Re: Henry's 55 Constellation

Posted by BH On 2008/1/27 11:39:52

I'm no expert on the Ultramatic, but slow cranking could be caused by several things - not necessarily the trans or converter. The converter would have to be severely damaged for it to be locked up, but even if it is, that doesn't necessarily mean the trans is shot.

You should remove the spark plugs (and disconnect the primary wire from the coil to the distributor terminal to prevent stray spark), then crank the engine. With no compression, it should crank over with little effort, but be gentle as you won't have much oil pressure to "float" the crankshaft in the bearings. If cranking is still labored, the problem could be upstream with the starter or downstream with the converter, but the only way to find out is to dig deeper. (After all those years sitting in a field, surely you plan on going through the starter.)

Meanwhile, your earlier statement that the driveshaft hits the floor raises an eyebrow. I can't see how an trans problem would cause that - sounds more like the shaft is bent. Or, was it disconnected from the rear axle to facilitate moving the car? In either case, just remove the shaft from the car, per the shop manual, completely for now.

As for the position of the manual valve, I can't make anything out from the pix, but it sure sounds like someone was in there before you and didn't know what they were doing. Only a disassembly of the control valve and inspection of the spool valve will tell you if it's beyond use (bent). Handle internal transmission parts with the utmost care; a knicked or dirty spool valve will cause you a lot of grief later.

Now, it could be that the parking pawl is stuck in the parking gear, but I can't see how the position of the manual valve or parking pawl would affect cranking. Nothing in between the torque converter and the output shaft is "in gear" without hydraulic pressure. In fact, when the clutch linings are burned up, the result is slippage.

While there's nothing wrong with wanting to replace a questionable transmission that hasn't been operated in years, I'm the kind of person that wants to know what failed - so I can avoid that problem in the future. That means taking forensic analysis a step at a time. Make sure you review the Ultramatic section from the 1955-56 Shop manual and all relevant issues of the Packard Service Counselor and Service Technical Bulletin and the Studebaker Service Bulletin prior to reassembly.