VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1949-1954 Powerglide leak

I've got a 52 powerglide and after it's been running awhile it starts overflowing the fluid out the filler tube. I looks almost like a volcano erupting! According to the dipstick it is not overfull, about 3/4 up from add. Any suggestions? Thanks, Michael.

Are you starting the car in neutral? That may happen if you start the car in Park.Only use Park with the engine off.When starting the car,shift to neutral then start,if you do the chances of having the car "Puking" will be less.Others may have more info on this issue and I'm sure they will offer their expertise.

When first starting the engine (lever MUST be in neutral) run the engine for a few minutes before shutting off. This will fill the torque converter and bring the the fluid level down to normal. The PG in 1950-54 cars should not be run with the lever in Park position for more than a very short time as the fluid is not being circulated thru the transmission.

I'm not much of a mechanic, so I may be all wet here. But it seems to me my '54 PG will only start in Neutral. In other words, it won't even start in Park. Or in any other "gear." I always thought that was what the "Neutral-Safety-Switch" was all about. Is something wrong with mine, in that it WON'T start in Park???

Bill.

When the switch is properly adjusted the engine will start when the lever is in neutral or Park. Under normal conditions there is no problem running the engine in Park position for a shot time, say for a minute or two. Just avoid running it in Park after the car has been standing for a long period of time. The fluid drained down from the converter will have overfilled the sump and the revolving parts are imersed in the fluid and it is whipped up causing air bubbles which further increase the fluid level. The object is to fill the converter (lower the level) as soon as possible. This can be accomplished by either driving the car or running in Drive or neutral position, but not Park. I had a PG article in the G&D a little while back explainibg this. I don't know as to how many read this but at the 6 Cyl Tour last week I discussed this with a number of PG drivers and they were unaware of the proper method of operation of the old PG's....time for another article I guess. Its surprising how many members do not read every page of the G&D and how much good information they miss.

Unfortunately,I joined VCCA a little too late to get that issue.I had asked the question here in this forum and recieve a great explanation from you,Gene.Had I not asked the question,it is possible I might have damaged the PG.I spoke with a guy at a show recently and he had a 51 with PG and he was not aware of this procedure either.Thanks again Gene!!You should definetly write a book!

I've been following the advice that I've gotten here about using neutral instead of park and so far it's worked great. I've talked to several older (60 and up)mechanics here at the dealership and they said that they had never heard of this. Thanks to everyone for all the great information. Michael

Its necessary to be over 70 to know this

One of my good friends who apprenticed with the local chev dealer in 1950, (Jr. in highschool) retired at age 68 and took all that hard earned early chev knowledge with him. If I can catch him away from the lake and his fishing rod I can occasionally get some information from him.

That's why us younger folks are here, to tap into your vast keg of knowlege!!

Thanks for this info Gene, I'm 35 and the problem is all the chevy experts here in Aus don't know much about the old powerglide, as the assembled cars during the 50s all had a 3 speed stick. My mechanic also doesn't have a great deal of knowledge either. My powerglide was leaking as well when it just idled in Park, and I thought there was a leak somewhere. Now since I read this post, I always start in Neutral now. It seems ok apart from a drip or two after it rests in the garage.

Some external leakage is normal on the older Power Glides. That was one of their main problems when new. Also when the car stands unused for a while and the converter drains down and over fills the sump the fluid level is very high and reaches areas that are not designed to be 100% leak proof. The common area to leak due to seals and O rings is the front pump seal and torque converter cover O ring. The fluid will drip out of the little hole below the flywheel, or if the pipe plug behind the hole is missing it will leak out of the larger hole. There is no good reason for the pipe plug to be in the opening and the absence of the plug in its self will not cause a leak. If they do begin to leak in this area adding a transmission stop leak may slow it down.

Thanks for this Gene. You are right about the car sitting. A few months ago my car just sat in the garage for about 3 months and when I looked under it there was a big pool of transmission fluid. My mechanic changed one of the seals ( I think he called it the kickback seal)and it seemed ok, then dripped again from somewhere. However, since I've been driving the car once every 2 weeks, it hardly leaks anymore. It's good to know that a bit of external leakage is normal on these cars. Thanks Gene.