For me the obvious and unfortunate red flag is that the shop wouldn't take a ride or drive the car - "They would not go for a ride with me when the car was warm(too busy)" O'k, so, when will you have a half hour with a unhappy customer if you don't five minutes now ? 2k is a lot of coins. I'm not exactly sure, but, I think a ST400 of the same year (1966) will bolt right up and I think uses the same converter - check first. There are or were a bunch of them for sale on this site over the last couple years and parts are plentiful - for the most part. Its not a two speed. https://www.v8buick.com/index.php?threads/repost-65-st400-transmission.371618/
Don't know if I want to deal with the SP issues anymore. When looking through that parts section is there any way to narrow the search down? Looks like there are 1000's of posts.
Having a hard time finding one. There are 1000's of posts in parts. Unless there's a way to narrow the search down.
First some extra info, but I think important for you (or anyone that finds this thread down the road) ST was Buick's "nomenclature" used for the "Super Turbine" of the GM Corporate "pooling" of resources for their line of transmissions and the THM (or TH) "Turbo-HydraMatic" was the "nomenclature" used by the rest of BOP GM. (During this "transition" time, Pontiac simply called the ST300 the "Automatic" and Oldsmobile called the ST300 the "Jetaway") The Pontiac did not have a "Switch Pitch" ST300, but Olds and Buick did. (Cadillac is not in this discussion). The "400" series were called "ST" (Super Turbine) bu Buick and TH/THM400 by Pontiac, Olds (and Chevrolet). The "Power Glide" used by Chevrolet is a different transmission than the "ST300" series. only that both are 2 speed autos, and are otherwise very different physically. The "400" also had "Switch Pitch" versions, but "ST" (of the Buick line) did not ever refer to the "Switch Pitch" (actually Variable Vane/Variable Pitch Stator Torque Converter) feature, it was simply Buick's "call out" for their version of the 300 and 400 series transmissions, and later Buick adopted the "TH" for the "350 and 400" series. "Switch Pitch" was coined and became the "known name" of the feature. It can be confusing and often people use the "ST" when referring to the "Switch Pitch" transmissions and further confuse people trying to find the correct info. I realize this may seem pedantic, to your issue, but history and correct information can be a great help to solving problems. I would recommend you get the transmission you have properly diagnosed and repaired rather than rolling the dice on an unknown transmission in the "hope" of swapping out and solving the problem. The "Switch Pitch" is actually a very simple and sound feature that plays very well with a heavy car and low RPM high torque engine. It provides a peppy acceleration, tame shifting into Drive and Reverse and smooth operation. But it simply needs to be correctly adjusted (the carb/throttle switches controlling the solenoid inputs. Certainly a bad "build" by a shop can cause a very sour taste to linger, but realize not a lot of the folks in these shops have experience with the transmission. But, moving up to a ST400 (with the feature or not) can be some benefit, but you will need a transmission that has already been rebuilt correctly, or have one rebuilt after you buy it. The likelihood of being able to find a "usable" transmission that will not fail is very slim. And finally, you do have options of using a few other transmissions with adapters, but almost none of those are going to be easier than what you already have. If you want to choose one and go that route, there is a wealth of knowledge from folks here that have experience doing the swaps. It is obvious that you are frustrated with your current situation, and folks want to help. Matt speaks for me, that your shop is letting you down, and that is regrettable. You need someone that can properly (up close) diagnose what is wrong and give you good information so you can decide what is best for you.
If a shop did that to me, and I could get no satisfaction from them, I would sue them in small claims court. 2000.00 is a lot of money for a rebuild.
The guy that did the rebuild was an " old school" guy with experience in old cars. He told me he could do the job and it's not rocket science.They had my car from 11/01/19 to 12/27/19. I'm sure it was worked on between bread and butter jobs. Total bill was $2010.93. The parts list says rebuilt transmission w/ torque convertor including rebuild master kit, filter,paper,rubber. New variable pitch switch on pump. Totals were $695 plus $80 for fluid. Labor was $1100. The rest was tax. Milelage was 129,250. (I wrote that in because they didn't.) The car now has 133,180. so 3930 total miles on the build. I do have an automotive shop that is willing to take a look at the car in a few weeks. I'm gonna try running a wire from the battery and touch the terminal and see if it clicks.
