Tedd Thompson

I spent about a hour at Transmatic transmission shop the other day picking the brain of Mac the owner.about the goods and bads of Oldsmobile transmission parts mostly Jetaway's and Slant Pans 1956-1958. He has been the guru of early first generation Oldsmobile transmissions and at 83 I thought I would pick his brain while I could.

The question seems to come up often about Jetaway lack strength and durability and the bad rap that has followed them for years. Well according to Mac (and he if anyone would know) the problem with the Jetaway starts with the redesign of the front coupling which has a lug affair attachment compared to the spline attachment of later years. He mentioned that the lugs weren't heat treated and were soft and very soon removed themselves of the coupling. Also the sprag was defective from the get go and was a automatic replacement when the coupling went bad to replace it also.

I asked about the chance of coming across a transmission these days that still had the defective parts installed and he replied that it was not very probable because the design was so bad that most were fixed before they failed when the cars were first serviced or went in to the shop for most anything. He said it was a quick fix and that the parts stayed the same for years after that.

So if you come across a mid fifties Oldsmobile with Jetaway or a Slant Pan for that matter don't be to concerned about which is in it. They are both good and tough. Hope this is of interest....Tedd

Yellowstatue

Thanks Tedd. Now I can get a good nights sleep.

OLDSter Ralph

Are parts still available ? I have a '57 "88" that's sitting "in the woods" that will be my next project.

ignachuck

At least one made it to 1992- Mine.

The previous owner of my '56 had the engine rebuilt, new exhaust, new tires and new shocks installed in 1992. Then the Jetaway failed. He gave up and put it away in his barn and never touched it again. I bought it from him 20 years later.

When Steve Peluso (well known Boston area transmission genius) got it in 2012, he knew right away that it was an original Jetaway and showed me the replacement parts mentioned above for the fix. He called it "Exchange Coupling Assembly" kit.

Been running fine ever since.

Tedd Thompson

According to Mac the replacement parts became the standard parts and were used for years after. I didn't ask if that he meant for different transmissions other than the Jetaway...... Tedd