Inliners International Forums General Discussion Drive Train powerglide is dropping my RPM too low

When I put my 53 stock chevy with powerglide in gear the rpm drops and stalls. I increased the rpm at idle to much higher and it still wants to almost stall and the engine shakes. The trans fluids are at their proper levels. What's wrong?

Vacuum leak?
Hard to say.

I would drive it to a Transmission Shop & get an estimate. The vacuum line is just for shifting etc.

"Gordy 250" is our Powerglide expert here. Perhaps he could be of help too.

Good luck.

Sounds like you could have a issue with the covertor. It may not be stalling like it should,
holding a load on the motor?

i agree with larry, sounds like the convertor is failing. tom

Larry & Tom are probably correct.

The 'early' Powerglide had a converter that could be disassembled and 'overhauled' etc.

Check with "Gordy 250" on this as; they are not that way any more and most shops won't/can't/don't do it anymore. They just R & R the older units (exchange) etc.

Take your time and "go shoping" on this. :rolleyes:

Good luck.

Thanks Guys. I will bear this info in mind when I speak to a fellow I know concerning this. It always helps to not be completely in the dark where I find myself too much of the time. Tim

Just a follow-up on my car. I drove my car "out" to the country where this man I know will work on my powerglide. He will change the filter and check for metal or deposits in the tray and check the operation of the modulator valve on the side. If he can't fix it he knows another fellow near by who can go inside and fix. I will keep you posted.

Dear Tim;

That's a great start, good luck.

Got my car back. The problem was a gasket on the intake slipped to allow air in. This screwed everthing up- bad idling,tranny stayed locked up,hard to adjust carb too. He cleaned some rust from the carb as I just repaired the gas tank and he adjusted the timing by ear. It runs better and smoother than ever.
This car was made in March of 1953-Belair hdtp. I would like to know info on what kind of automatic transmission it has. It apparently has no filter and he said it is a heavy cast iron affair.

It's the Cast Iron Powerglide Chevy used for years.And yes, it is heavy.The link below has info you can use.

http://chevy.tocmp.com/