QUESTION FROM XMANS SON

[XMAN JR]

I finally got to work on my dads 62 polara. I adjusted the shift cable. It will not start in any gear but neutral. I had the pan off & shifted it in all gears & it seams to be going into the gear that I put it in. I thought I had it. So I put the pan on & put trany fluid in it. When I got it started I noticed that the speedometer was moving. (driveshaft off) I looked under the car & the trany was moving. I don't under stand what going on. My dad didn't get the chance to school me on the push button tranys. They only thing we got done was we installed the shifter cable. I tried adjusting it several ways. Hold the low button, hold the reverse button in, the last one I did was I held the neutral button & adjusted the cable that way. Every time I went through the gears & ended with neutral I got under the car & looked. It always ended up on top of the neutral safety switch. My dad always said it was one of the easiest tranys to adjust. What a im doing wrong ? You know I never gave this a thought. There is a reverse manual valve body in it. Would that make a difference ?

 

[khryslerkid]

I looked under the car & the trany was moving. I don't under stand what going on.

I don't understand your question. When you looked under the car was the driveshaft flange or shaft moving?

Did you get 8 to 9 quarts of fluid in it and the level is good on the dip stick?

If it only starts in neutral then the cable should be exactly where it suppose to be. I never did a reverse VB in a push button trans.

 

[Ski 61701]

Since you have a reverse vb installed you might want to get in contact with John Cope . He should be able to get you in the ball park for setting it up. I wonder if someone put a later spring kit into your trans ?
Me personally I have a friend come over and we go through the gears several times. I then have him push and hold the neutral button while I adjust the the adjuster wheel. I repeat this several times. It never ceases to amaze me that cable appears to lose adjustment for I'll have to reset the adjustment wheel. The goal is to get the tip of the rooster comb to touch the tip of the neutral safety switch.
Make sure you lube the speedo cable realgood. Ive had cars that sat for a long time and when I put them back in service it seemed as if the speedo gear was spinning when it shouldn't be. I pull the speedo cable out and it was almost dry , I'm guessing what lube I used worked its way into the grooves the cable housing itself. So I relubed with a little trans fluid and it seems to work for me.

 

[XMAN JR]

I don't understand your question. When you looked under the car was the driveshaft flange or shaft moving?

Did you get 8 to 9 quarts of fluid in it and the level is good on the dip stick?

If it only starts in neutral then the cable should be exactly where it suppose to be. I never did a reverse VB in a push button trans.

If the drive shaft would've been on the rear wheels would've been turning. I know it takes 9 qts. I only put in 7 qts because I thought it would be less I have to drain if I would have to take the pan back down.

 

[XMAN JR]

Since you have a reverse vb installed you might want to get in contact with John Cope . He should be able to get you in the ball park for setting it up. I wonder if someone put a later spring kit into your trans ?
Me personally I have a friend come over and we go through the gears several times. I then have him push and hold the neutral button while I adjust the the adjuster wheel. I repeat this several times. It never ceases to amaze me that cable appears to lose adjustment for I'll have to reset the adjustment wheel. The goal is to get the tip of the rooster comb to touch the tip of the neutral safety switch.
Make sure you lube the speedo cable realgood. Ive had cars that sat for a long time and when I put them back in service it seemed as if the speedo gear was spinning when it shouldn't be. I pull the speedo cable out and it was almost dry , I'm guessing what lube I used worked its way into the grooves the cable housing itself. So I relubed with a little trans fluid and it seems to work for me.

We have a guy that does all our auto. trans. He has been doing these for many many years. With that said. He told my dad that it has a reverse manual vb. From what I can find out if you want a manual vb for a push button trany you can only get them in reverse. Now I know the family that dad got the car from said the car was raced. Who is John Cope

 

[Ski 61701]

John Cope builds racing transmissions and is located in northern Indiana. He knows these transmissions inside and out. But since you have a guy that builds transmissions, I'd probably just stick to your guy for the proceedures he recommends to get your trans dialed in.

 

[dvw]

Does the trans go into reverse? If so install the drive shaft. Jack the wheels up. See if it upshifts through all forward gears. Watch the speedometer as an indicator, higher gear more mph at same engine speed. Remember if its a manual VB most likely the pattern will be R N 1 2 3. Do all the gears work as selected? If so put it in neutral an start it (wheels still off the ground). When the wheels roll see if you can stop them by dragging something against the tire. My bet is you will be able to. It may just be the internal friction of the parts touching the input shaft. The input shaft is splined to the converter. It can rotate with no load against it. Why? A converter is basically 2 waterwheels, one throwing fluid at the other. If it is in fact really spinning the output hard we have an issue that will require more diagnosis. Let me know.
Doug

 

[XMAN JR]

Does the trans go into reverse? If so install the drive shaft. Jack the wheels up. See if it upshifts through all forward gears. Watch the speedometer as an indicator, higher gear more mph at same engine speed. Remember if its a manual VB most likely the pattern will be R N 1 2 3. Do all the gears work as selected? If so put it in neutral an start it (wheels still off the ground). When the wheels roll see if you can stop them by dragging something against the tire. My bet is you will be able to. It may just be the internal friction of the parts touching the input shaft. The input shaft is splined to the converter. It can rotate with no load against it. Why? A converter is basically 2 waterwheels, one throwing fluid at the other. If it is in fact really spinning the output hard we have an issue that will require more diagnosis. Let me know. I have a dana out being cut for me. As soon as its done & installed I will put the drive shaft in. Now today I put in neutral & I put the park on. This time the trany didn't spine & the speedometer didn't move.
Doug

 

[XMAN JR]

I have a Dana out being cut for me & as soon as its done I will install it & the drive shaft. Now today I left it in neutral & I put the park on. Started it up & the speedometer didn't move. The trany didn't spin.

 

[khryslerkid]

When I first started my rebuilt 440 with the original pushbutton trans, (rebuilt also) and it didn't have the driveshaft installed, the speedometer was moving every now and then during the cam break-in. I had the trans in neutral and out of park. Like Doug said, internal friction.

 

[XMAN JR]

When I first started my rebuilt 440 with the original pushbutton trans, (rebuilt also) and it didn't have the driveshaft installed, the speedometer was moving every now and then during the cam break-in. I had the trans in neutral and out of park. Like Doug said, internal friction.

Yea my speedometer was moving pretty good. In fact the more rpms I gave it the higher it moved.

 

[Garys1969RR]

Sounds like the tranny is working, after a fashion. Install the rear end and driveshaft, start it up with the rear wheels in the air. Check the fluid level with it idling in park. Then run it thru all the gears, and watch the rear wheels at the same time. This may require an assistant, or a mirror laid on the floor near the rear tire, so you can see how fast it's spinning, and the direction. You can also apply the brakes when it's in gear, to see if the engine will still make the tires spin with the brakes lightly applied, for short periods..........PS-Be careful not to break the mirror, as that's another 7 years bad luck. LOL Good luck!

 

[XMAN JR]

Sounds like the tranny is working, after a fashion. Install the rear end and driveshaft, start it up with the rear wheels in the air. Check the fluid level with it idling in park. Then run it thru all the gears, and watch the rear wheels at the same time. This may require an assistant, or a mirror laid on the floor near the rear tire, so you can see how fast it's spinning, and the direction. You can also apply the brakes when it's in gear, to see if the engine will still make the tires spin with the brakes lightly applied, for short periods..........PS-Be careful not to break the mirror, as that's another 7 years bad luck. LOL Good luck!

Yea that's my next step. Yea I don't need any bad luck. LOL

 

[khryslerkid]

Check fluid, warmed up, run it through the gears and reverse then check level in neutral.