Now back up a moment...

Reverse has been a bit of a problem for a couple of weeks, now. It's incredibly weak. It exists, but it doesn't have enough power to overcome even the modest crowning of our residential street, so the car can't back out of the driveway under its own power. Moving forward happens without a problem, though.



My suspicion was that the reverse band adjustment screw had gotten out of adjustment. Since this screw provides the anchor for the reverse piston to work against to constrict the reverse band on the gear system, being out of adjustment could kill reverse. Getting at this screw requires removing the servo cover, which is on the passenger side of the transmission, and normally holds back transmission fluid.



So, this Friday tshuma and I worked on pulling the transmission. Got a scissor-jack style transmission jack to make it easier to lift and lower the transmission. Removed the driveshaft, and pulled the distributor so that it doesn't hit the firewall as I tilt the engine-tranny assembly down. I loosened the engine mount bolts, and removed the transmission mount bolts. With the transmission supported by the jack, I removed the transmission crossmember and started lowering the transmission. And discovered that the exhaust pipes pinch in close enough to prevent the transmission from dropping down easily.



Fortunately, this exposed the side panel just enough to let me remove the bolts and pull the panel off. I couldn't do this earlier as part of the panel fits over a tube that sticks out from the side of the transmission into the cover. With it lowered a few inches, enough space opened up to let me clear that tube.



With a newly acquired torque-wrench for working at low torques (70 inch-pounds), I proceeded to tighten the adjustment screw, which seemed to need a lot of tightening to get to the proper level. With that done, I buttoned up the transmission, and started to push things back into place.



However, with the engine/tranny loose from the frame, I decided to take this opportunity to try and shift the whole thing forward. Ever since we dropped the engine into the car in April, I've been annoyed at how far back the shifter was. It would rub against the fiberglass of the body when I try to put it in Park. With the shifter plate and boot in place, you had to really press hard to get the shifter into Park.



With the transmission not connected at the rear, the engine supported by the crane, the engine mount brackets all loose, I tried pushing the assembly forward, with no luck. After some more prying and thinking, I realized that the exhaust pipes are solidly clamped to the frame, and to the engine. Loosening up the connections to the frame suddenly let the whole thing shift forward. Got all the bolts back in and tightened, and now the engine sits a good half-inch or more forward, and there's plenty of clearance.



Sadly, we didn't have enough time to get the distributor back in before we had to leave for our evening plans. And the weekend plans had us out of town all weekend.



Tuesday night, however, we finally got some time to put the distributor back in, and fired her up. I've currently got the initial timing set at 24 degrees. I've since rediscovered that it should be about 10-12 degrees. Have to fix that later.



After some fun of lowering the car (have to lower the back of the car first, since that has the parking brake and transmission Park to prevent the car from moving) we fired her up and started to back out of the driveway. Everything was feeling good until we hit the gutter. And couldn't move out of it.





So, whatever is wrong with the transmission: a) wasn't present when we started driving, b) appeared in the last hundred miles or so of the 500 miles since rebuild, c) didn't go away with a tweaking of the adjustment screw. At this point, I need professional help, so I'll probably be taking the car to a tranny shop nearby on Monday. At least the forward gears work great, so I can drive it under its own power.





Now that I think about it more, I'm remembering that the fluid, when I drained it, had a much grayer color to it the the bright red I was expecting. I'm suddenly wondering if we had the reverse band on too tightly. This would make it constantly drag against the drum. Could the friction material have worn off due to the maladjustment? Could that be what was discoloring the fluid? Have to see what a shop says.