Tough little engines.

[64powerglide]

I bought my 64 Monza almost 2 years ago, it was on E-Bay with a buy it now price of $1895.00. The bid was at $1,800 so I hit buy it now as it was 50 miles from me. I added another $100.00 & the owner put it on his trailer & brought it to my house. He started it & backed it off the the trailer & drove it into my pole barn, it was cold & snowing a bit but it ran. The next day I knew it wasn't running right so I started with the spark plugs. The 3 on the right bank were caked with wet carbon & had no gap, just solid carbon but it ran on 3 cylinders & it is a Powerglide. After a new set of plugs I checked the timing & it was set at TDC but it ran. After that I found 2 inches of crud in the gas tank but it ran. Cleaned the tank, put a new fuel pump & fuel tank sending unit on it & rebuilt the carbs, the float bowls had slime in the bottom but it ran. Then I set the timing at 16 degrees advance. Now it really runs, I had to tweek the carbs to get it stay running when I put it in gear but I finally got it idle in gear. This car now goes down the road at 65 & still has lots of pep when you accelerate at that speed. I would not worry about driving this car anywhere. I still need to rebuild the trans because every now & then it burps fluid out the filler tube but it shifts like a new car & feels like a new car going down the road. The old girl has some rust but it doesn't rattle going down the road, she's just quiet & smooth. When I was 18 I bought a new 62 Monza black with red interior, now at 70 I have a black with red interior 64 & it sure is fun driving & brings back some wonderful memories. Corvair's rule!!

[bbodie52]

Great comments! In a single paragraph you manage to sum up so much about the appeal of Corvair ownership and the emotional rewards that come from giving a Corvair some badly-needed TLC. Something like a neglected pet that has been adopted from a shelter, the aging Corvair seems to respond so well to a little appropriate attention — and then gives so much back in return! Even your closing memory of a '62 Corvair from your youth is analogous to a long-remembered pet from your early days... and that yearning for a long-held memory now somewhat fulfilled by your "new" '64 coupe!

With regard to your automatic transmission comments... is it possible that the transmission is slightly overfilled? If the transmission fluid is clean and not discolored, and does not have a burned odor, and if the transmission shifts and performs well, I cannot think of anything that would normally cause an air bubble to form or of transmission fluid to be ejected from the filler tube except possibly an overfill condition that could place the rotating mass inside the transmission into a bath of oil — a condition that can cause a foaming action that might result in the problem you mentioned...

...I still need to rebuild the trans because every now & then it burps fluid out the filler tube but it shifts like a new car & feels like a new car going down the road...

Oil forced out of filler tube.

● Oil level too high causing planet carrier to run in oil and cause foam.

● Oil pickup pipe split or not sealed causing air entrainment.

[64powerglide]

It's really wierd, I check the fluid & it just touches the tip of the dipstick. "It does drip a little fluid now & then." I add 4 ounces fluid start it & shift into reverse then drive then I put it in neutral & check it again while the trans is good & hot & it's way up the dipstick. I have a Kerosene pump & run a hose down & remove some fluid then i'm back where I started, the tip of the dipstick just touching so I add just a bit at a time then all of a sudden it's way over the full mark. Right now I have a vinyl hose on the tube so it does not run all over the engine. I hope I can get it out late this fall & have it gone over. I had it out this spring & put new main seals in the engine & torque converter seal which slowed a real bad trans leak down to a drip now & then. I also put a new bushing in the torque converter. I measured the dipstick & it's right on but i'll get it on the full mark then it seems to foam up now & then. I can tell it's foaming because of the clear hose I have on it. I know nothing about the Powerglide trans but something must be letting fluid run back into the pan from the torque converter. When I pulled the drive train this spring I pulled the pan & the fluid was just a clean as the new fluid I put back in. The bottom of the pan inside didn't have any crud of any kind, I was surprised at how clean it was. I can only assume it needs all new seals inside. I'll just keep an eye on the fluid & keep driving.

Jeff

[vairygood]

The torque converter is designed to allow the fluid to drain back down in the pan when it sits.Don't ask me why.
Buster

[64powerglide]

For some reason once in a while when it's running the fluid runs back out, then I get a foamy burp.

[tommy44432]

Right after I got my '63 convertible the wife and I decided we'd use it on a vacation to revisit the Blue Ridge Parkway. I'd heard all the rumors about Corvairs but didn't really believe them knowing Chevrolet didn't design and build the car before testing it to the max. But I wanted to see for myself so I literally ran the piss out of it. I didn't abuse the car but I didn't baby it either. If the car was going to break I wanted it to happen a few miles from home instead of in NC somewhere. It didn't break and it didn't whimper. Just kept doing everything I asked of it. I expect next summer's trip will be around 1700 miles. Not worried.

