Truckrolet, it is exactly because I considered the Powerglide and I6 to be easy to work on, maintain, etc., that I kept them when I got the truck. My intended use of the truck in the next few years is mostly just to bring building materials from local suppliers to my property where I am building a cabin and a few additional out buildings. Being in a remote area of northeastern Maine, and the truck being my only vehicle, I wanted something that would be reliable and, when in need of service, easy to service. I did not worry about obsolescence of parts in this age of internet shopping. Yet it is a fact that my truck is still in the shop for what is now a total of some 14 days, with veteran mechanics apparently stumped as to what is ailing the Powerglide. The truck -and me, have become the butt of jokes from my family and friends this summer.
I know that intermittent mechanical problems can be annoying to deal with. But it seems to me that mechanics with some thirty and thirty five years of experience should not need so many days to ascertain a problem in a Powerglide. The tests that you and others have mentioned to me, and which I have seen mentioned in the Powerglide Transmission Handbook, should give the answers -if they are, indeed, being performed. Calipers and micrometers should be out and on the table. I am no mechanic, but I would put my money where my mouth is and bet that this tranny could be dropped from the engine within one hour, examined piece by piece within two hours, and reassembled and tested within two or three more hours by anyone who knows what they are doing. What we have here is not a haunted Powerglide, but incompentent mechanics. That is my opinion.
Like I said previously- I already paid for the job. I showed them the suggestions I received from the Forum. I offered to give them my PowerGlide Handbook (which is a really good handbook). If they cannot tell me what the problem turned out to be, I must request my money back and take her to a different shop. In other words, I will not be satisfied with "She's fixed." I want to know exactly what was fixed. Otherwise, there is no sense in ever getting on the road for a trip out of town. Been there, done that. When I was a kid in school (many, many moons ago) merely putting the correct answer to a math problem did not get you credit unless you showed your work. I was stranded on the Mass. Turnpike last Saturday because someone did not do what they were hired to do. I don't like that.
At no time did I ever hear any noises when losing drive. I would be cruising along, happy in my own thoughts, and the truck would suddenly lose drive. The only noise was the remaining revving of the engine. I did notice that the tranny tended to lose drive when I would be decelerating, either slowing for traffic or coming to a full stop for a light. I also noticed that, after shutting down the engine for several minutes and then restarting the truck, the tranny would drive seemingly perfectly until a deceleration. That even a slight decel would put her out of kilter until I shut the engine down again. Theoretically, when the tranny failed me in Mass., I could have restarted her and gotten back to Brooklyn if I could have avoided any deceleration on the way, lol.
My concern now is to find another shop here in Brooklyn to examine my Powerglide once my shop gives it back to me 'fixed'. I want my tranny checked with instruments and gauges by individuals who know what they are doing. Believe it or not, in this internet age, I cannot find Powerglide mechanics in Brooklyn. Maybe someone from the forum would know of a place for me. Thanks for your attention, Truckrolet. -Alden
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Last edited by AldenB; 07/25/2014 2:53 PM.