Yes, several times, and won. Sometimes you need to force the issue. Lots of times, the summons accomplishes what you want and you don't need to actually follow through. If you want to give up and eat the loss, that is up to you, but I fight back when I know I am right. Sometimes, all it takes is a letter and a stamp. I've been compensated several times that way as well. People can't take advantage of you unless you let them.
I and many of us on here "are old school guys"(from families of old school guys) and I and the others also make mistakes and miss things. Also, brand new parts (even the old school, stuff God Himself made for GM on the Eight Day, could fail when brand new). I think your issue is internal, and either clutch no applying properly/slipping sticky spool, the converter failing, or something causing pressure problems. All auto transmissions are just like engines, basic sameness to how they go together and many parts that do the same thing the same way, and lost of things that are specific to each transmission that must be known and accomplished properly. Each one must have full attention to detail, there is no room for giving less attention to one than another. This speaks to a lot of the problems people with Buicks (and a few other makes in a "Ford, MOPAR, Chevy" world) and it is the attitude that "it's only s Buick" and that contempt leads to wrong assumptions about the "important differences, and things learned over many decades of working on specific brands that should or must be done for longevity. Clearly, the shop did not do something right, or something happened after you got it back, that you may not have been aware of, or something simply failed as it was defective from the time it was put back in service. The transmission (as designed) is not the problem.
Yes, looking back on it, I think it was developing issues on the way home from picking it up. The manager from the trans shop said the trans would not fail me and it never has left me stranded. BUT it is not right. It does not shift in the same way that it did before I took it in. The manager, I don't think is a mechanic himself, he manages the business which is a long established one with the original key people long gone.
I did run a hot wire from the battery and touched the other end to the top terminal It clicked. Touched it more than once to make sure I was hearing it right. I'm assuming that means that the solenoid works. What is next? Installing the toggle switch?
So you would start out in Low gear with the switch off until reaching 20 MPH and then flip the toggle switch on until you feel it change and then put the car in Drive?
No. With the switch on (and the solenoid energized) it provides fluid to the stator vanes in the converter and puts it in "High Stall", this provides less "pull" while the car is at a stop light or when you are shifting in and out of Park, Reverse or Drive and lessens the "jolt" you would feel on Low stall. With the switch "off" the converter vanes return to the "low stall" (normal) range and it operates like a typical converter (of that era). Second to that is accelerating with "switch on" high stall, and that is "higher torque multiplication" as if you were in a slightly lower gear, or had a slightly lower geared rear end. It is not a tremendous amount, but it is well suited for the way and where a nailhead makes power. The main point of the switch was to trouble shoot your problem and try and rule out the converter changing stall as process of elimination. But, once you have the issue resolved, using a manual switch may be to your liking over the function of throttle actuated switch(es). You would still put the car in Lo or Drive as typical to how you want to drive. For example, switch on when putting the car in or out of gear and Reverse for gentler engagement. At a stoplight, switch on to keep car from "tugging". Then as you accelerate, toggle off about 10-15MPH easy accelerate, and if moderate accelerate, up to 20-30 MPH toggle off, and WOT, upwards of 30-40. You can play with that and figure out what feels right or most enjoyable. Running in "High stall" for long periods (several minutes) will increase fluid temps as the fluid friction in the converter is greater.
I have been in contact with an automotive shop near me and have taken all paper work pertaining to the car to him. We have discussed the issues and he is going to take the job of staightening out the problems. He should be ready for me by Dec 1 since he is moving into a larger building right next door to his current shop. We are thinking that hopefully it is a heat issue where the trans is just getting too hot. We will see.
Yeah, the OEM tube coolers for the switch pitch transmissions were pretty small, and a good stacked plate cooler would be a nominal cost for the benefit. A lot of times, they got damaged and removed by owners. The only concern with a stacked plate cooler is if there is a failure that scatters metal and plugs the cooler plates. They are near impossible to clean, and the cost of doing so is much more than a new cooler. (about $120-150)