[bbodie52]

Oil forced out of filler tube.

● Oil level too high causing planet carrier to run in oil and cause foam.

● Oil pickup pipe split or not sealed causing air entrainment.

You didn't mention investigating the second possibility. From your description it does sound like something is mixing air with the oil and causing it to foam. If the oil level is not high enough to cause the planet carrier to be "stirring the pot", something else may be injecting air into the oil flow and causing it to foam. Did you pull the oil pan and check the oil pickup to see if it is loose or split in a way that could be doing this?

As shown in the illustrations below, there is an O-ring seal [42] in the valve body that provides a seal for the oil pickup [43]. A screw [47] is used to secure the oil pickup. If the oil pickup is loose, or if the O-ring seal has deteriorated, or if the oil pickup has split, it may be that air is being introduced into the oil flow as the oil is drawn into the system by the pump. This could be a possible cause of foaming in the oil.

If the problem is not a oil pickup issue, it could still be an improperly measured, overfilled transmission...

The difference between the "Full" mark and the "Add" mark is one pint.

To check the oil level, the engine should be at idle speed with the transmission oil at normal temperature and the control lever in Neutral.

It is extremely important that the oil level be no higher than the "Full" mark on the transmission oil level gauge.

[The EM dipstick was 19", while the LM dipstick was 21-9/16". The extra length in the dipstick (and the associated filler tube) was apparently added to accommodate the new body style in 1965 and a related new position of the dipstick tube in the new engine compartment firewall. If your transmission or dipstick tube is not the original 1964 unit — but is a unit from a 1965 or later Corvair, and if an EM dipstick was at some point inserted into a LM filler tube, it would be possible that filling the transmission fluid to the "Full" mark on the incorrect short dipstick that was not matched to the filler tube could result in an overfilled transmission.

The automatic transmission dry capacity is approximately 13 pints, but the refill capacity, if the oil pan is drained, is approximately 6 pints. If you drain the oil pan on your automatic transmission, and then put back in 6 measured pints, what is the fluid level indicated on the dipstick with a 6 pint fill? (NOTE: A cold fluid temperature will slightly lower the fluid level shown on the dipstick). If 6 pints registers significantly low on your dipstick, it may be that the incorrect dipstick is being used with your transmission. Adding more fluid to bring it to the "Full" level might actually result in an overfill condition, which could have the planetary unit partially immersed in transmission fluid — which could be causing a foaming condition in the oil].

When the oil level is at the "Full" mark on the [correct] dipstick, it is just slightly below the planetary gear train. If oil is added to bring the oil level above the "Full" mark, the planetary unit will run in the oil. This will foam and aerate the oil. Faulty operation of the transmission may result due to improper application of the band or clutches.

There are several excellent technical references that are available for the Corvair Powerglide transmission. In particular there is a Service Guide in five parts that can be downloaded. It provides very detailed instructions and illustrations that can be of great help in working on the Powerglide transmission. I suggest that you check these out at the following Corvair Forum link...

viewtopic.php?f=225&t=5760

[64powerglide]

Thanks for the links Brad, I will check them out. The first thing I did was measure the dipstick & it was 19", now when I had the pan off I didn't check for anything because I didn't know what I was looking for. By the way your last two replies didn't have any photo's or illustrations, just some little symbols.

[bbodie52]

...By the way your last two replies didn't have any photo's or illustrations, just some little symbols.

I restructured and edited my last two posts to embed the images using a different method. I'm not sure why they weren't visible on your PC. Are the images visible now?

The fact that you have a 19" dipstick shows that your Powerglide dipstick was intended for a 1960-64 Powerglide transmission. The question concerns the length of the dipstick filler tube. If the transmission, or just the filler tube, is a 1965-69 unit, the dipstick itself might be a mismatch and may not be long enough to match the filler tube length. A 1964 dipstick inserted in a 1965 filler tube would require overfilling the transmission to have the oil reach the "Full" mark on the short dipstick. Without knowing the correct length of the filler tube to match with a 19" dipstick, the only way I can imagine to check this would be to measure six pints of transmission fluid to pour into an empty oil pan. Then start the engine and check the fluid level reading on your dipstick. A properly matched dipstick and filler tube should produce something close to the FULL mark on the dipstick with six pints in the transmission pan. If it measures well below the full mark, you may have a mismatch with a dipstick that is too short for the transmission filler tube. Adding more fluid to bring the level up to the full mark under such circumstances would in fact overfill the transmission and would cause the foaming you described earlier.

[64powerglide]

Yes sir they are there now.

Jeff

[64powerglide]

I see how the screen comes off now. Sure hope that O-Ring is leaking & letting some air in, that would be an easy repair!!!