First time transmission lurch

[paynestude]

A first for me....

In preparation for leaving on vacation, I PUSHED my 63 Lark project into the garage for safe keeping. The next morning as we gathered to leave, I went to the garage to double check things were properly locked up. I stepped into the garage and and almost busted my backside on a super slick floor. Turning on a light I discovered the Stude had dumped ALL of it's auto trans fluid on the garage floor. The stuff is EVERYWHERE!

Has anyone experienced anything like this? I guess the car was hacked that I pushed instead of driven it into the garage. Who says Studebakers don't have personality.....

[Chantony]

Hi Paul,
It's most unusual to dump that much overnight.I have three cars that like to dump the contents of the torque converter when they sit for some time.( 64 Chev, 63 Lark and 62 Valiant).This is because the front transmission seal needs replacing and the oil works its way around the worn/hard seal and out of the front of the trans.
It takes one of my cars a couple of weeks to drop what looks like a lot of oil,but is actually about a pint to a pint and a half.The other cars take a month or two to do this.If I use them regularly,they don't seem to lose much.
I doubt that pushing the car had anything to do with the mess,though the trans does have a rear pump. I doubt if any pressure would have built up from simply pushing it into the garage.If the rear extension housing seal was damaged,though I can't imagine that to have happened,then you'd see some oil come out,but the oil level is normally lower than the seal,so it's not likely to come from there in any quantity.
I'd degrease and wash the trans when you return,top it up and go for a run,then check it as soon as you can to see where the oil is coming from.It's unusual for the pan gasket to let go,so I'd almost bet it's the torque converter draining out past the front seal.If this is the case,you'll see the oil drips coming from below the converter housing at the front of the trans.
The bad news is that you'll have to remove the trans and replace the seal.If you're going to do this yourself,remember to remove the torque converter with the trans and likewise,replace the trans with the converter in place on the input shaft.If you bolt the converter to the drive plate first and then fit up the trans,you can damage the drive tangs and the seal and be worse off than you are now.
Hope this is of some use. Feel free to email if you need any other advice if I can help.
Tony

A.C.Moisley

[Chucks Stude]

I have had a pan gasket fail, and dump that much oil. Please check your pan gasket. Then look at the seals.

[studegary]

To dump that much overnight, it sounds like a drain plug that came out or a pan failure (rust/hole).

Gary L.
Wappinger, NY

SDC member since 1968
Studebaker enthusiast much longer