1955 Transmission kickdown shaft spline shot

[55 ledsled]

Hello,
I had a hell of a time figuring out why my trans was not shifting properly. A gentleman told me on here, that my kickdown shaft should not spin all the way around on the transmission like it was when disconnected from the TV rod. He was correct. I pulled off the cover and found out that the splines on the shaft that connect to the arm that moves the valve are shot and just spins. Wow what a stupid design!

Does anyone know if this shaft can simply be pulled out and replaced without pulling the entire valve body? I feel like trying to get a wire feed welder in there and just lightly welding it lol. Looking for an easy repair. Photo attached

[gene harl]

don't try to weld it in there. take the valve body off and lay it out on a towel or something .. I think  it's  4 bolts and slip it forward off the 3 tubes.. get a new shaft  if you can .... if you weld it, be sure the splines are in  the wright place ... you can do it ............
   Gene

[gene harl]

try these guys for parts..... David Edwards... 1-781-449-2065 
                                        Fastco transmission parts   800-524-0485   

          Gene

[55 ledsled]

THanks Gene. I spoke to a tranny guy who works on these. I am going to have him do it so I don't mess it up. I read that it is very easy to mess up shift points. Another tranny guy said for me to not touch it. I am however going to have to find the parts. Thanks for the info!

[55 ledsled]

Ok I spoke to David and WOW that guy knows his stuff and has the parts!
He said go ahead and do it myself that it is not that hard. He has the kit to replace it for $22 but he is laid up with a hurt back right now and can't find the parts lol. He also said that one could just weld it up but to make sure that the positioning is right. He said that he had a photo on his website that showed the correct positioning so I have to find it. Once I do, I will post photos along with when I get to pulling the valve body off. If you need Hydra parts David is the guy to call. Thanks again for the info Gene!

[55 ledsled]

David sent me these. He is a wealth of knowledge on these old Hydramatics. He tried to show a good way to determine where everything lines up in case you want to repair what you have and weld it in place. He said it is getting very difficult to find these.

[55 ledsled]

Ok...I did it. Here is the way to do this if you have a problem.

1. Drain out the trans fluid
2. Unhook both gear shift and TV rods and remove them off of the tranny rods.
3. Unbold all of the bolts holding on the cover on the trans
4. Slide off the small tube on the top left side that connects to the valve body
5. Unbolt the 4 bolts that hold on the valve body to the transmission and slide the unit towards the front of the car
6. Do not bend any of the tubes
7. Use the photos of the good lever and align it as shown and weld it (Depending where yours is broken)
8. Reverse order reassemble and refill trans fluid type F