55 T Bird Ford o matic

[Shoovel]

My friends 55 TBird has some bad leaks at the trans. He has a workshop manual but, the FordOmatic is in a separate book. From what I am able to gather, the trans has to come out with the engine. Is this correct?

 

[dmsfrr]

Depending on where the leaks are, fixing them with the trans in the car may be possible but not overly likely.

There are some transmission mechanics with enough experience they can disassemble the transmission in place. They're very hard to find and their job isn't easy in such a small space.
Most transmission shops these days don't even know what a FordOmatic is.
If you can find a shop that will work on it & warranty their work it's a good day.

The usual procedure is to remove the engine & transmission together.
'55 was the last full model year for the air-cooled FordOmatic, it was phased out during '56.

Mission creep is very real. While the transmission is being removed and/or in the shop, a whole list of other things will be found under the hood that should be fixed 'as long as it's already apart'.
Time and budget will likely go out the window.
.

 

[Bigmacmclaughlin]

When you get the automatic transmission out and ready to inspect or rebuild, decide whether you want to replace the metal starter gear ring on the torque converter. I decided to replace mine, so that I wouldn’t have to pull the transmission again for a new gear ring later on.

 

[rotorwrench]

Unless it is an obvious leak, it can be difficult to find. The oil pan & maby the rear seal are about the only easy fixes in the car. The front seal and torque converter are not. If the trans can be removed, the procedure will be in the factory shop manual.

 

[55blacktie]

As the OP already stated, the 1955 Ford Shop Manual does not provide instructions for removing the Fordomatic separately. That information, however, might be in the Fordomatic manual.

 

[delco1946]

You need the separate transmission manual. Its level of detail far exceeds that within the normal shop manual, which glosses over the automatic.

 

[paul2748]

There is a separate Fordomatic shop manual. It's available at the TBird parts suppliers and should be at all the other Ford parts suppliers. Even ebay.

 

[KULTULZ]

Listen, you don't really want to disassemble the trans in the chassis except possibly for a very specific service repair. Too much chance of filth infiltration.

It needs to be performed on the bench whereas the final assembly is known to have been correctly done.