WUt Da Deuce is wrong with my Deuce ana haf

She's a no go. I got,er in 95 and it was previously used as a village street repair outfit. It's all still original and has collector plates. When I first got it I had to drive it home 5 miles --but- it wouldn't go in high rage/range. It was a slow trip. After a while it would only go after starting until it was put in neutral, but then it wouldn't go back in gear until after it sat for a while. Then it got to a point of not going at all. I changed the gov rings because being stupid and not knowing things I broke one putting it back together. I was trying to clean things up a bit thinking that it was clogs in the shift valve etc. It seems there's a rubber pad missing in the hi/lo range selector atop the second drive unit. When first aquired it would lockup in high range as if in two gears at the same time. The lockup was the first problem, now it dosn't go at all. I'm going to check pump pressure when proper gear arrives to do so. It seems to have happened after changing the trans oil. There was cows snot at the bottom of the pan so it looks like the oil hasn't been chaned since 52. This is a 52 GMC M35. Ed 1819671

The hydramatics used in the m135/ m211 series trucks seems to have been a weak point. I've heard some people swear by them and a lot more swear at them. I don't know much about them other than stick with whatever oil is in it. Either motor oil or tranny fluid, but don't mix or drain and switch. They also have to be warmed up before putting under load. The one I have in my snow plow truck still works, but if it goes, a clutch and 5 speed might replace it. Sorry this isn't much help, but it's all I got. Oh yeah, some manuals might help. Good luck and complete your signature so we know where you're at.

lacoda56,



if youchange to as 5 speed and clutch, what would you replace it with?

I had a clark 5 speed OD in my M135. The tranny was the same as the CCKW. Mechanical linkage is easy to hook up. The trouble is that you lose the low range.

I use 10 wt non detergent oil. I was informed not to use any detergent oils or fluids in this old bugger. A tag on the instrument panel says to use 10 or 30 wt ND in the engine and 10 wt in the trans. The seals at the time of production wern't made for detergent fluids and will desolve or soften the materials of that time. I put a pressure test on it and ran at about 2000 rpm. It measured a whopping 5 whole pounds. I don't know where to attach the gauge setup but I did set it up at a port atop the trans that has a line feeding the hi/lo box right behind the trans. I now have to find where to setup the gauge at the proper place. On the overall this unit is in very good condition. There's still road tar on the accel pedal. At www.alfaheaven.com complete pics of all parts except----yup---you guessed it- the one I need---the transmission. At this point it looks like a trans overhal or a new one.

Tony'
Somwhere along the line, I heard as JasonS said, to use the 5 speed from a cckw. It should bolt up to the bellhousing on the 302. To get low range, use the cckw transfer case. I know it's a lot of modifying, and you end up with an extra shift lever for the front wheel drive, but I happen to have a spare drive train for a cckw and no love for automatics!
Hey Da Grunt, sounds like you've got a handle on the oil situation, so if you're comfortable with an auto trans overhaul, go for it and good luck. I'm just not ambitious/smart enough to tackle one of those.

Well-it's still no go. I'm tring to remove the pressure relief valve thinking it's stuck open or the spring is rusted and broke. Holy Kow-- it'll take an 1-1/4 in. six sider socket to remove it. I'll have to rent one from the local hardware store. Thanks guys. Ed 1819671

if it was origional .. it was to use a non detergent 30wt. oil ... mine was rebuilt and changed to dextron ..... do NOT put in atf if it had regular oil in it ...

Sorry to give the bad news, but a teardown might be needed. It is probably generally sludged up, especially the control valve and other shifting components, and needs to be cleaned and any bad frictions and other parts replaced. I have not had a bad experience with oil change. In fact, my local trans shop, whose owner worked on these, told me when I bought my truck in 1976 (M135) to immediately get that motor oil out of it and put in Dexron. Motor oil is not high enough detergent and has way wrong shear qualities for use as auto tranny fluid, but then the government likes to keep the supply chain simple. He said to drain it, put in Dexron, run it for 500 miles, drain again, and fill again with Dexron. I did that, and ran it trouble free for 20 years until I retired it. The trans still works fine with no seal problems. It definitely was not a parade truck. I pulled a 32 foot flatbed trailer for machinery hauling and had an 11 foot Toll Road plow on it in the winter. I also put a hoist on it and used it for hauling grain and stone on the farm. The tranny shop guy said the tranny is basically much the same as the one used in cars of the era. We also had one in a school bus when I worked at a GMC garage. The cars and the school bus sure didn't use engine oil for fluid! I have also been told a valve body off a Cadillac with that tranny in it will fit and give better shifting control.
Regards Marti

You guys are sure makin' me greatful that my truck is a STANDARD transmission........