Ok, so my 1950 powerglide ice cream getter was leaking tranny fluid really bad from the bell housing and I figure it's time to pull it out and replace the front seal. Nobody told me that you have to take the torque converter apart to do this! I took the nut and special washer off the front of the torque converter thinking thats what holds the thing onto the imput shaft, but, noooooooo it wont come off. This car is all original and works fine but the leak has become a problem. Do any of you guys have any experience with this? Help, I need ice cream and my ride is broken!
There is a big O ring behind the front cover on the torque converter, that is probably where the leak is. There are a bunch of bolts the hold the cover on.
I took mine apart but it was a while ago. I think you take all the bolts off around the outer edge and then you need 3 10/32 bolts(I think thats the size) and you will see three small holes that you thread those bolts into to seperate the halves of the converter. There is a large o-ring between the converter halves and a seal on the snout. I dont know if this makes sense but look at it good it might.
Thanks guys! Is that the only seals or is there one in the back section like a normal transmission? It seems to be dry around the area that you are talking about but wet towards the back.
Yes there is a seal, but it has been 40 years since I did a 1950 powerglide. But make sure you replace the big O ring. They are the first to go most of the time, they do not just sit there, they move every time they get pressure to them. That wears them down in time.
http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/shop/1949_53/07trans/7_018.HTM I had to go "next page" to go through the manual (with Firefox) (the direct page links didn't work for me) but the info is there. Using Google Chrome browser it all works good. Page 7-53 shows the O-rings everyone's talking about.
Thanks for the info, dbradley. I put the car on a lift and over filled the transmission with juice and cleaned everything off really good. I then noticed a very small drop start to appear at the bottom of the cover. I took a torch and heated the cover around all the bolts, not much just enough to expand it a little. Bingo, it start to leak a little more. I have not noticed any fuid coming from the back side as of yet. I figure when the trans. gets up to temp and the pressure builds, the o-ring that is on the cover must be leaking pretty bad and when spinning it leaks all the way around. I think I am going to try that and gamble. This is not my pride and joy or anything, but we do get a kick out of driving it around. Thanks "hambers" for taking the time to help me. Roger
This weekend I took the converter apart and replaced the front seals and the seal behind the converter. It really was not that bad. I expected the inside of the converter to be really complicated from the pictures that I have. I took it for a ride and everything seems good so far. Thanks h.a.m.b'ers.
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