Haunted Powerglide?

[thelawdoc]

UPDATE: Well I just picked up the truck from the shop. I had it home for the weekend and did some driving as the mechanic requested of me, and I gave it back to them this morning. Over the weekend, the truck drove without any problems, though I did not drive many tens of miles. Anyway, none of that matters anymore because when they gave me the truck now they said it is not fixed. They say they don't know whether the problem is a bad torque converter that we obtained from a rebuild shop or whether the front fuel pump is just no good. The only ideas they had were that we can try exchanging the torque converter and if that does not solve the issue, then "something" would have to be done with the front fuel pump -but for the latter, they will have to charge me. They opined that there is a third option: dump the Powerglide and drop in a TH350, which would run me about $1200 "more or less." I did not want to make any decision on the spot -and anyway, they would not be able to do anything this week so there is no need that I decide right this minute.

When I drove her home from the shop, a distance of less than a mile, a sound was coming from her that resembled that of a screw gun when mounting boards of sheet rock. It occurred three, maybe four times, during acceleration, lasting about a second each time. I never heard a sound like that from my truck before, nor have I ever heard such a noise from any other vehicle. I feel irritated. When I brought the truck to the shop two weeks ago, she was driving perfectly -all I had was leaking front and rear seals. I feel stupid now about having gone for a rebuild. (Excuse my whining.)

I have received a couple tranny shop referrals from SK Racing out on Long Island. I had approached them by email a few days ago inquiring as to whether they can examine/service my Powerglide. But they responded that they do not work on automatic Powerglides. It was my hope that the racing crowd would get to the bottom of whatever is ailing my Powerglide.

What do you guys think? Swap for the TH350 -or persist in rooting out the gremlins from the Powerglide? Swap the shop? And as for the money spent on the rebuild, forget it? -Alden

[66Submarine]

Wow, that sucks.

I certainly wouldn't give them another $1,200 for a TH350 swap-in if they can't even get the PG right to begin with!

I'd try a couple other racing places; if you have family in Maine, I'd guess the more rural environment would probably be a better place to look (if you can't find one in NYC). There are also people that sell them online (and lots of places that sell rebuilt TH350's if you want to plug one of those in there).

You could also rebuild it yourself if you have a place to do it; you can get a master rebuild kit for less than $200, and there's tons of info out there on rebuilding them.

[thelawdoc]

66Submarine, there is a voice in the back of my head telling me to swap the shop. I feel pretty sure that I will find a transmission specialty shop here in NYC. My question is whether I should keep my PG or go with a TH350. I am wondering whether my shop has so screwed up my PG that now it may, indeed, not be a candidate for rebuild. But I will have to leave that question for whoever I go with now to fix my truck. Regrettably, I do not have a properly equipped shop to do a tranny rebuild. My garage is too small to even get my truck into. My metalworking lathe and home 'shop' is in the spare bedroom. I could do the tranny on the dining room table but I am afraid of the lady of the house and she has still not forgotten the time I worked on a carburator without first removing the tablecloth. I hate the look that women get when you are trying to fix something and they keep complaining about a smell, grease, expensive furniture that their grandmother gave them, etc.

I do not have family in Maine. I was on my way to vacation in Maine at the property I am moving to. My family went ahead by car. I got stuck here in Brooklyn with the tranny story. I have to get the tranny fixed or I will never get to do my planned move to Maine later this summer. My vacation has already been written off. Now I am just trying to save my truck. And maybe my sanity, lol. -Alden

[66Submarine]

Well, the tablecloth did keep that stuff off the table itself, didn't it?

The PG and TH350 obviously both have the same 1:1 high gear when you're up to speed, but the TH350 has the extra gear and closer ratios for getting up to speed with a little more zip. Both should work fine for your purpose (IMO).

[thelawdoc]

66Submarine, today I found a tranny shop to fix my tranny. It is going to be costly, but it is going to be fixed. At least that is what they told me. They have an excellent reputation around Brooklyn for transmissions and after meeting them today I handed over the truck feeling confident that I made a good choice. Regrettably, I have already wasted some $1500 dollars with the first shop, flatbedding, and wasted gas only to be back where I started. Now I am going to spend another $1500 to have it done right. Sigh. The Truck Gods have not been kind to me this summer. -Alden

[thelawdoc]

Hey guys! I picked up my truck from the transmission shop today. Put some miles on her. She is driving real nice and she sounds real happy. So I am happy. The guy at the shop told me, that had he not seen the paperwork showing that I just had the tranny 'rebuilt' by another shop, he would hardly have believed the events that I wrote about in this forum. He told me a long list of what was wrong with the just 'rebuilt' tranny I came to him with. I left with the feeling that my first shop was not merely incompetent. Rather, I got the feeling that they simply ripped me off. Anyway, feelings do not matter now. The truck is perfectly fine now that I had her serviced by a real transmission shop. I intend on demanding the return of my money from the first shop. If they are not agreeable to that, I will go to night court. Seems to me that if a man agrees to do something in exchange for payment, and he fails to do it, then he should hand back the money. I will likely not get back the several hundreds of dollars spent on the flatbed, etc., but I feel sure that I will get back the money spent for the rebuild.

Ok, enough about this transmission. Time to move on with enjoying this baby. -Alden

[66Submarine]

Glad to hear it's at least fixed now!

