Here's a simple pictoral essay on rebuilding a Buick Super Turbine 300 (ST-300) 2-speed transmission. It's not a complete, step-by-step guide, mainly because I didn't stop and take enough photographs. But, it is a good overview of what's involved in rebuilding one of these simple transmissions. If you wish to tackle this job yourself, then you'll need the appropriate "Buick Chassis Service Manual" or "Chilton's Auto Repair Manual" for the complete steps. (The Chilton's manual may be available in your local library - the 1964-1971 edition works for me). If you decide not to rebuild it yourself, at least you'll gain an appreciation for what a tranny shop will do for you. So, without further ado, here's the fun!
Parts, parts, parts! This is what it looks like when you've taken it all apart and cleaned every piece. Add a tranny rebuilding kit with clutch discs and a low-band (in the lower-right of the pic), some gaskets and seals, and you're ready to rebuild!
First up - the planetary gears. Here we find the short- and long-planet pinions and a sun gear, plus a bunch of needle bearings and some thrust washers. As the name implies, the six planet pinion revolve around the sun gear.
Each Planet Pinion has a pinion shaft, needle bearings and thrust washers. This is a long pinion with two rows (20 each) of needle bearings. Short planet pinions have a single row.
Using lots of Vaseline as a 'glue', assemble the planet pinion. Shown here is the last needle bearing sliding into place (looks like a miniature nuclear fuel rod). The ring to the left is a thrust washer that will slide on top to hold the needle bearings in position. Do the same for all six pinions. Make sure to use lots of Vaseline! The shaft will be withdrawn later when the pinions are installed in the planetary gear carrier. The needle bearings have to stay in place all by themselves while the pinion is positioned and the shaft slid back in to secure it. Alas, I didn't take photos of the pinions being installed in the planetary gear carrier (my hands were full...). The process involves more Vaseline to glue the pinion thrust washers in place, very carefully positioning the pinion gears, then sliding the shaft in place without dislodging the needle bearings. Once done, put the planetary gear set aside for now.
Start with the forward clutch. Install new inner and outer seals on the aluminum piston, then fit it into the steel drum. Use a feeler gauge (as shown) to help the seals fit without tearing or folding back. Notice the bottle of ATF to the left - use it as a lubricant on the seals when installing.
According to the manual, you'll special tools, numbered J-5586, J-2590-5, J-2590-12 and J-2590-3. Chances are, like me, you don't have those tools. However, you can make an effective substitute using a long bolt, some 1x2 pine and a bit of glue, as shown.
Here's the home-made tool in place. It's used to compress the spring retainer so you can install the snap-ring.
Oops, forgot to mention the Clutch Hub that fits in the middle (along with it's thrust washer, hidden underneath). Here's what it looks like, with an ATF-soaked lined (drive) plate installed. Keep alternating steel and lined plates until you run out. V8 engines use 6 steel plates and 5 lined plates.
The various valves fit the bores in the valve body. Here we see the shift valve about to be put in place.