H53 Resto

DavidC

So, the P54 donor tranny, which I thought would be a good candidate for my 53 Hornet, had 1/4 in thick brown-black gritty goo in the pan. This looks bad to me. So, back to the original H53. It came to me empty, but clean inside, tiny dust of black, otherwise just coat of red tranny fluid. I wasn't going to use it because the throttle lever was stripped, and there were no flywheel bolts (message to self- never buy a partially disassembled then hastilay reassembled partial resto job). But the P54 provided the bolts and a good lever, so I got the side cover done. Now, I have no idea if this tranny works, but that will have to wait. In the meantime, to avoid leaks, I'm planning to replace rear seal, gaskets, etc. But the front pump 5 inch flat gasket requires quite a bit of disassembly to get to. Is it worth it, or should I stop at front flywheel gasket and seal? How common is it for this 5 in seal to leak?
Dave

DavidC

It's OK no one replied, I decided to do the job right, and I'm glad. That old 5 in gasket was cracked, brittle, and in pieces, and the front pump would have leaked horribly. Had to remove servo and several pipes to get pump out, but not too bad, and all together now.

Kdancy

The right way is the only way!