So my post about the trans. cooler was semi successful. Now here's another one for you powerglide experts out there. The car starts right up and runs fine in park and in neutral. If I'm on the brake and put it in any gear however, it stalls out. When I'm coming to a stop I have to put it in neutral or it cuts out. When I'm ready to go, I have to release the brake and hit the gas as I'm shifting into gear. It'll sit there in neutral indefinitely. Once it's moving it drives great and the shift from low to drive is super smooth. There's no noise coming from the trans. or anything. What the h#ll could it be?
Torque convertor failing? Most of the time they start slipping but I have seen a few that started engaging at low rpms.
On my '54 three speed, the bb was obvious to see when lining it up with the pointer. On this thing, the flex plate has alot going on so it was kinda hard to tell where the bb was but I "think" I lined it up and the car starts right up. The thing with this carb is, before I got the car I was turning the idle mixture screw (carter yf 788) but it wasn't doing anything at all. I went from all the way in to when it seemed like it would fall out and nothing changed. I just seated it and backed it out 1.5 turns. I'm waiting on a tach from ups so I'm not positive what rpm it's turning but it sounds pretty much like the '54 did at 500 rpm. I was wondering about the converter since it feels almost like a clutch not being disengaged but it's not pulling forward, just bogging down and stalling. I was thinking maybe the vaccum line to the trans was either clogged or broken, but I have no idea what it actually does (tried searching for about 3 hours last night) so I haven't pulled it yet (or should I be looking for a vaccum leak somewhere else?)
I have had a torque converter lock up. Chased everything carb ignition vacuum it was torque converter.
If you've got a broken and jammed torque converter which is not impossible I suppose, but extremely rare, you've also got a trans full of metal ,and it's not gonna shift super smooth for long. Okay, foot off the brake , put it in gear..back and forth to neutral if you've got to, till you get it going down the street at about 15-20 mph. Keep the gas pedal in the same place and stand on the brake until the car stops.Tell us if the car quits running or not
I drained and refilled the trans the other day and I expected the worst. When the fluid started pouring out, it looked brand new.
[QUOTE=" I was thinking maybe the vaccum line to the trans was either clogged or broken, but I have no idea what it actually does [/QUOTE] Vacuum to the modulator controls the shift, with a clogged or broken line it will stay in first gear.
On the '51s trans it has to be shifted manually or do you mean it wouldn't shift even if the lever was moved?
Will it stop without stalling if you keep your toe on the gas pedal with the other foot on the brake? If so, then you have a tuning problem or, worst case, a worn out engine problem. A failed torque converter is possible but very rare.
I'll try that monday. I'm going to the local junkyard to grab a rochester and I'm gonna rebuild it. I actually took the 4 float bowl screws out of it when I had my '54 since mine were stripped. Does anyone know what size screws I would need for it?
If your Powerglide is a 52 or older, it does not have an automatic shift. No vacuum modulator. However it does have a 5 member torque converter, that (in my brain's archive file) I believe has some weird hill holder or something weird about it. My guess is that the torque converter needs to be removed, torn apart, cleaned, inspected, repaired, then reinstalled. See the motors manual for more.
Let me ask you guys this...is the idle to be set at 500 rpms in drive or in neutral? I upped the idle today a little bit and it was driving perfectly fine. I put it in reverse, hit the break the shift into low and no stalling. Came to stop signs in low and drive, no stalling. In gear it sounds about right and when I shifted into park the RPM's jumped up so was setting the idle in neutral incorrect?