Transmission, 1955 Victoria
 

When driving the car the transmission always shifts just fine. Nice and smooth. However, from time to time, as I back the car into the garage I hear a "clank". For example, this morning after backing in I decided to needed to move over to one side just a little bit. So I pulled out of the garage, and then when I put the gear into reverse to back in again I heard the "clank". This has happened a few times but not every time. I would appreciate your comments please. Thanks

Re: Transmission, 1955 Victoria
 

Worn universal joints?

Re: Transmission, 1955 Victoria
 

Thanks Alan: That sounds likely and will be an easier fix than pulling the tranny.

Re: Transmission, 1955 Victoria
 

If it only clunks one time every time you change from forward to reverse or vise versa, then more than likely it's one or both u-joints.


Sal

Re: Transmission, 1955 Victoria
 

I had a '57, 9" rearend that would clank when you put the trans in drive or reverse. Way too much play between pinion and ring gears. But figuring out that it was the gears was a no-brainer; you could hear the clank coming from the back under the car.
If U-joints are properly installed, greased periodically and still have the rubber seals at the caps, you should be able to use them practically forever.
The only time I ever had a U-joint clank is when the fool who put it on couldn't get one of the caps to go on all the way, so he couldn't install the cap keeper clip, so it lost one of the caps on the road and began to clank.

Re: Transmission, 1955 Victoria
 

Don't know much about transmissions in general but I remember something about the cruisomatics could crack the center support in the case. Whoever told me said it was from not having reverse band adjusted. Might be worth checking out.

Re: Transmission, 1955 Victoria
 

My mistake, was intermediate band.

Re: Transmission, 1955 Victoria
 

Just about everyone has had a situation where they had to shift from forward gear to reverse to get a vehicle unstuck or moving. This was something a person had to be very careful about with a cast iron case Borg Warner type. They do like to crack that support in the case. I've gone looking for hard parts on several occasions for Cruise-O-Matics and others only to find out why the cars that had them were in the salvage yard. Now and then you get lucky and find one that had a bad motor or rear axle.