Transmission fluid

chris52

New owner of a Hudson Hornet -52 and having some "newbeginner questions"..
How do I check the level of transmission fluid in my Hydramatic? And what oil should I use? 
And what the adjustments of the kick-down link? 
Thank you. 

MikeD

I was a beginner a couple of years ago on a 52 Hornet...and still somewhat the case.  Anyhow, the transmission dip stick is accessed from the passenger side.  It's on the transmission hump requiring carpet to be pulled back from firewall.  I believe it's Dexron III or older conventional transmission oil/fluid. O'Reillys had a product that I used. The kick-down for me was trial and error getting shifts in the right place. Very, very small adjustments are probably advisable as its pretty sensitive.

chris52

MikeD said:

I was a beginner a couple of years ago on a 52 Hornet...and still somewhat the case.  Anyhow, the transmission dip stick is accessed from the passenger side.  It's on the transmission hump requiring carpet to be pulled back from firewall.  I believe it's Dexron III or older conventional transmission oil/fluid. O'Reillys had a product that I used. The kick-down for me was trial and error getting shifts in the right place. Very, very small adjustments are probably advisable as its pretty sensitive.

Thank you very much for your help! I found the transmission dip stick under the carpet. Never thought it could be there! 
I will have to look at the kick-down now the gears shifts to fast almost at the same time.. 
 

Glowplug

You are in luck.... our friend and now deceased HET GURU Alex Burr left a legacy for all the new and old HETers... a major treasure trove of scanned and PDF assembled and posted manuals that cover our HET CARS.  You will find a very detailed manual on the transmission at this URL... http://hudsonterraplane.com/tech/1952/1952-53_Hydra-Matic_Manual-Supplement.pdf    

You can download it to your smart device and carry it around with you or print it if that is a desire... you will find that http://hudsonterraplane.com/  will provide you with a bunch more manuals/

The shifting adjustment is detailed in the manual.  If you do not have the special tool that is identified... you can use my website https://hudsonrestoration1948-54.com/
where you will find a method of adjusting the shifting points for your type of transmission.   

Good Luck

Ken Cates

chris52

Glowplug said:

You are in luck.... our friend and now deceased HET GURU Alex Burr left a legacy for all the new and old HETers... a major treasure trove of scanned and PDF assembled and posted manuals that cover our HET CARS.  You will find a very detailed manual on the transmission at this URL... http://hudsonterraplane.com/tech/1952/1952-53_Hydra-Matic_Manual-Supplement.pdf    

You can download it to your smart device and carry it around with you or print it if that is a desire... you will find that http://hudsonterraplane.com/  will provide you with a bunch more manuals/

The shifting adjustment is detailed in the manual.  If you do not have the special tool that is identified... you can use my website https://hudsonrestoration1948-54.com/
where you will find a method of adjusting the shifting points for your type of transmission.   

Good Luck

Ken Cates

Thank you very much thats perfect!
I hope I will get the shifting to work now at least I will know how to do it!