Auto transmission trouble shifting

[cppursell]

Hi.
My 1967 Chevy C10 has a three-speed auto transmission. It seems to work perfectly fine, but on cold mornings when I take off for school, I shift into reverse, or drive, but the transmission doesn't "click" and the car won't go anywhere. I can maybe get it to move a tiny bit if I rev the gas quite a bit, but I have to either wait a while or coast for a while until the transmission finally shifts and starts driving the car. I can't remember if it also does it on warm mornings, but there hasn't been one in a while. Is this behavior normal, due to the cold (45-50 Fahrenheit), or is something wrong? BTW I have checked the fluid level and it seems fine.

[Longhorn Man]

thats a good sign of a pump going bad. It can do this for years... or days.

[cppursell]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

thats a good sign of a pump going bad. It can do this for years... or days.

Okay, how can I tell if it's the pump or not, and how fixable is this? Do I need a new tranny?

[cparman]

Is it full of fluid? Make sure you check the fluid when the trans is at normal operating temp, and the engine running. Longhorn is correct, and I would caution you about servicing that transmission.

[woodridge]

Most likely a case of "Morning sickness". This happens when trannies get old and the lip seals begin to harden inside the drums. For a short term fix add a half pint of brake fluid to the tranny. This will soften the seals and make it work for a while longer. Add too much and the seals will get too soft and blow. It usually takes a few days of running before it helps.
This is in no way an overhaul or permanent fix, just a bandaid until you do it right.

BTW, been doing tranny work for thirty years and I know the pro's and cons of this.