On my 1951 ford COE,I was driving down felt something slow down then it wouldn't go into 4th gear. After the show,still wouldn't go into 4th then woundt go into 3rd,then second as time would progress. I got home limping Parked it for about 8 hrs,then the battery was dead when tried to start it. Put a fresh battery and smoke came out of the fuel gauge?? Could this be related? Opinions?
my car problems pale in significance compared to yours……… I think that I saw a photo of your gear linkage, it’s pretty long, so maybe start there….. Unless your linkage has come loose and is shorting something out, I doubt that they are related.
Maybe check your grounds, if it was grounding through the shift linkage has it burned up any bushings etc?
I think I would check the level of the windshield wiper washer fluid. Or maybe, not. This is going to be a good one, to see if the multiple gremlins are related to one cause.
Look at the bright side. The smoke came out of the fuel gauge, not the gas tank. Followed by a big boom. If they’re related, I’d go with the bad ground theory. I had a Vette once (modified) and a bad ground to the engine fused a couple things. It’s possible the linkage could be the result as mentioned above. I’ve also seen the odd case where a battery failed internally and shorted and smoked a lot of wiring before it burned clear. Unlikely, as those were marine cases in wooded boats where you wired all grounds. But it might be worth taking a look at the battery as to why it’s dead.
How close to your shifter is the wiring from the sending unit to the gauge? If close, maybe it got loose and tangled up with the shifter linkage and that causing the problem.
Two times I had gotten a car on the road and everything was fine. But one got harder and harder to shift, and the other eventually wouldn’t go into reverse. One turned out to be a broken motor mount (and a frame bracket that I did not make that wasn’t really in the right spot, probably causing the mount to fail) and made the linkage bind up. The other was a little worse. The boxing plate which I also had not been the one to weld on, had cracked at the weld under the motor mount, and was bending in…which caused that side of the engine to drop and also bind up the shifter. All that to say if you don’t think it’s a broken transmission, check your shifter linkage and make sure the motor isn’t falling out of the car.
Seth, sorry for the smart *** answer above. I don't see how the 2 problems are related. Smoking electrical is usually a short/bare wire somewere. Wish I was closer, I'd give you a hand. Hard to diagnose from afar.
I once was told to drive a truck that had quit charging till it died . the first thing that stopped working was the overdrive
Once the smoke leaks out of the wire or the fuel gauge in your case you need a new one. As stated before grounds. Check to see if the bushings are melted out of the linkage.
Thanks for all replies.. I try no talking about the engine/trans in this part of the forum because any good information will get deleted. i dont post it in the antiquated side because There's barely any traffic there.. It's a sbc with the seven hundred OD transmission. It was running/shifting great then,it would only shift fine from 1st to 2nd to 3rd..then when I reved,it would actually slow down like the brakes were dragging.. Then it would only shift from 1st to 2nd and no 3rd.. Then it wouldn't shift to sencod and I got home driving around 10mph... I'm hoping it has something to do with the alternator since battery drained by sitting and the smoke from the gauge...
Any progress on this? A bad diode in your alternator could drain the battery and let the smoke out of your gauge, but I'm not sure it would cause your transmission to progressively lose gears. Does your trans run a TV cable or an electronic controller?
So it’s a SBC with a 700R4. Mods will let that p***, well, as far as I know they will. May as well give all the information up. When in doubt on a post, message @Moriarity, he’ll let you know if you can proceed or not.
the larger problem is the fact that it is a cabover truck, big trucks are off topic on the main board and are supposed to be posted in the antiquated section only
If he simplified it to a SBC in a ‘51 Ford with a 700R4, would that p***? Heck, he should talk to you
Mods,thanks for keeping it here. I got great suggestions and funny answers just like when I joined.. It was hot that Sunday when the trans wouldn't shift,I parked it in the garage and took a much needed brake all week. I called bowtie overdrive and they quoted me 3400.00 to rebuild,install and properly adjust the cable. Called a local shop and they weren't very helpful like BO was, BO answered every question and the lady was very professional. I almost made an appointment to drop the truck off. Today I checked the 12v cable for the lock up and it was working properly. I adjusted the tv cable to a mark I made when I had it running properly. Then I backed out off the garage and took it for a spin... It was shifted to 2nd,3rd but no 4th. Then everytime it shifted to either 2nd or 3rd I notice a drag inside the trans that would slow the transmission. Pulled over,tighten the TV cable and it made it worse. Pulled over and messed with it again and Now it shifts to 4th and doesn't have the drag.. A model A Pulled next to me(at a red light) on the way to a local show last Sunday,we were chattin and when the light changed,he dropped the hammer and took off,,I tried to catch up.. I must've moved the TV cable position then.Then.. I went to O'Reilly and they said my ALT is no good so will have to check into that. Must've been reason behind the dead battery and the smoke in my fuel gauge... Boy did I dodge a bad one there!
The Jalopy Journal
