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PowerFlite shifting problems question.


Local2ED

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I have a 1958 Dodge Coronet, 6cyl., Powerflite auto trans.

The transmission will shift correctly until I stop and turn off the car or if I put it in reverse, then it will not upshift to high gear. I can get it to shift if I drive it around 40mph in first gear but that could vary between 5 blocks to 5 miles. When it does finally shift, it shifts hard, and then it will continue to shift perfectly until the next time I shut it off or engage reverse.

 

I bought this car that had been sitting for I don't know how long so I don't know it's history but since I put it back on the road it has exhibited this problem.

 

I brought it to a transmission shop and they said it needed a complete rebuild for $2500.00 but they didn't instill a lot of confidence in that they couldn't point out the specific area that could cause this. I felt they wanted  to change everything hoping they would blindly cure the problem.

 

The car drives perfect unless you turn it off or put it in reverse.

 

Any suggestions would be helpful.

 

Thanks, Ed.

I forgot to add that the price also included rebuilding the torque converter.

I don't know if that is standard procedure when rebuilding an auto trans.

Edited by Local2ED
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Two suggestions for you:

First, check linkages, and pressures. Mine had weird shifting issues and had to be shifted manually. It had been sitting for quite a few years.

Second (might want to check this first) was to pull off the tail shaft. Remove the governor and clean it WELL. The governor is a key component in these trannies. Mine was gummed up and I thought I cleaned it well the first time. Put it together and got second gear, but would not shift by itself until coming to a stop after long drives. It would then shift by itself, but shift hard. It eventually stopped shifting into second again. I pulled the tail housing again and replaced it with an NOS one off ebay. I was going to put it in when I rebuilt the trans, but tried this to buy time until I could. All my problems were gone regarding shifting and it works great! I will rebuild the trans..........someday.

Edited by nonstop
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Two suggestions for you:

First, check linkages, and pressures. Mine had weird shifting issues and had to be shifted manually. It had been sitting for quite a few years.

Second (might want to check this first) was to pull off the tail shaft. Remove the governor and clean it WELL. The governor is a key component in these trannies. Mine was gummed up and I thought I cleaned it well the first time. Put it together and got second gear, but would not shift by itself until coming to a stop after long drives. It would then shift by itself, but shift hard. It eventually stopped shifting into second again. I pulled the tail housing again and replaced it with an NOS one off ebay. I was going to put it in when I rebuilt the trans, but tried this to buy time until I could. All my problems were gone regarding shifting and it works great! I will rebuild the trans..........someday.

Thanks for the advice, I'll look into those areas when I get some time.

That is what I was hoping for from the Trans shop was a little investigating before declaring a total rebuild is needed.

I think I'll look for a different shop.

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The last time I had a torqueflite rebuilt, 12 years ago or so, it cost $400, drive in, drive out. I think that was dirt cheap, but $2500 is an absolute ripoff. If you get it done call around. My gut feel is that is double - or more - of what it should cost.

I doubt it needs a rebuild, not if it works fine otherwise. Sounds like a dirty valve body.

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Thanks for the suggestions. I haven't had time to look into this more or try to find a shop willing to invest time into trouble-shooting it.

Don thanks for the youtube links. Not only are those filmstrips very informative but they brought back memories of grade school. With the information in the filmstrips I feel I should be able to trouble shoot this myself if I ever find the time. Time is another reason I hoped to have a shop do this as I'm not opposed to doing it myself but I also don't mind paying sometimes just to be done with it.

I will keep the forum updated on my findings but don't know when that will happen.

Once again, thanks.

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Yeah, $2500 is a real ripoff.   :eek:

 

Here you can get a Turbo 400 rebuilt for around $700, so a Mopar trans will probably be about $800~900.

 

Of course things may be more or less expensive where you live. I'm in a modest priced area, except for gasoline.

 

(Our gas prices are pretty close to the worst in the nation.)

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Yeah, $2500 is a real ripoff.   :eek:

 

Here you can get a Turbo 400 rebuilt for around $700, so a Mopar trans will probably be about $800~900.

 

Of course things may be more or less expensive where you live. I'm in a modest priced area, except for gasoline.

 

(Our gas prices are pretty close to the worst in the nation.)

I edited my post to say the price includes rebuilding the torque converter.

I still think the price was too high.

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Have you considered buying a manual and disassembling the transmission yourself?

I do have a FSM that details a rebuild and I see some PowerFlite manuals are available but probably the biggest factor is I don't have a lift and really don't look forward to doing it on my back but that's probably what is going to happen.

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Before you get set on removing the trans, pull the pan and check the bottom of it. It is my understanding that type A fluid (what these called for) left a lot of sludge, especially if left sitting for a while. When I dropped my pan, I was finding solid waxy chunks of type A, and that was after warming it up and driving. The other option is to try a trans flush. What do you have to lose if you are already expecting a rebuild?

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Before you get set on removing the trans, pull the pan and check the bottom of it. It is my understanding that type A fluid (what these called for) left a lot of sludge, especially if left sitting for a while. When I dropped my pan, I was finding solid waxy chunks of type A, and that was after warming it up and driving. The other option is to try a trans flush. What do you have to lose if you are already expecting a rebuild?

Thanks for the reply.

What I neglected to add in my first post was the pan was dropped, it was very clean, and fresh DexIII/Mercon was used before I put the car back on the road for the first time in my ownership. It started to exhibit the problem right away. I drove it for 1K or 2K miles to see if it would work itself out from sitting for I don't know how long.

The second time I dropped the pan was to double check my band adjustments from the first time I dropped the pan. I also wanted to verify the full engagement of the shift detents and adjust the shift cable, fresh fluid was also used at the time. So as we speak I have about 5K miles on it with two fluid changes.

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I took mine out of my 55 Plymouth and put it back on a gravel drive with no transmission jack, just dragging it onto my stomach and wrestling it around. Course, I was 17 at the time and had no money.

BTDT with a 4spd on a wooden floor garage.

Who says I need a clutch alignment tool?

I'll just align it while I hold up the trans. LOL

Sadly I didn't learn anything the first time and when I blew the clutch a year later racing I still used the trans to line it up when I put the next clutch in.

Teenagers, we had some bright ideas didn't we?

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I put a clutch in Dad's model A a few weeks ago. I've never used an alignment tool, just eyeballed it. It works, except this time I couldn't move the transmission back far enough to see it. A friend told me he'd loan me his alignment tool.

Did you know they make this nifty thing with changeable ends to fit any pilot bearing, then a wedge shaped sliding part that centers any size disk?! One size fits all. What a cool idea. Tool is probably 50 years old, I never knew they made such a thing

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LIS55500, current part number for that tool from Lisle Tools.  Check your local parts store, fairly common shelf item if they carry the Lisle brand.  KDT also makes one similar.

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