View Full Version : Transmission, Lasalle transmission gets Olds tailshaft
here I have a 1950 Cadillac Lasalle transmission with the long tailshaft that will get a short shaft and housing from a 1950 Oldsmobile.
here are the main ingredients
remove the bottom cover and tail housing
push the countershaft out the front and lift the cluster gear out
set it gentley on a clean surface trying not to disturb the bearings
remove the snap ring that holds the front bearing on the input shaft, remove the bearing,
and lift the input shaft out through the bottom
remove the syncronizer unit
remove the snap ring and rear bearing from the mainshaft
move the mainshaft forward to access the snapring at the front of the shaft that keeps the second gear in place
pull the mainshaft out through the back
visually inspect all parts as they come out and the inside of the case
rear shift button and the low reverse gear go back in
slide the Olds tailshaft in
second gear goes back on the shaft being carefull with the roller bearings
followed by the bearing retaining washer
push it the rest of the way with a screw driver making sure it's seated propperly
the syncronizer unit appears ok
but I have a better one
so it will go in
I'm also swapping the input shaft for one that looks a little better
so it gets cleaned
grease the bearing surface liberally
clean and inspect the roller bearings
bearings held in place by the grease
and held in place with the wire snapring
brass button goes in the front shift arm and on the syncronizer plate,
and the input shaft goes in
I'm replacing the front bearing with a sealed bearing so I don't soak my clutch with gear oil
bearing goes on the shaft,
followed by snapring
check roller bearings front and rear in cluster gear
countershaft goes back in through the front with hole to the back and up
shaft goes in just enough to carry the forward thrust washer
align the tang on the washer with the notch in the case and put the washer on the shaft
grease roller bearings install retaining washer front and rear of cluster
lower gear into case and push the shaft to the end of the gear,
grease the two thrust washers and slip them into place,
put your finger in the end of the shaft hole to align
and push the shaft the rest of the way in,
align the locating pin hole with the rear cover bolt hole
pin bolt at rear keeps countershaft in place
and pin bolt at side keeps reverse idler shaft in place
remainder of cover bolts typical
grease Olds shaft at bearing surface
and there ya have it.
how to tear down and reassemble a Lasalle transmission in about two hours.
Chuck R
05-28-2007, 11:17 AM
Excellent info. Great photos. I run a 37 La Salle in my roadster and always wondered what went into this swap. Would the same basic principles hold true for the 37? It looks very similar except it is a top shift box,
chuck
jerry
05-28-2007, 12:44 PM
NICE!
Very well done tech! Now to be able to find the parts trannies!
jerry
55 dude
05-28-2007, 12:46 PM
THAT KIND OF TECH ROCKS DUDE! pictures,lots of pictures. some of them were a little dark try using your halogen worklight as a backlight to lighten them up. no critic here just something a photographer friend enlightened me with making my "really shitty" pic's only look shitty!be sure and critic my pic's if i do a tech article.
31whitey
05-28-2007, 01:21 PM
I have gotten pretty good at rebuilding my ford 39 3 speed in an afternoon...was going to try to hunt down a lasalle for the 354 chrysler 32 I am working on...how is the strength of the lasalle, which one to go for...
Would the same basic principles hold true for the 37? It looks very similar except it is a top shift box,
chuck
yes, very similar, I plan to go through one soon, will post when I do,
maybe adapt a Ford closed drive tail to one.
NICE!
Very well done tech! Now to be able to find the parts trannies!
jerry
they do turn up, in the last year or so, without hardly looking I have found three nice complete units and enough parts to build two or three more,
some cheap and some overpriced so it all evens out..
..some of them were a little dark try using your halogen worklight as a backlight to lighten them up...
thanks, I know they turned out a bit too dark, I need to work on that..
work lights and flashes can create glare and shadows...
moving the work bench to the garage door for natural lighting might help too.
I have gotten pretty good at rebuilding my ford 39 3 speed in an afternoon...was going to try to hunt down a lasalle for the 354 chrysler 32 I am working on...how is the strength of the lasalle, which one to go for...
the Lasalle transmission looks plenty stout, should be plenty strong for any older overhead.
the later ones are a little heavier than the early ones
31whitey
05-28-2007, 03:30 PM
Thanks Paul for the Tech and the advice...
Gman0046
05-29-2007, 09:19 AM
Great job Paul. Your post brought back memories from 40-45 years ago. Haven't thought about transmission thrust washers and needle bearings in years. Those 50's standard shift trannies and a 37 Cad-Lasalle floor shift's must be as rare as hens teeth these days. We also rebuilt many and changed tail shafts on many Buick torque tube trannies in the late 50's and early sixties in much the same way.
Kevin Lee
05-29-2007, 10:09 AM
Neat. Thanks.
I now realize I'm missing the two "locator" bolts as well.
392_hemi
05-29-2007, 11:34 AM
Great tech post. I'm planning to rebuild my '37 LaSalle trans and convert it to Ford closed drive. So I'm looking forward to that one already.
50Fraud
05-29-2007, 05:10 PM
Excellent post. It's been nearly 50 years since I've been inside one of those, but it was very familiar to me. Coupla additions:
1) The snap ring that holds 2nd gear on the tailshaft is a bitch, because there's very little clearance to get at it with a conventional pair of snap ring pliers. I modified mine by grinding the L-shaped tang on the pliers down, and it worked much better.
2) The set of roller bearings where the tailshaft fits into the back of the main drive? They are not all the same, '37-'53. There are two different diameters of rollers, and a corresponding dimensional difference in one of the shafts. Sorry, I don't remember which is which, but if you mix them up the wrong way (smaller rollers in the space intended for the larger ones), it rounds off the synchro teeth inside the main drive and jumps out of high gear on a trailing throttle. Sadly, I didn't know all this until after I'd rebuilt my trans with junkyard parts 10 times.
moparsled
06-06-2007, 01:33 AM
I printed this off and took it to work with me. Used it step by step to blow my trans apart today-THANKS PAUL!!!!! great tech, and a definite time saver.
what's your source for the gaskets and the sealed bearing(s)?
I'd like to have that stuff to use as I move on to the shortening process.
did I say THANKS PAUL!!!!!!! ?
PEDDRO
06-07-2007, 09:48 PM
what's your source for the gaskets and the sealed bearing(s)?
I'd like to have that stuff to use as I move on to the shortening process.
did I say THANKS PAUL!!!!!!! ?
I'll second that thanks and the request! Has that bearing got a parts number? Gaskets aren't a problem as I can draw those up and cut them out digitally.
I've got 4 side-shift LaSalle boxes that I have never opened all with that damn long tail wagging at my ankles as I walk past them in my shed.
How hard are the Olds pieces to come past though? I don't think I'll be likely to find one of those here.
bones35
06-07-2007, 11:28 PM
great, who tought you this, i always wonder how the knowledge gets past down, that one is deffinetly a insider trick. cory
lakes modified
06-08-2007, 12:17 AM
Great info & pictures. Now I can take mine apart.I want to see if I can put an overdrive on the back like I saw some guy's do in the early 80's at the Turlock Swap meet who were selling them with the OD.
been meaning to do this,
every so often I get a pm requesting the number for the sealed front bearing
so here they are in Chinese like the one in this bag
or use the Gravely 05420900 listed on the bag and you might get American.
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