev the engine several times then either it moves slowly or sometimes it loads up and works well..... I played with the shifter and juggle it as I put it in reverse but no change. I had this overhauled at a shop but have not had any adjustments made (not sure what other than aligning the shifter). I am also confused with the vacuum hook up. What does it do?? FYI it was working before I pulled it out and had it overhauled, just leaked and I wanted a clean unit.
First of all, aluminum Glides DO have a governor; in the above photo, it's the mechanism just in front of the speedometer drive gear. Now, there are basically two versions of the aluminum Glide; 62-65 had a rear pump feature and wear plate, the 66-73 models deleted the rear pump, and only used the front pump, that both versions have. That's the reason 62-65 Glides can be push started, and the 66-73 cannot. There are also two different first gear/planetary ratios, 1.82 and 1.76; the 1.76 being stronger. There's a gasket that is used with the 66-73 models between the case and the governor support, and if that gasket is incorrectly used behind the wear plate on a 62-65 model, the gasket blocks some fluid paths. It blocks the governor feed and reverse feeds, only first gear works, and the trans does't shift into second. The only other thing, as I see it, would be the reverse apply piston seals are hard, broken, or not seated correctly, causing a fluid leak. The trans has to come out. IF the rebuilder used a gasket on the rear pump model, you could remove the gasket from behind the wear plate; the hard part is removing the pressed on, metal, speedometer drive gear (it takes a puller with a long reach). The kickdown/throttle pressure linkage does really change a whole lot as far as shifting goes, it does affect the softness of the shift you wife may want. There is also an adjustment that can be made internally with the throttle pressure valve, but that's only good for a couple of MPH changes. Tell you what, send a plane ticket to Hawaii for me, and I'll fix your trans for you! There are also a couple of differences with the aluminum glide, the X-frame cars built for the 62-64 years are 25 inches long; all the rest are 28 inches long. There is supposed to be a LOOOONG aluminum glide that's 32 inches long, but I've never seen/worked on one (used in big trucks). The second/high gear clutch pack varies between the various engines they were used behind; there can be anywhere from 2 to 5 lined plates (4 cylinder engines to 409/396 engines). Then there are air cooled and fluid cooled versions also. Basically, there are LOTS of little variances with the aluminum Glide. I wonder if your rebuilder just was't knowledgeable enough on the Powerglide. The modulator also affects the shift quality depending on vacuum load. Again, get a copy of Carl Munroe's book. Sorry this post was so long. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
Thanks for the info... looks like I don't have any simple "****on" to push and make this right.... tempting to have you come over I am sure the guy who overhauled it was not familiar with Powerglide, told me so and suggested I change the ******... hindsight kicks in again. I will get that book! Thanks again...
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