RE: 70 auto transmission

["Jim Blair" <carnuck@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

A: Perhaps the trans cooler wasn't flushed before?


From: "Armand Eshleman" <aje1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <mail@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: 70 auto transmission
Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 19:41:27 -0500

IT'S A MIRACLE !!!

The transmission shop mechanic removed the pan and found that
the pick-up screen (no filter just a screen) was choked off with crud.
He cleaned it and put the thing back together and it works great again.
He adjusted the bands and set the shift points a few RPM higher by
adjusting the vacuum modulator.
I asked where did the crud come from?  After all it was a total
rebuild just 2000 miles ago, and every thing should have been clean or
 new. He said it was metal, very fine, both steel and aluminum,
he showed me the trans fluid. It looked a bit dark red and when he
shook the container, I could see the rivulets of darker streaks and such
wandering about in it. He asked if I had been doing hard launches (drag
racing), I said a few but I told him I don't abuse the car, and the tires
are
very old so really don't have any bite.  I know the tranny doesn't take
abuse like a heavy duty one would but on the other hand I've had the car
for 32 years. I didn't beat it harder those last 2000 miles than I did the
previous 40,000! I'm sure I've been a lot easier on it than I was when
I was a kid and got nearly 30,000 to 40,000 miles on the M44 before it
gave up.  I still wonder where the crud came from. The guy said maybe the
torque converter wasn't cleaned properly during rebuild, he sent it out for
that work. He also told me there are aluminum parts inside the torque
converter
which I had no clue of. I wonder if some of the crud wasn't band material,
and the band adjustment probably needed fine tuning from the get go after
the rebuild. Any way I asked him what I owed him and he said "Have a
good day", so that really made me happy.
I took the car for a long ride tonight and it seemed to operate just fine. I
got a
bunch of head turns and some comments like nice car so I feel better but I
am still very skeptical as to what really happened.
Now if I could just locate that flywheel off a 70 or 71 304 with a manual
transmission behind it, I would pull that M44 and put in my T5 and quit
worrying about getting stranded somewhere.

Have a great weekend guys,


Armand