I am getting ready to throw my car out in the trash. I've had one thing go wrong after another. Today take the family out to eat, car runs fine, get out to go home and my powerglide won't move in reverse, nothing. Low and drive are fine but no reverse. Newly rebuilt tranny and new converter. Makes kinda a whoosing, real low whoosing, noise when in reverse but no go....
Rev is a set of clutch's in the alum glide. If it has low & high gears, the planetary is ok. It is something in the rev clutchs, blown seal or broken rev apply piston. If it was a slipping gear it might be minor but with no gear apply at all I would say that it has to come out of the car and be disassembled for repair. It is not a common problem with the alum glide as they are quite reliable.
I just thought of something else. The valve body has thin paper gaskets between the valvebody, separator plate & case. You might drop the trans pan and look at the rear of the valvebody and see if you can see any gasket hanging out. Check the valvebody bolts for tightness
I had a similar problem with my powerglide. Turned out to the cheapest part in the entire transmission. There is a piece that looks just like an aluminum rivet. It goes into the output shaft and is the drive mechanism for reverse. If that piece goes, no reverse. Hope that I explained this well enough, If not, sorry. If I remember correctly it is accessible by removing the tail shaft cover.
Sounds like you're talking about is the "drive pin" for aluminum Powerglides that came with a REAR pump (62-66). Nothing to do with reverse. Butch/56sedandelivery.
My issue turns out to be a piece of what appears to be the lip seal laying in the bottom of the pan, along with a grey gooey sediment which is the reverse clutch material Thanks to you all and 56sedandelivery for the help. I now have to yank her out and get it doen again...