I found a 68 2 speed Powerglide that was sitting and the fluid drained out of it. The owner says everything was OK with it, but the fluid leaked out over the last year or two. I have never rebuilt a tranny. Not sure if it even needs rebuilt, but figured it would prabably be the safest route. How much am I biting off here? I am fairly competent mechanically. I would be paying $150 for it and a 307. Both came out of a 68 Chevelle. Thanks up front for the advice.
4Banger, Pull the pan first. If there's not any metal in it, you should be safe just putting a new front & rear seal in it. The aluminum powerglide is one of the simplest most dependable automatics around. Butch
The alum. P.G. is one of the easyest to rebuild. A good "learner" trans,if you will, before you tackle a TH350,and so on. If you are reasonably mech, inclined,should be no problem. You can even make your own tools, mostly a piece of allthread,some washers, and nuts will get the reverse piston out. A good manual is a must, and will show the tools you need. Use a big table with a hole in it for dis/assmbly. Keep everything in order,clean everything good,air dry parts. Use vaseline to lube the lip seals with. also soak the clutch plates in atf for a while. don't reuse the steel plates,if they are scored. Most kits have new ones. Gunk, and a high pressure hose will clean the case good too. I have done them many times,and with all the parts/tools on hand, take your time ,should have in done in a day or so. Good luck. Sparky
in addition to the front and rear seal, consider resealing all of the external parts...this includes the pump oring, shifter seal, dipstick tube oring, speedo gear seal and oring, etc. I did my first PG overhaul when I was 16, it's not rocket science....
And if it needs more, get this book from HP press: Powerglide Trans Hp1355 : How to Rebuild or Modify Chevrolet's Powerglide for all Applications[ It has EXCELLENT pictorial coverage of everything in there, far better than the factory manuals. If you are a good tinkerer and own some all-thread, you can find your way past many of the special tools needed...
Also kits are cheap, and come in maybe three levels as plates and bushings are added. It doesn't cost much more to get the most complete one. Just in case there's no one literate left at your local NAPA, the book they need is the auto trans catalog with "obsolete" in its title... Beyond the all thread for pulling the pump and other parts and for compressing, you need a dental tool or two and some improvised "shoehorns" for getting seals over things afely...
I use vasoline or mystic jt6 on the lip seals and oring when assembling,make sure the valve body isnt rusty also,as for difficulty its very easy..
easy task, the early one should have a rear pump,not good or bad just stating a fact. I always sandblast my new steels, I think it gives them a little rougher finish and may grab a little quicker. The only thing I should caution you about is the cooler lines where they go into the case. The adapters are 1/8 pipe thread and as such will continue to keep turning in after they are tight enough. What happens then is the aluminum case can crack because the fitting is tapered. Best of luck!!
Get the book "POWERGLIDE TRANSMISSION HANDBOOK" by Carl Munroe (HPBooks). I picked my copy up from www.overstock.com . Great step-by-step and lots of good info & tips.
Also, the early aluminum ones are a bit shorter than late, and have different output splines...late ones basically interchange with T350. I think early means pre 1965.
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