Brian, you can pull just the engine. You must have the engine at the correct angle when removing and installing. When must drain all the fluid from the trans., remove all but one bolt from the bell-housing. There are 2 access panels inside for the 2 top bolts, leave one of those 2 bolts for now, but remove the rest, remove starter, exhaust pipe at flange. You must be ready to support the back of the trans. when you separate them. If you don't, the trans will tilt back way to far and possibly tear out the trans mounts. A simple bar acrossed the top of the rear frame horns, tucked under the rear tail shaft works well. Remove the radiator, drop the center steering down. Once you start lifting the engine, lift it high enough to remove both engine mounts, and totally get them out of the way. When those are removed, let the engine back down a little bit to where the engine was sitting before you removed the mounts, kind of in its natural position, then remove the last bolt in the bell-housing and slide the engine forward, jacking it as you pull forward, paying close attention to the angle, not allowing the cylinder head to catch or touch the firewall. You might lay a heavy towel on the back of the head to protect the firewall. Removing the generator , fan, and pulley, the top core support valance-holds hood latch - should make all the room you need. Make sure you have all the pieces in place when you install the engine back in, like Torus bowl cleaned of old gasket, and new gasket glued in place on the flywheel on both sides, making sure the dowel pins line up correctly. If you don't have them lined up correctly, you will not be able to move it to the correct location without separating the engine again. We also use a couple of long, 7/16th's studs to help us line the engine and trans back up when going back together. Locate one in the top starter bolt hole and another in the top, rt.side bell location. I hope this helps.

Thanks Doug ! That is very helpful.
I do have a couple of questions :
Am I right in assuming the torus assembly will be attached to the flywheel and simply slide off the transmission when the engine is removed ? When refitting, should I bolt the torus assembly onto the flywheel first and then lift the engine into position? Wll the torus slide back onto the transmission easily, and does it need to be rotated to align with the transmission ?

Thank again.
Best Regards, Brian.

Not to step on Dr. Doug here (he [i]is[/i] the doctor) but, no, the torus doesn't come out with the engine/flywheel as in most others. It stays with the trans and is held in by the center nut so it won't fall out as in Chev, Ford, etc. You [i]must[/i] drain the torus first (unless you enjoy wearing transmission fluid!) via the 1/8th NPT plug. Keep that plug in your safe since it's shorter than most ordinary plugs (discovered that one the hard way) so that it doesn't protrude into the torus housing. Anything longer may contact the rotating torus (no, I didn't get that far!). Regarding the aligning pins, it's a good idea to mark the flywheel/torus cover before separation.
Close alignment are important in both removal and installation to prevent binding and possible damage to components. Make sure there's no stress on anything......it should slide out/in easily (except for the tight fit of the A-pins)
Frank

I would replace front pump seal now unless it was recently done or you may be doing this agine in a day or week or ? its old

Frank, , not stepping on my toes. I think the plug advice is good too! Daniel's recommendation of the frt. pump seal is also very good advice. That nut is a 1- 7/16th's on the frt. shaft. You will see this once you have the engine and trans apart from one another. You really need to get the shop manual, it is very good to look at before you start.

[quote="Daniel Lydon" post=16115]I would replace front pump seal now unless it was recently done or you may be doing this agine in a day or week or ? its old

Frank, Daniel, Doug, thank you all for the advice- all very helpful.
I will begin work on the removal in about a week's time, in the meantime I am trying to get a good understanding of what I need to do, plus assemble any extra parts I may need !
I have removed the two sheet metal covers from beneath the flywheel and have located the drain plug in the torus cover, so far so good.
Once I have drained the fluid from the torus cover, should I then remove the 32 bolts around the flywheel, and separate the outer torus cover from the flywheel, before removing the bolts from the bell housing ?

Thanks,
Brian.

Yes, just slightly push the torus bowl away from the flywheel. You should also drain the trans oil pan. A Hydramatic holds 3 Gallons -12 qts of fluid, so use a drain pan that will hold that much.

