trimacar Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 I usually work on older cars, not the newer stuff with automatic transmissions. I do have a driver 1969 Cutlass convertible, it developed a problem my good friend Greg calls a "sleepy transmission". Sit for a couple days, the transmission goes to sleep, and idling in gear for 5 or more minutes required to wake it up. Through another good friend, found a fellow to rebuild for a couple hundred bucks plus parts, a bargain. Amazing to watch him take apart, in 30 minutes he had trans completely apart, and showed me the problems, one locked up planetary gear set and some burned clutches. Wow, looks easy when you know what you're doing! We take automatic transmissions for granted, but what wonderful examples of precision, machine work, and engineering!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 In all our years in business we have never been brave enough to disassemble an automatic trans other than to just drop a pan to clean and replace gaskets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digger914 Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 Like anything else that takes knowledge and practice, tearing down a tranny is as easy as it looks if you have done it enough times to make it look easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 When I get to that part that looks like an ant farm with all the tunnels I give up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digger914 Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 57 minutes ago, Restorer32 said: When I get to that part that looks like an ant farm with all the tunnels I give up. Daunting, but not insurmountable. Before you needed a degree in computer science to play with toys that challenged your eye hand coordination, there was always a toy of some kind on somebody's shelf that had a maze with several bee-bees that you had to wiggle around to get all the bee-bees into the holes to win. This part looks harder, but it has fewer bee-bees and you can use your fingers to put them in the holes where they belong, while it's laying flat on a table. The table makes all the difference in the world and with a twenty foot long workbench even a tranny novice like me can take one of these old tranny's apart and put it back together again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted April 26, 2016 Author Share Posted April 26, 2016 This gentleman has a table, but it's small, and all the parts were either stacked or thrown in the adjacent parts cleaner. I could tell that he very much knew what he was doing, and the reference I had for him has had many rebuilt by this fellow and no issues....and yes, that ant farm labyrinth is fascinating, as is the oil pump design built into the thing! Wish now I'd taken some pictures.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketraider Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 Tell me if this guy knows anything about pre-64 HydraMatics. Specifically 61-64 Roto HydraMatics AKA the dread Slim Jim. I have those, and a friend in Durham NC has been looking for someone to do a 55 Olds slant pan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted April 27, 2016 Author Share Posted April 27, 2016 Well, transmission back, brought it to him Tuesday, picked it up today (Thursday), wow, all in and done $200 labor and $200 parts, including a new torque converter. He's going on a long vacation in May, the best thing is send me an email, Glenn, I'll send you his contact information....but not sure he'd take a shipment, it's one of those back up to his garage and help him unload kinda deals... david.coco@comcast.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryB Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 Sure is nice to know those type of repair guys are still out there! I always viewed auto transmissions as mystery boxes, especially after seeing what the innards look like! Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted April 28, 2016 Author Share Posted April 28, 2016 I don't know, now that I look at a drawing of it, it seems pretty simple. Excuse me while I go pour a stiff one....sheesh.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe_padavano Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 People are intimidated by automatics, but despite that diagram, they really aren't particularly difficult to work on. I've rebuilt GM automatics from the 1960s and the trans comes apart in "modules" - clutch packs, drums, and gear sets. You work on each module individually then simply assemble the 6-8 large assemblies into the trans case. Obviously attention to detail is mandatory, but this really isn't any more complex than assembling an engine or rebuilding a carb. In addition, the GM automatics from the 1960s and 70s don't really require all the special Kent-Moore tools the way the newer ones do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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