Technical 55 ford won`t pull after going through a car wash

I have a 55 ford with the air cooled fordomatic it`s been doing fine I went through a car wash that washes the whole car even the underneigh when I put the car in gear to go out it was like someone had the brakes on but low and reverse was good only in drive did it act like the brakes were on ..did it mess up my transmission is there anything I can do without rebuilding to fix it?..help

 

Are you shure that you distributor isn't just wet and it is not running right? Gary

 

That's the first thing I thought. HRP

 

the motor runs fine only when I put it in drive it acts like I have the brakes on.. when I put it in reverse or low gear the trans pulls great it only started that when I went in the automatic bay at the carwash could I have got water in the trans since it is air cooled..thanks everyone

 

Those air cooled autos are basically just angled fins on the converter, and a front and back scoop on the housing. I don't see how you could get water in, unless all the fluid had run out. After you're sure it's not a water/electrical problem, you might check the kick down linkage. I guess it's possible that blowing everything clean blew something loose.

 

They must get water in them all the time driving in the rain, thru puddles etc. They are sealed so the water doesn't go inside the trans.

Is it possible something jammed the linkage? Not necessarily the shifter but the kickdown or modulator if it has one?

Not familiar with this car wash so I don't know if there is a strong water blast or what. You might want to put it on a hoist and check the trans and linkages.

Check the handbrake cables too, maybe they are jammed up and you mainly notice it in Drive because Reverse and Low have enough extra power to overcome the drag.

 

Does the car roll free in neutral?
How did the emergency brake work before the car wash? Did it tend to stick on, so you don't use it anymore?
Like Rusty said, if the car wash pulls the car through maybe it tugged on the e-brake cable which is now stuck on?

Otherwise I'd dry off the coil nose, plug wires and dist cap.

 

Interesting that it may have gotten the e-brake cable snagged. That will be obvious. Also pull the transmission dipstick to check for water, which I doubt but worth a look and a 10 second task.

 

This is why I don't wash anything. (Sorry. I'm no help)

 

thanks for the help so for I know the brakes are not dragging ..in low gear and reverse there is no sign of the brakes dragging it pulls good in the two gears I`ll check for water in the fluid also I`ll go underneath and see if the linkage got messed up..thanks again for the help this is a good group to get help

 

Low and reverse have the lowest (highest numerical) ratios, so it shouldn't suprise that it pulls better than 2nd or high. IIRC this trans when placed in "D" from a standing stop, starts in 2nd (not low) and then shifts to high. Does it seem the same when you start in "L" and manually shift to "D" rather than starting off in "D" ? The problem , I think, if not engine related, is in 2nd or high. Then again, this is all I know about the Ford-o-matic. YMMV.

vic

 

thanks every one for your help ...after letting it sit all night it did perfect today no problems maybe it got wet somehow with the high pressure water and now it dried out... I`ll never let the bottom get wash with a high power water pressure

 

this is one for the books

 

sounds like what happens when you soak a dry element air cleaner with water , it will pull empty revs ( low cfm draw) but when you put a load on it it chokes from the water in the element

 

Condenser

 

It looks like something shorted out just enough with the water on it to cause it to not want to work but I was another one who was going to say distributor cap. I had to go out on service calls all too many times to dry out the distributor caps on Fords after a hard Central Texas gully washer when I lived in Texas and one of my running buddies there always carried a spare distributor cap when he went to the car wash and washed the engine of his pickup off.

 

That's what SHE said....

 

Had an old Biscayne with a 6 cylinder. If you hit a big enough puddle just right it would soak the ignition and kill the engine like you'd turned the key off. I'd coast to a stop, grab my can of WD40, pop the hood and spray down the distributor, coil and plug wires, close the hood, fire it up and down the road I'd go. Got so good at it I could usually do it before the traffic light turned green again. Looked like a one-man Chinese Fire Drill.