Just went through the valve body for my 1952 Oldsmobile Hydra-Matic.(says R-53 on the plaque) Sat for 40 years in a barn. The amount of varnish in there was like I have never seen. ALL valves jammed. There were a few challenging moments soaking the inner body and freeing the valve components. I did it on the kitchen table (lucky I'm not married), and it is now all back together, all valves free. If there is a Hydra-Matic guru out there, I could use a bit of advice. I enclose a pic from an old Hydra-Matic manual. My valve body did not have spring #26 for detent valve #30. A '55 valve body I used for a sample, also did not have this spring. It would be very easy to pull off the side cover and install a spring. Think I could guess at the tension/length. Sure would appreciate any pointers.
By the way, the Fatsco trans kit is great. The bush kit from Fusick...., they charged me $25 to send a four inch by four inch box. They made out like a bandit. I remember things like that. Again, would appreciate any pointers on the spring. Thanks, Robert

 

May have the answer. A local here who has worked on these says that the manual is not always right. Often the manual illustrations were made before production began. And at times there were items that were deleted.
I will finish the rebuild and install. If a problem becomes apparent, the valve body is easy enough to remove and troubleshoot. Hard to believe the old car moved at all with all the gunk in there.

 

Glad it worked out. If D2 ***** stays around on this forum he is a wealth of knowledge on the early first generation Oldsmobile transmissions.... Tedd

 

I remember my older brothers speaking of valve body problems on many of the transmissions when they were rebuilding them in the early '60s, and most of the problems were from "dirty, gummed up fluid". I agree with you about the folks at Fatsco Transmission,they seem very willing to give advice.
I do know that a massive fire destroyed the Hydramatic Transmission plant in Lavonia Michigan in August(12 th. ? ,1953) and some Olds and Cadillacs built after that date,were equipped with Buick Dynaflow transmissions, until other Hydramatics could be produced . That could account for some mis-information in manuals concerning the 1953 Hydramatics. Larry

 

My Hydramatic Service Manual also shows the 2-1 detent plug and its corresponding spring. There is no mention of any deletion of the spring. Going from the exploded view in the service manual to the parts list in the parts book (to verify existence of that spring on your edition) is not a simple straightforward operation. The two exploded views don't seem to match too well. I'm wondering if anyone might have worked on it previously and failed to reinstall the spring.

 

Ozzie,that would be my thoughts,that it failed to be reinstalled while someone had been there for problems somewhere in the past. Larry

 

The cover on that side of the valve body is easy to remove, and the spring can be installed. My old Hydra-Matic manual shows me the exact length of the spring as well as the number of coils, and thickness. I believe I could match one very close. The completed valve body is still on the workbench.

 

Most Parts places and even Home supply stores have an assortment of different circumference,length, and strengths of springs. I would try to match one up ,put it in,and give it a try. Good luck, Larry

 

With the drums and clutches all done and installed in the case along with the intermediate shaft, I can renew the parts in the rear housing and clean everything up good. An interesting point here. The trans expert I know locally here reminds me that the illustrations in the manual are just that. Illustrations. Not ver batim photographs. I noticed yesterday that the illustrator placed the rear band spring to the front band. That is incorrect.
I have looked at two other manuals and no spring is present on the valve body valve as per the pic in my manual. So, this being my first Hydramatic, I think I will have to use common sense, and then the manuals as a guide. Pretty fun project. No "special" tools yet needed. Seems one can fabricate most. Hmmm. Not rocket science. Also, I called Fusick wanting to return the bush kit. The ones I needed for the '55 slant pan (mine is a R53) were not included. They told me to return the kit. No problem. 15% restock fee, and it cost me $12 to return. OK. I will watch for the refund.

 

Fusick did real well by me. They accepted the return of the bush kit, and refunded me the shipping and did not charge a restock fee. So I am impressed with their business model, and would purchase from them again.
The spring I was concerned with, is an illustrators error. At least on my R53 Hydra-Matic. I disassembled the valve body again, and found that I had not sufficiently cleaned two of the bores. Therefore two of the valves were not able to achieve full travel.
Once cleaned and freed, I find that the spring pressure from the opposite side move the valves and provide the springy resistance needed for hydraulic activation. Should finish the trans up this morning. Won't know if I did good until I install it, and shift it into drive.