Thanks Doug, it is now starting to make sense to me. Just rather different compared with torque converters that I am familiar with.
Regards,
Brian.

Doug
My 1952 Mechanical Procedure Manual says 11 qts. for Hydra-Matic refill. Was 12 qts. a typo error?
Lee O'Dell

Yes, I should have said add 11, and then re-check, some take more than others. I have no reason why. On a quick note, if you pull the trans dipstick on a hydramatic, with the engine running, and hear a splashing or girgling noise, the trans is probably low on fluid.

Brian, if and when you remove the flywheel, make sure that you clean the mating flanges of all old sealer, and re-seal them back together. Re-torque to proper torque with a known good torque wrench. If you don't, it will leak

[quote="Lee O'Dell" post=16144]Doug
My 1952 Mechanical Procedure Manual says 11 qts. for Hydra-Matic refill. Was 12 qts. a typo error?
Lee O'Dell

Doug
This may help explain the different amounts of oil in Hydra-Matic.

In the latest April 2016 SoCAL News Letter is a HUDSON SERVICE MERCHANDISER April 1954 that explain current production Hudson Hornets, Super Wasps, and Wasps were installed with the new dip stick (part number 312008) with new 12 quart level mark to approximately 12 quarts to eliminate complaints of front and rear pump relief valve buzz. If buzz was not eliminated then replace front and rear pump relief valve assembly with later Part no. 311900 valve assembly. The new dip sticks, with a instruction tag wired to it, were provided to all dealerships to be install in all new cars and new cars already sold.

Since there was a possibility my trans may have been changed to later 54 transmission or the dip stick may have been changed unknowingly to 12 quart marked dip stick without instruction tag. I asked Walt Mordenti since he worked for a Hudson Dealer how to determine a 11 or 12 quart marked dip stick. This is Walt's reply:

Stick with the 11 qt dip stick. It was made for 11 qts and anything over that will ruin the seals. I have 243,000 miles on my trans, never been overhauled, just change fluid, dextron 111, every 20,000 miles and still shifts smooth. Have you ever changed the fluid, if yes, did 11 qts read on the full mark? Walt.

So unless there is a part number stamped on the dipstick, my only other option is to change trans oil and see where oil level shows up on dip stick. If dip stick fluid level is low on mark then it would be a 12 quart dip stick that will need 11 quart mark added.

Leaned something new.
Lee O'Dell

Thanks for that info, that is great to know. I have a book of service bulletins, I should sit down and read thru ! I think Walt is great and has a vast pool of knowledge, but I don't believe a little over on fluid will blow the seals. I've seen many, many of them slightly over-filled and never experienced any problems.

If my opinion matters, I agree that minor overfilling won't cause any problems. Those seals are pretty much immersed in oil anyway and not under pressure beyond the weight of the column of oil itself. However.....major overfilling will cause the oil to be expelled from the dipstick/fill tube, drenching the whole thing in oil and possibly resulting in a misdiagnosis of leaking seals.
I learned the hard way that a low level may have the nasty effect of causing the parking pawl to engage while traveling in reverse! Yikes! Since that pawl is hydraulically prevented from engagement while the engine is running, foamy trans fluid will allow the pawl to engage while traveling in reverse. The Transmission [i]thinks[/i] you have shut the engine off and put the lever in "park" (rev). Yes....I did that.....shortly afterward, I overfilled the trans. I hate it when I screw up.
Frank

[quote="Doug Wildrick" post=16162]Thanks for that info, that is great to know. I have a book of service bulletins, I should sit down and read thru ! I think Walt is great and has a vast pool of knowledge, but I don't believe a little over on fluid will blow the seals. I've seen many, many of them slightly over-filled and never experienced any problems.

Dr. Doug - regarding your book of service bulletins. What year/s do they cover and would you consider a loan so we can put them in the online library. If you want to Xerox them and send copies I can live with that.

Hudsonly,
Alex B