Powerglide problem

[racerron5]

Does anyone know what is wrong with a powerglide that all of the sudden started jerking and seeming to be out of gear rather than working normal. The car moves but while moving either seems to be in neutral at times and quits moving or moves but real jerky like. Fluid seems to have a burnt smell to it now. Also can the converter cause this?

Thanks in advance.

[Alan Roehrich]

The converter might do it. The planetaries might do it as well.

[63corvette]

If the fluid smells burnt you have major issues in the trans and converter parts are probably inside the trans if the converter went first.
Drain the fluid and look in the pan first. That will tell you a good deal if parts or gears or just pieces are there.
Just pull it and get started it won't fix itself with those type issues.
Just My 2 Cents And Best Of Luck With The Repairs
Just a part of racing and we have all been there.

[chevy620]

63 is right,

Take it out, it will not be something you want to try to fix with it in car. Be sure to flush the cooling lines before you put it back in.

Good luck,

[Mark Yacavone]

Forward clutch is probably burnt up and slipping.
Not the converter. Either it moves or it doesn't.

[Alan Roehrich]

The reason I say what I said is this. A PowerGlide has a band for low gear, and clutches for high gear. Rarely do you see either fail suddenly, and you usually just get slippage under power. It will usually slip in one gear, and not the other, and they just won't hold, rather than jerking as described.

The planetaries will fail suddenly, especially the stock planetaries, and more so if the input shaft being used is not a torsional shaft.

The converter could also break suddenly, and broken pieces may cause it to jerk as described, when they bind up. It may also overheat the fluid and make it smell.