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i couldn't stay away....i tried....didn't work.

okay I GIVE UP!!! on the torque converter. i got a NEW NOS bushing from Mike Dotson for the shaft. you all know the one that i ruined....yeah i got a true 100% Packard one from Mike, he pressed it out for me. it was the exact same size as the one from Max Merritt.

here is the problem. when you push on the shaft the splines make marks in the bushing which make ridges which in return grabs the shaft and will NOT allow you to spin it. i pushed the shaft back off and you can see all the ridges all the way around the bushing. how the heck do you avoid that. there is no way!

i don't have a clue how to get around that. maybe they just pushed them on and put the torque converter back on and took the car for a drive allowing the bushing to smooth back out from the torque of the motor. i have no clue.

but, i took a pipe wrench, which fit the splines on the shaft 100% perfect and it still would not turn in either direction. the pipe wrench was over 12" long on it shaft, so i have plenty of leverage i would think....but no nothing. i was trying to turn it to smooth things back out...but oh no.

this is the exact same thing that happened with the bushing from Max.....it is so frustrating! i just had to put it down...but i did turn around and flip it off. it felt good. LOL! ;0) (i know immature....but it help me)

in the mean time i installed the NOS clutch piston plate that i got from Mike. the old one felt smooth, but you could see the groove marks in it and i didn't like it and the NOS one was cheap, so i did it.

i am just ready to be done with the trans/TC.....and it isn't apparently.

Hank

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Also Mike and me agreed that i would send back these lifters and he will send me NOS 55 style lifters, just like in the picture on the auction and identical to my old ones.

First off, glad you're back Hank!

Second, I'm still betting that you have a mix-match of parts on that converter and hence your issues.

Glad to see you back! I followed you over from the Z3 site and check often to see how the restoration is going, but don't post because I don't have anything of substance to post. I really enjoy following this because of the detail you go into. I'm just an old car guy with eclectic tastes. I'm old enough to remember these cars and to have worked on many of this vintage. I even kept a record book on every repair/gas purchase on a 1965 Mercury I owned so I really enjoyed reading the old records. I bet there are others like me who enjoy sharing in your work who never post. So Thanks for sharing your project!

thanks for following along everyone!

enjoy this picture of the only way that i can get the shaft to spin. splines are okay, don't worry the wrench fits the splines perfect so no damage was done. it is a 14" wrench and i was able to use it to move the shaft in either direction, but i cannot move it by hand at all. i sprayed some trans fluid around the edge to help lube things.

the shaft looks fine to me...so i don't know why it is doing this.

are we all sure that it isn't supposed to be nice and tight and that all the ones we have ever tested were used and just worn alowing one to move it by hand? just wondering, but if someone has replaced this bushing before and was able to turn the shaft by hand....well then i have no idea what is going on with mine.

Hank

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Hank, what I would do is ignore all of us so called "experts" and try to get ahold of Peter Finch of Ultramatic Dynamics. He'd be the person to ask and you'll get a straight, exact answer from him.

i wouldn't ask "fitch" Hank. i still have a question to ask you about some of the parts you used on the chassis. is it still ok if i call? we'll discuss the t-c then too.

Your reactor shaft should measure 1.560 diameter, and the bushing 1.562 /1.563 giving .002 or .003 clearance. The splines should be about 1.535 diameter and slip through the bushing easily without causing damage. Methink your reactor shaft is not round or something is cocked. You must be able to turn the reactor shaft with no more than a thumb and forefinger.

greendragon....yes please call...do you have my number?

Peter did reply and had some good thoughts.

Ross, i will measure and report my findings. Mike Franko is also going to let me borrow a shaft to see if it is any different.

i tell you to the naked eye my shaft looks fine....and its a dang mystery why it worked before just fine....hmmmmm. course there wasn't any bushing material left...just the casing for the bushing material when i took it apart.


stay tuned.

Hank

i still have your number from an old pm you sent me. when is the best time to catch you?