So I'm working on the shifter for my Powerglide, and when I start it while in park, it starts fine (no drive shaft on it btw). The yoke doesn't spin as would be expected. However, when I shift it into Drive and try to go back to Park, it makes a grinding noise similar to when you're shifting wrong on a stick shift, that kind of a "springy" robust grinding noise. It doesn't want to go back into Park and won't have any of me trying to make it do so. I have checked the fluid and it seems to be fine, I do know that it lost some when I was transporting the tranny and installing it, so I expected it to show full, run it, show it needs some more (as it was probably topping off the torque converter?), fill it again, etc. Looks like its got a safe amount of fluid in there, but its still doing it. Any ideas? Before anyone says "ditch the PowerSlide and get a real tranny"....don't want to go there, either. If the tranny is dead, I'll get another, but if I can I want to stick with this one for now until I get my 8BA redone. Thanks!
That's normal of any automatic trans with no drive shaft on it. It's like putting it in park while the car is still moving. The output shaft has to be stopped from spinning before you put it into park.
AHA!!! GOOD to hear. My luck is usually that the part is one hair's breadth away from failure, whether it be a new or used part.
Without having a driveshaft, there's nothing to slow the spinning planetary assembly before you try and put it into Park; the parking pawl is "ratcheting" on the planetary ring gear, parking gear lugs. Try sticking a yoke and some sort of rod through the yoke, block that against the floor or frame, and see if that stops the noise. However, DO NOT even attempt to bring the RPM's up with it in gear!!! OR, stick a driveshaft in the car. Just put it in gear at idle. Butch/56sedandelivery.
SO....driveshaft installed, but not without issue. I ordered one from FastShafts like 2 years ago, just now getting to installing it. They put two Chevy Ujoints on it. I believed that I was going to need a Chevy-to-Ford Ujoint for coupling up to the 8" Ford rear. I go to get the existing one out....doesn't budge. After motivating it with my mini sledge, a socket I didn't need, and my vice, I got it loose. I go to put the new one in....damn roller bearings come loose between thwacks and become casualties....no fear though, I have the extras from the other UJoint...turns out those are about .5mm longer on each, which means the little spring retainers wont fit....shit. At this point, I'm like "Well dammit, I'm going to test fit it to make sure my math was right TWO YEARS AGO on this length. I'm dead nuts right on the length, but find out that either someone put a Chevy yoke on this 8" rear at some point, or this ford rear uses ujoints the same width as Chevy. Either way....GO BACK, remove the botched chevy-to-ford ujoint, replace it with the one that was installed TO BEGIN WITH, install it on the car and DONE...W......T.....F? Man, being stupid is hard sometimes!!!! Anyway, after the shaft was installed, the tranny seems to work fine now. I sat in it with my foot firmly on the brake while shifting it at idle RPM....I felt the car want to lurch forward like it should...felt GOOD. First time it's ever wanted to move under its own power...soon enough, my sweet...soon enough! XD
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