So much for the guys "workin their ass off on an obsolete trans", I guess...

[thelawdoc]

66Submarine, yep. She is sweet and happy now. And I am back to feeling good after two weeks of frustration and hassles.

[66Submarine]

Glad to hear that. BTW, that's a very nice looking truck!

[thelawdoc]

66Submarine, thank you. She has a few blemishes if you get up close, but all that will be taken care of when the time comes. We leave for the backwoods next week. I need her to haul some lumber and stuff for a cabin, but once I get the construction done I will make sure that she gets a real spa treatment for her skin. I will have to do the body/paint work myself due to finances, but I have been studying the matter for months now and I will just have to take my time and do it properly. Thankfully, there is no major body work needed. No rusted patches or stuff like that. Just small areas. -Alden

[ACK]

Been following this epic journey since the 1st post, would you share what the 2nd shop said about what the 1st one either did not do or did incorrectly. BTW, this could be a reality TV series – regardless, glad to hear you're finally enjoying the truck.

[thelawdoc]

ACK, the transmission shop had plenty to say about the first shop, none of which was flattering, and all of which I felt was fair. Firstly, the tranny shop knows the guys at the first shop. In fact, on Monday when I gave them my truck and a copy of this thread, along with the invoice from the first shop, the owner expressed surprise that my shop had taken on the job. He said that those guys sent him their transmission work for years. He asked me who worked on my truck and when I told him the name of the particular mechanic, he said nothing. But I sensed from his face that he was restraining himself from a comment. We then went for a drive. He drove. As we drove, various transmission noises came and went, slippage came and went, etc. He told me that he does not have to even look at the tranny to know that I need it rebuilt. This morning when I went to get the truck, the owner called me in to the office. He asked whether P*** offered to refund my money. I said no. I told him that P*** said I should trash the Powerglide and that he would charge me only about $1200 to put in a TH350. I told him that the facts are precisely as I stated them to this forum. The owner made no response, but again, I sensed that he was restraining himself. He began to list for me the "crap" (his word) that he found going on in my Powerglide, including some juryrigging. Not only was the torque converter bad, the front pump had something, this or that valve had something, etc. I then told him I intended on asking return of my money. He said, "Do that." The only other thing he said was that when I come back from Maine, and within 30 days, that I am to bring him the truck again so that he can have a look at her. He said that is procedural. He also gave me a warranty for one year or 12k miles. -Alden

[Mathew21]

Great update. Great looking Truck!

[Oldtruckfanatic]

And that my friend is the difference between "REBUILDING" a transmission and simply taking it apart and replacing a few seals and parts. Sorry to hear about your vacation being spent that way. Several years ago my brother went on vacation. As he got avout 2/3rds of the way to his destination his honda civic quit moving. I am a mechanic with my own shop so he called me. He told me he had it towed to a local honda dealership and the tech after charging him a couple hundred dollars for diagnosis concluded that it needed a transaxle. I called the place and spoke with the tech who basically lied to me about how he areived at his conclusion. I offerwd to drive the 5 hours to look at the car which my brother refused. I told him to instead get a second opinion. Instead he had it towed to me at a cost of several hundred dollars and his vacation. As soon as the roll back tilted there was fuid everywhere so I asked my brother if it had been apart. His reply was no it was leaking when it stopped moving. I then added fluid and started the car. I put it in gear. It wouldnt move, I then tried park and there was grinding telling me the transmission was spinning. My brother had hit a curb maybe 60 days prior and bent a control arm. The body shop replaced t
the axle On the right side. It had not properly engaged the c clip so on his way to his vacation destination the axle had popped out. His entire vacation and several hundred dollars was wasted on the opinion of a tech that had no idea in the first place much like your first repair shop. I popped the axle back in in 2 minutes after checking the seal for damage and I serviced the transaxle. He drove it 6 more years before buying a new truck. Glad its fixed now its a beautiful truck.

[thelawdoc]

Oldtruckfanatic, you know, I think it comes down to what kind of upbringing one received as a child. When I was a kid, when I would lie or steal or cheat, I would get a face-numbing slap from my father. Believe me, it only took one of those to get my attention. Then, after my dad would cool down, he would come to me in my room, and sit and talk to me. He taught me that anyone has the ability to lie, cheat, and steal. He said that, most of time one can even get away with it. But at some point in one's life, the penchant for lying, cheating, or stealing will come back and bite in the ass. And then none of the ill-gotten gains will have been worth anything. He said the need to be dishonest should be used only when in the most dire straits, e.g., self-preservation. Growing up, I learned to feel good when treating my fellow man fairly, instead of feeling good when I got something deceptively. And when I ran a business, I enjoyed the satisfied customers I had. That joy was as good as the money I made. But unlike money, such joy is vitamins and minerals for the soul.

The guys at the first shop knew damn well that they ought properly have handed me back my money without any need for me to ask for it. They knew that because they (presumably) came from good homes. There is no need to teach this stuff in business school, mechanics school, or any school. Only parents can teach this and it has to be done from the early years. It does not bother me that a craftsman make a mistake. It bothers me that he try to cover it up and that he earns his money in a dishonorable fashion. -Alden

[61K10]

sounds like you have been around awhile as I--It's a different world out there now, and i like you learned as a kid. glad your tk is running happy along--enjoy.