I am currently working on a 1958 Dodge Royal, 100% stock with the push button trans. The issue that I am running into, is that when at a stop, going into first gear, there is a noticeable clunking sound, and then after that all other gears operate fine, even reverse. I did this with the transmission warm and full of fluid. Are there any dodge transmission experts that can give me a few tips to being diagnosing this? Any linkage adjustments or internal adjustments? The trans was "rebuilt" five years ago but had been sitting alot since. Any help is appreciated!
I bet the drive collar from the torque convertor to the front of the transmission has wear in it and as it engages the gear you hear a clunk. This drive collar sits over the impute shaft and has two tabs at the front that slot into a corresponding depression in the inside stator of the torque convertor. As these wear the slack increases till you hear/feel that clunk. If the transmission performs A ok other wise its a good place to start. The good news is its repairable - the bad news you need to remove the trans. The in-between news is you can undo 4 bolts that hold the trans to the bell housing and slide the trans out without disturbing the torque convertor. Lets us know what you find. They are one of the stronger transmissions out there from this era.
might want to take a look through the early torqueflite stuff here http://www.imperialclub.com/Repair/Transmission/index.htm
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