James W. Frey

Hi Gurus!
First, let me say thank you to everyone! Unbelievable the amount of knowledge on this forum!
Now, on to my issue I hope you can help with: I've got a 76 Olds cutlass with the original 350 engine and th350 transmission. I recently struggled with a transmission oil pan leak, which devolved into an epic battle. Long story short, I ended up taking it into a local reputable mechanic shop nearby here in Tempe (Salem Boys, if anyone is in the Phoenix area). They got it all fixed up, but had to pull the transmission to replace one of the leaks, which was the pump seal (trans pan gasket and accumulator seal were also repaired).

Car runs great now, but I now noticed the engine RPMs fairly high (shows around 2800 on my tach) before it shifts from 2nd into 3rd, plus when I'm driving at a level rate, say about 30 or 40 mph, if I let off the gas, the transmission seems to disengage from the engine as the engine rpms become slower than the vehicle's rpms (if that makes sense). At that point, I can actually rev the engine while the car is moving! But as I increase the throttle, once the engine matches the vehicle rpm, the transmission seems to re-engage and everything is fine.

My question is: This is the first car I've owned with this type of transmission and I did not notice this kind of behavior before the work. I'm wondering that, since the transmission was worked on, is this actually what it supposed to do? Or has it exposed another issue now with the old transmission?

Many thanks for any advice, Please let me know if I've left out any information that may be helpful!
james

Greg Rogers

Is car staying in 2nd gear too long? The way you seem to describe it, as it shifts too late?? If you were cruising along at 30-35 mph and the trans had not upshifted to 3rd yet, and you let off the accelerator it would seem to coast, until you got back on it and the engine "caught up" with the RPM's in 2nd gear. Is that what you mean when you say you can rev the car while it is still moving? It may be as simple as a vacuum leak (cracked hose?) going to the modulator, or a governor problem. I would take it back to the shop who did the work and have them check it out.

matt69olds

Check the kickdown cable, make sure it’s not kinked, bound up, adjusted righted, and moves freely make sure the vacuum line is clear, not restricted, etc if that doesn’t help, take it back to th trans shop that repaired the leaks. If it worked ok before, it’s probably something simple

James W. Frey

Thank you guys for your excellent help and support! I found out today that 1. the shifting from 2nd to 3rd is normal, and 2. the engine disconnect from the transmission feel is also normal because my transmission does not have a lockup torque converter. Very interesting and nice to know there is nothing wrong.

many thanks again!
james