1954 powerglide trans

[Greg G.]

Finishing up a frame off resto on a 54 and I am having difficulties with the powerglide. I've put about 6 qts of atf in the trans shows a little more than full. The problem is the rear wheels don't turn. I was told that the pump should pick up the fluid and fill the converter. It wasn't filled prior to being installed.

The tran was rebuilt several years ago and this is the 1st time its been filled and run. The shop no longer works on "OLD Stuff". Not sure if it was rebuilt correctly or its something I've done, or it just needs more run time.

Any advice?

Help in advance

Greg

[Leif A.]

Re: 1954 powerglide trans

Greg,
It's been a few years since I've done one of these but I remember putting a quart of ATF in the torque converter before installing. I don't know enough about these transmissions to say if that is your problem or not.

[Edward J.]

Re: 1954 powerglide trans

Finishing up a frame off resto on a 54 and I am having difficulties with the powerglide. I've put about 6 qts of atf in the trans shows a little more than full. The problem is the rear wheels don't turn. I was told that the pump should pick up the fluid and fill the converter. It wasn't filled prior to being installed.

The tran was rebuilt several years ago and this is the 1st time its been filled and run. The shop no longer works on "OLD Stuff". Not sure if it was rebuilt correctly or its something I've done, or it just needs more run time.

Any advice?

Help in advance

Greg

Greg is it possible that the pump was not engaged into the torque convertor? If the transmission was bolted to block and the ears on pump where not engaged properly to torque convertor its possible to break the pump. But generally the mating of trans to engine will have some difficulty.

[Joseph S.]

Re: 1954 powerglide trans

Greg, 2 things to look for: Remove the side cover for the fill tube. In the opening is the pick up tube. Without this tube you will never get fluid into the torque converter. See if the pickup tube and screen is installed. Also check the gasket/seal on the tube to be sure it is still soft and sealing the tube to the case.

[Greg G.]

Re: 1954 powerglide trans

Joe
I'll check this out today. I take it there will be some or a lot of fluid loss when I do this.

Thanks

[Greg G.]

Re: 1954 powerglide trans

I don't remember any real problem bolting things together, at least out of the ordinary. How hard would it be if this were the case?

[Greg G.]

Re: 1954 powerglide trans

Anyone know how much ATF is neded to fill the trans and torque converter.....maybe its just low.....so far I'v put in 6 qts

[Mark E.]

Re: 1954 powerglide trans

From a Google search:

http://www.tciauto.com/tc/fluid-capacity/

Looks like total capacity is 7 quarts +- depending on converter size. A common theme from the sites I visited is the importance of adding one quart to the TC before installation. I don't know if this is your issue.

[Guy M.]

Re: 1954 powerglide trans

I did have some fluid in my TC and after about 4 quarts the wheels started to turn if it helps. You cant keep these thing from a leaking a little here and there. I put a plug in the fill tube during storage and that minimized the leaking because that's the only vent tor the unit.

[Eric F.]

[Tony R.]

Re: 1954 powerglide trans

I do not know a lot about these transmissions, but below is what I do know...

54 Corvette owners manual states total capacity of transmission to be 11 quarts, and a sump refill to take 4 quarts. That means seven quarts everywhere else, including the torque converter. You may have to keep adding and running through gears with engine running to get it completely full. Ours sat for thirty years and I recently got it running again. It has a lot of trans oil leakage, so it took a lot to get it to full. It had presumably been parked full, and it took seven quarts, and it is still a quart low. It has taken a bit of idling in different gear positions to get everything stabilized at full. Also, at first there was nothing happening when moved through the gears. I was actually pretty worried at first, but after a bit of filling, idling, switching gears, the engine pulled down when moved into gear and I got it to where the tranny was doing its job.