1959 413 Wedge Separate Gear from Torque Converter?

Hello all. I've been having trouble finding information about this. I am mounting my 1959 413 Wedge on a test stand, and in order to start the engine, need the ring gear/flywheel inside the bell housing. However, the torque converter is firmly attached to the gear. I'd rather not spin the torque converter, which is empty and not connected on the output side.

I've hit the thing with PB Blaster and beat on it (within reason) with a mallet, but I cannot get the things apart. It kinda looks like they may be a single unit, but I'm not certain.

So, two questions: (1) Do they come apart?, and (2) if they do not, is it OK to spin the torque converter when I run the engine on the stand?

Thanks
--Glen

 

The ring gear is attached to the torque converter. You'll need a manual ****** flywheel.

 

the ring gear is welded to the converter.If u run it with converter in place it will throw oil out the converter.Jimmie King

 

Hi guys. That was -um- FAST. Thanks...

If I run with the empty converter (no oil) will I damage it?

 

i would say yes. does your crank have 6 or 8 bolts?

 

8 bolts. The studs are in the converter.

 

Don't know why it would hurt the converter if you plugged the hole. Leave a little trans fluid inside to lubricate the parts.

 

Sounds reasonable to me.

 

Thanks for the input, all. Not 100% sure what I'll do, since I'm getting different opinions from different sources, but I'll post here when I do. Could be a few days to a few weeks before I run the engine.

I think (despite wanting to be lazy) that I'll pull the ****** and attach it to run that way. I'll hook up the complete system on the stand, radiator and all. Since this is my first project like this, I'm sure to learn a lot in the process. And I get to weld more stuff onto my custom-built stand to deal with the ****** - welding is also pretty new to me.

Thanks again!