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I just got done reading a 1949 Oldsmobile Shop Manual. Seems that GM in 1949 was having some rear axle troubles. Seems that they had trouble with the rear axles making a high pitched whine noise..

The most interesting part in reading the procedure on how to fix this problems was the test procedures involved.

It turns out that the hydramatic had front and rear oil pumps that had a problem with making high pitched whine noise much like a rear axle whine noise. In the book it gives a TWO PAGE description of how first test the front and rear oil pumps to make sure it was not the oil pumps making the high pitched noise and not the rear axle.

It seems that the front and rear oil pumps on the hydramatic had some problems. The wanted the mechanic to check for excessive gear wear. Also checking the babbit bushing in the pump body. If the the pump has any of the above mentioned causes are apparent a new pump must be INSTALLED as parts are not serviced separately.

John F. Shireman

Hi Guys,
Have to put in my story regarding GM hydro's. I drove a 1955 Olds from 1976 thru 2008. Just sold it a few months ago. I remember when I bought the car I thought the transmission wasn't shifting right. The 2 to 3 shift seemed too hard to me. Other than that it seemed fine. I took it to a transmission guy who lit up light a Christmas tree when he saw the car. Seems he was the transmission guy for a hospital that had a fleet of mid 50's oldsmobiles. He drove the car and said that "Thats the way they shift when they are right". Although the trans did deteriorate over the years and it kept on working. I must say that in my opinion the mid 50's 4 speed Hydromatics were among the best transmission of the time. No wonder manufacturers like Rolls put them in their cars.

I do somewhat agree with the people who say the Packard auto trans leaves a lot to be desired. Mine has about 57K on it right now and seems to work all right but I feel a little cringe in the pit of my stomach every time it goes into lock up thinking it may be the last time.

Oh well thats my 2c worth.

Bob51: The point that I was trying to get across is as follows.

We have a fellow that posts here complaining about the so called problems of post war Packards. If you do some careful research you will find out that during the 50's GM had many problems with the new cars they produced.

Maybe it is just plain time for a person to point out the mechanical problems GM had during the 40's and mid 50's. People like BH already pointed out some problems that GM had with the hydramatic

It seems that right out of the starting box GM's 49 Oldsmobile had about three problems.

1. Front oil pump on the hydromatic
2. Rear oil pump on the hydramatic
3. Possible rear axle problems.

Now if Oldsmobile had these kind of problems in 1949 it seems to me that the same thing could apply to the new Caddies of 1949.

John F. Shireman

Gee, John, next thing you're gonna tell us is that the air suspension system introduced on Cadillacs in 1957 was a collosal failure, that many owners had dealers refit air suspension cars back to conventional springs, and that GM abandoned the system altogether after 1960.

Well, it's a good thing that GM cars built with automatic level-control air shocks, since then, have a cut-off switch.

Yup, I really need to convert my Packard to one of those 1978 edition Chrysler TorqueFlites with the lock-up orque converter clutch that won't release - even after you shut the car down - so I can have it towed back to the shop.

Then, I could swap engines for a 1981 Cadillac V8-6-4!

Suh-wheeeeet!!!

My father bought a new 1956 Pontiac Starchief convertible in Miami, Florida. Beautiful car with two tone paint which I believe was called camille/phaaton gray. My father drove that car for a year and the transmission was replaced twice. Because there was no lemon law back then my father simply unloaded the car in 1957 as it was not reliable. Not an indictment of GM, just an example of automatic transmissions still in their infancy.

After that it was mostly Fords in our family. A fairlane, couple of Falcons, a Galaxy and a Maverick. The last car my father owned was once again a Pontiac. A 1987 Pontiac Grand Am. He purchased the 5 speed manual as he still did not trust the Pontiac automatic. His first impression had a lasting impact for thirty years.

Personally, I wish he had kept that 56 Starchief convertible in a barn somewhere!

I bought a 1955 Pontiac in 1960. Obviously it was used. My father had owned it since 1957. It was a two door post. At that time, I drove it hard. The transmission never caused me any trouble. The biggest problem with the car was that at around 105 mph, the hydraulic valve lifters would float. Boy did that make it run, and sound, bad. Sorry can't compare it to Ultramatic. I never owned one in my youthful racing days.

Kip and BH are right, respectively on their comments. In 1956, Cadillac stopped producing the Hydrmatic, and came out with the so called "Jet-A-Way" Hydramatic, and DID have problems with it, which, of course, were fixed. And, as BH notes, quality in all American cars started down-hill, copying Packard's determination to destroy customer confidence.

None of this changes the fact that I am unable to locate any GM or or Chrysler car club that is interested in removing the transmissions that came with THEIR cars, and using the ULTRAMATIC......!

Pete filter...engaged:

Quote:

Hopefully at some point 'someone' will understand the extra commentary is not required and detracts from his good thoughts.

Kev -

This guy has been at it, online, for nearly a decade now, and the song remains the same.

Don't hold yer breath.

Kev is absolutely right.

For example, if I commented on the rumors about GM (suffering from declining sales as a result of poor quality products loosing market share, looking to combine with Chrysler - another company that took a good name and worked hard, thru declining build quality and reliability......well..someone might get upset thinking I was making fun of Packard's pioneering corporate policies of the early 1950's.

We can't have people starting to ask questions as to how you destroy a company, a culture, or an entire nation. If we did that, people might want to stop our present slide into disaster. Some people make money off of disasters. They have a right to their profits.