1946-1949 1949 Hydramatic rebuilding

[Phil J]

Anyone tackle this themselves?  not having any luck finding a rebuilder in the Milwaukee Area?

fluid is dirty and smells burnt--engine is out for a rebuild and I have no idea of when the car last ran or the condition of the trans

[Jay Friedman]

I suggest you contact someone in the Badger Region (Wisconsin) of the CLC at BadgerCLC.com.  They may know of a Hydramatic rebuilder. 

[Joe Jensen]

Phil:

I rebuilt my '49 Hydramatic.  The hardest part is getting the transmission in and out of the car.  There are a number of specialty tool including snap ring pliers necessary to rebuild a Hydramatic.  I would suggest you search out videos on YouTube.  I would recommend the Pontiac Hydramatic service manual for 1949 as well as the Cadillac Service Manual.

Take a lot of pictures during disassembly.

Note:  I did end up making some mistakes and I had the transmission out 3 times including the initial rebuild.

Good luck!
Joe

[dn010]

Using a transmission jack makes removal/install much easier. Another hint (which you probably don't need since you already have the engine out) is to use a ratchet strap from a point on the back of the engine to a point on the side or front of the car (either a shock tower/brace/support etc.). This removes the need for a floor jack under the engine that gets in the way.

[Phil J]

I have the tranny out and got a quote from a local trans shop for 2-3K for a warrantied rebuild--thoughts?

[dogbergs]

It could need some machine work, make sure they have that in mind.
That also you have to think of doing it yourself, not much but some.
If you want to do it yourself there is much help from the Shop manual and youtube,
but if you're not so sure 2-2,5' sounds ok including parts and machine work, if done
by a pro with warranty.

But how can I think of what price would be ok for you over there?
I can't, but thats how I would see it over here.
I payed around 1' to a retired pro without warranty and did the machine work in our shop.

/ Johan

[Rossoroo]

A day late [more like a month]and a dollar short. This you-tube series touches on a lot             

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygkRuwCpKxU&list=PLpiikgzFQkaaLRsU0O59MoNClP7AQk_yl&index=15

[Phil J]

I found a shop in SE wisconsin that did the rebuild--took 2 trans to make 1 good one