How to check the Hudsonite level?

[Deleted User]
[Deleted User]
edited July 2012 in HUDSON
Guys, I have a 49 Hudson Commodore. I have a few bottles of Hudsonite. How do I check the level on the tranny, and then how do I add Hudsonite to the transmission?

Comments

  • oldhudsons
    oldhudsons Senior Contributor
    Sodak - Hudsonite is for the CLUTCH, NOT the trans.!
    To check the trans. there is a filler plug on the side - just remove it, if nothing comes out stick something like a small screwdriver in to ascertain the height of the oil. If low, add some 'til it starts to flow out of the plug hole.
    The only way to check how much Hudsonite is in the clutch is to drain it, which if it hasn't been done for a while, is a good idea!
    If not sure how to drain & refill clutch either look in owners manual, shop manual, or ask in here & we'll tell you.
  • Terraplane33
    Terraplane33 Expert Adviser
    I believe the crakshaft has to be turned in a certain position to acces the plug and check the level. There must be something in the owners manual as said by Oldhudson (if you do not have it, you can probably find it in the hudson online library)
  • oldhudsons
    oldhudsons Senior Contributor
    T8 et al: there are 2 drain plugs on the face of the flywheel. Right above the starter you will see an access hole.
    The 1st thing to do is drop the clutch cover (small sheet metal pan covering bottom of the clutch), this while car jacked up LEVEL, and turn the flywheel (I would use a big screwdriver or a whatever you have, that will fit into the slots on the flywheel ring) & turn the engine over until one of the 2 plugs are straight down then, unscrew the plug, and drain the oil out of the clutch.
    I use a measuring cup in doing this to see if there was enough fluid in the clutch (should be 6 oz.). I would also check the viscosity of whatever the last person had used as many will have used an improper fluid (which may be too thin, watery). True Hudsonite has an unusual odor to it; not sure what it is but the purpose of the fluid is to keep the corks in the clutch soft.
    After draining the clutch, turn the flywheel until the now open plug hole is lined up with the access hole above the starter. My device for putting fluid into the clutch is a pc. of heater hose, beveled at one end, so as to easily fit into the flywheel access hole (& being rubber won't leak when pushed into/against it) & a small funnel affixed at the other end. After inserting the beveled end of the hose into the flywheel slowly pour the Hudsonite into the funnel.
    When finished you then turn the flywheel back down until you can reach up & put the screw back into the flywheel - 6 oz. doesn't nearly fill the clutch so it won't leak out when turned down a ways.
    Hope this explanation satisfactory - I can't begin to remember how many times I've done this as the 1st thing I'd do to any "new purchase" was drain & refill the clutch with Hudsonite.

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    edited July 2012
    You can drain and refill the clutch on a Hudson without getting under the car and removing the flywheel cover. Look, here's how it's done:

    First, using the back button on the starter solenoid, bumb the starter over until the drain plug on the flywheel is in view of the opening above the starter. Then, before you reach in with a socket to loosen the plug, place a rag into the hole just below the plug. This will catch the plug just in case it falls from the socket or your fingers (a suggestion from a 1950's Popular Mechanics article)

    Next, REMOVE THE RAG!. Then, bump the flywheel over again until the star shows up in the flywheel opening (bear in mind there are two drain plugs and consequently, there are two stars on the flywheel). Once the star show up in the flywheel opening, this will have the drain plug at the bottom of the flywheel and thus the old fluid drains out (put a small container of some sort to catch the old fluid).

    Now, with the old fluid gone, bump over the starter to bring back the flywheel hole. Fill clutch with new Genuine Hudsonite Clutch fluid with whatever funnel device you have for this task. Next, with the clutch filled, place the rag back in below the flywheel hole. Thread the plug back into the hole and tighten. Then, REMOVE THE RAG!

    That's it.

    REMOVE THE RAG! Dan
  • MikeWA
    MikeWA Senior Contributor
    One other tip- its very easy to drop the fill plug when you're taking it out- so either use a socket with a magnet in it (11/16 , I think), or make a "nest" below the plug hole with a shop rag for it to land on.
  • oldhudsons
    oldhudsons Senior Contributor
    OK, one could do it that way, with rags, but I can't imagine anyone with an old car who hasn't got a hydraulic floor jack.
    The original plugs are 11/16", 3/4", or something like that but are thin headed so getting a socket on it while hanging over the edge of the fender & working around the starter solenoid which sits on top of the starter is not easy & if not "straight on" it you can mar the edges of the plug which might be quite tightly put in. To put the plug back in you'll have to insert the plug into the socket & hope it doesn't fall out as you reach down with it, unless you have the hands of a child & can reach thru the inspection hole to get it started!
    In 10 min. you can have your Hudson up on jackstands while you glide under the car & can easily remove & re-install the plug, CLEANLY, no rags needed. Plus with a service light by the inspection hole you can see what you're doing whereas you can't when trying to do it from above.
    Oh well, to each his own ~
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    edited July 2012
    My choice is also from below ,first time I did it on top I dropped the plug in the pan so ended up down there anyway.
    Roger
  • TwinH
    TwinH Senior Contributor
    During one of my 'reinventing the wheel' brainstorm sessions I considered how much easier it would be to reinstall the drain plug if there were an allen drive hex in the drain plugs... Pretty sure this came about shortly after dropping the plug... :)
  • oldcarnut
    oldcarnut Expert Adviser
    Several years ago an old Navy man gave me a pair of sockets. An 11/16 and a 3/4. They have a small ball bearing on opposite flats and a flat steel band around the outside. His stort was that the Navy had them special made for mechanics who worked on PT boats with the Invader engines. The bearings matched a dimple drilled into the flats on the head of the plugs and kept them from falling into the bilges of the boats. I no longe rhave my Hudsons, but I do have those sockets in my toolbox.

    Chuck
  • oldhudsons
    oldhudsons Senior Contributor
    TwinH - yes, good idea as most guys would "put a lot of meat" on it tightening it so it wouldn't come loose or leak fluid. I always went underneath armed with a box end, for as I recall, the heads on the original screw quite thin & after all the years edges would be messed up by those using, or trying to use, the wrong size, or adjustable wrenches, etc.
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