I have a 1963 Cadillac with a hydromatic trans that is stuck in 1st gear. The car has been sitting for a while and it did shift 1,2 when I first got it. The shop manual suggest the govenor is stuck or dirty. Any suggestions? Please enlighten me!!!!
on my tbird i left the vacumn line off and it will stay in low gear. does gm use vacumnto control anything on your tranny. fluid level how long has it sat
you have a hydra-matic not a hydro. do you have a shop manual? there's a diagram in there with trouble shooting issues, but I'm betting that the trans is trashed if its been sitting long, maybe the reason the car has been parked?
I'd say you've got some crud in the valve body. But then I only owned my '63 for 35 years with only one major rebuild. Find a Chiltons from around 1967. Lots of pictures and diagrams and step by step instructions. There are only two trouble shooting tips on a no shift situation other than a total rebuild. Valve body or governor.
stupid question i know, but have you checked the fluid level recently? and while it was running warm and in neutral. does it have reverse? how does the fluid smell, and is it dark?
Yeah the level is good and the oil is pinky red and smells fine. I couldn't be that lucky. I am gonna pull the pan and the rear housing and check the governor.
A tranny guy told me that putting the tranny in park while rolling about 8-10mph will free a stuck governor. He said it shakes the trans and loosens what is making it stick. Has anyone heard of this and is it a wise thing to do on a hydramatic. Please enlighten me!
I think I know a tranny guy pulling your leg! Maybe he wants to sell a rebuild job! jmthehermit, does the '63 have what I always heard called the "Slim Jim"trans? Dave
Ya the "park" thing didn't work. From what I understand a "slim jim" is somewhat the same. This is known as a "jetaway". I ordered the seals and I am going to pull the governor.
Check your TV linkage adjustment. This is the rod that goes from the carb to the trans. Governor can cause this symptom too.
Help please. My 83 old father owns a 1960 Cadillac with the Jetaway hydromatic transmission. He was a mechanic in his younger day. And like most wonderful Dad's, it's difficult for him to acknowledge his age. He was working on this '60 to replace the govenor valve body in the transmission. He got it apart, and he cannot remember how to get it back together again. Can someone direct me to something that might help him remember what he knew by heart as a younger man? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Possible the vacume line is disconnected. The bans can also be bad. I have a 56 Olds with the Same tranny. Just about everything about it is vacume shift. You may also have a bad torq converter. My buddie got his rebuilt at amco for $1500 which is not bad deal.
The early hydramatic and dual coupling Jetaway do not use vacuum. The throttle valve linkage does what a vacuum modulator does, control the throttle valve. There are two governor ports, G1 and G2. The G1 port is used for the 1-2 shift, while the G2 port is used for 2-3 and 3-4 shifts.
Too bad you live so far away. I have a good complete Cadillac auto trans, 63, you can have free. Torque converter and all.
i worked at a shop in pasadena socal that had one of the best and biggest trans shops in area on power glides they would pop it into REVERSE to free it up also if there is a drive pin on govenor gear it maybe broken?
Thanks for the answers! I have already tried to adjust the TV rod. The transmission is also a bit slow to change to the second gear. Is it only adjustments or maybe time for a rebuilt? I will check the governors during the weekend. Does anybody have a picture or drawings so I know where to look?
this sounds like a forward band problem either burnt or not getting pressure witch means taking it out
I had one of those tranny's in a new 61 Pontiac convertable and it started not shifting at about 2000 miles, new governor fixed it.
I am working on my 1963 Cadillac again with the Hydramatic. I am having issues with it being stuck in first. If the TV rod isn't adjusted right should it still try to shift into second? Just shift really early or late. Or will it not shift at all? Or could this be the governor stuck? Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Trust me it's the Governor.. It took me 2 years and a half to figure it out. Even when it was rebuilt i told the tranny guy to change the governor. Once he did that it worked. So do that first. Once u do that start adjusting the TV Rod.
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