Powerglide front pump question
 

Had a front pump gear break its drive lugs off suddenly recently in my Powerglide stocker. Since most front pump gears that I've ever seen were cast iron and hardened, does anybody make a steel billet gear set for the stock front pump?

Re: Powerglide front pump question
 

Not that I am aware of. Never used any. The pump gears were broken by something else, they didn't just break on their own.

Re: Powerglide front pump question
 

Most '62-'63 PG'S that had a rear pump ,had steel front pump gears.
I save them for my customers that run over 200# line pressure.
Most S/SS transmissions run under 150# or less of line pressure and the cast gears usually will hold up in them with no problems.
You might want to check and make sure there was enough clearance between the pump tangs and the pump drive slot.
Possibly a main thrust bearing problem also.

Re: Powerglide front pump question
 

After taking the time to do other things, I returned to the Powerglide front pump issue. It seems that with the trans and converter bolted to the engine, quite a bit of endplay exists between the point that the converter is bottomed out in the pump and where it was when bolted up to the flex plate. I have seen spacers in some cars between the conveter tabs and the flexplate,but not here.I suspect that the converter drive slots were not engaged deep enough over the front pump drive lugs and that made the drive lugs shear off.The sudden off the gas at the finish line and the subsequent on the gas again may have been just enough to finish it off. I haven't open up the trans yet, but before that car gets run again, that endplay issue will be not a possibility. The crank endplay is around .009".Something to check out!!

Re: Powerglide front pump question
 

While you have the pump apart remove the check valve and spring. Replace it with a piece of 1/2 rod to block the holes. Just drill it and put the original pin back in. Sometimes the check will start to open and close rapidly during burnouts and that loads and unloads the pump, esp if you like long smokey burn outs. Set the End play of converter to flex plate lugs no more than .125 no less than .090. I like the .125...

Re: Powerglide front pump question
 

I have always replaced the pin with and allen socket set screw and left the spring in place. I haven't heard of removing the spring and check valve.

Re: Powerglide front pump question
 

Greg I think the input shaft will bottom out in the converter before the converter bottoms out on the pump tabs.