Could I get a little help please? (1961 Cadillac)

[Guest]

I am now the proud owner of a 1961 Cadillac. Besides physical appearance this car is very sound and in good working order. The only problem I have with it right now is that the original "hydro-matic" transmission does not work. I found it to be overfull with tranny fluid. Upon pulling the pan on the bottom I found small actual pices of metal...Also is there 1 or 2 bands? I found one fine but it seems to spin freely around the drum but there appeared to be no sign of the other. The symtoms before taking the pan off and draining the fluid is that it would not move or make an attempt to move, when you selected a gear absolutly no attempt was made to engage. Also when the trsnny was in neutral there was a sound as though air was escaping. The tranny was in this condition when I bought the car and from what I was told the filler tube came out and all the fluid was lost. When the tube was putback in and the tranny refilled it didn't work...<P>I am new to this type of car but am mechanically minded and have restored a speedster and worked on several other cars. One of the problems I have is that I don't have any literature concering this car and would like to get some. What is the best source for technical books etc.?<P>------------------<BR>

[Rick Hoover]

Congrats on your buying a '61. I would look to buying a reproduction Cadillac shop manual for '61. The newest I have is a '59 manual and it has enough info on the transmission to make it dangerous for most of us. This is where my shop manuals are from, but you can find others in Hemmings.<P>Crank'en Hope Publications<BR>Blairsville, PA.<BR>(412)-459-8853<p>[This message has been edited by Rick Hoover (edited 02-09-2000).]