The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Way to test auto x-mission?

Short of starting motor and seeing if the wheels turn, is there way to test an automatic transmission. It’s up on jack stands while being brought back from a 35 year snooze. If I have to remove and repair/replace,now would be a good time to do it. Thanks

Which transmission? I'd recommend dropping the pan and inspecting the fluid that drains out. Look for discoloration, a burned odor, and debris on the bottom of the pan from clutch wear. Also change the filter while you're in there. Since it's been a lot of years since torque converters were equipped with drain plugs, only slightly more than half the total volume of fluid can be drained that way. Other than the above drain and inspection, there's really no way to do a function check without running the engine.
Jerry

It’s a ‘57 turoglide, first year I believe. All cast iron housing unit. If this tranny is used up, can it be rebuilt? There is a discussion going on elsewhere about the nose mounts and transmission supports. Is a turbo 350 in this car’s future. I have plans to replace the nose and transmission mounts, but only if the tranny stays. I’m having trouble getting the horse in front of the cart.

Not uncommon for the fluid that's in the torque converter to drain out through the filler tube when they've been sitting a while. So you'll have to start it to check the fluid.

Ah, so, grasshopper- - - - - - -the "Terrible-Glide"! They were notorious for poor performance and difficulty to rebuild back in the 1950's, and I'm sure 50-something years hasn't improved that situation any! Proceed with all due speed to the TH 350 option!

Edit: Your "cast iron case" comment didn't sound right. I was pretty sure I remembered the TG as Chevy's first aluminum case transmission, and a little research proved that to be correct. If your trans has a cast iron case, it's a 1st.-generation Powerglide. PG transmissions didn't switch to aluminum case units until 63 or so, and TG never had a cast iron model. The TG also has a removable oil pan, something the cast iron PG doesn't have. Turboglides had a 3-stage torque converter, and they didn't have a discernible change in RPM between shifts, sort of like a downsized and less-robust version of a Buick Flight Pitch Dynaflow.
Jerry

Don't test the transmission like my dad once did. He was told by a transmission shop that the tranny in his Rambler needed to be rebuilt (they always say that they need to be rebuilt). Dad didn't believe the shop, so he pushed the car up to the concrete wall in the carport so the bumper was just touching. He thought he could test if the transmission was slipping like the shop said. He started the car and put it in drive and the wall came down. oops! I guess the transmission was OK after all...

I am grabbing a magnet and climbing under to check. My info above is/was based on the gear selector indicator. Powerglide selector is marked...P, N, D, L, R. This one is P, R, N, D. The manual states it also has one marked Hr (hill retarder). That one is not there. Ok, headed to shop to check.

I got to start getting more sleep! First, magnet sticks to everything. Second, I can’t read a gear indicator. The selector is correct for the power glide. Now, am I still in the ‘gotta change tranny mode’?

The cast iron case PG shift quadrant was P-N-D-L-R. I learned that the hard way one night while driving my girl friend's 55 Chevy 265 V8 and tried to pull it from Drive into Low gear for some full-throttle acceleration. OOPS! Reverse and full throttle at 35 MPH is NOT a good combination! Amazingly, that old PG survived! The TG shift pattern included "Gr" (grade retard) at the full right-hand end of the quadrant, a way of getting compression braking on a steep downhill grade.

There's nothing really wrong with a Powerglide trans, except that it has only two speeds- - - -"Too low and too high!" The 63-up aluminum case trans is a better choice, but lots of the old 1st. generation transmissions are still around and doing well. The filter is under a cover plate on the passenger's side of the case near the bellhousing, and that one does have a converter drain plug, so you can do a full fluid and filter change when servicing it.
Jerry