I have a chevy 3 speed overdrive that I picked up a couple months back and have installed in my 59 Apache. I've searched and read through a lot of threads and posts here on the board to try to figure out my problem, I think I'm close to knowing whats wrong but not entirely sure. I have it hooked up a little different and probably too simply than what it seemed others are doing. The pickup is a 3 on the tree, I'm using a pto shift lever from a 36 Ford truck with a treaded rod and 2 heim joints to throw the over drive shift arm on the ******. This is taking the place of the cable. I am using a manual brake switch with current running to it and out to the solenoid. When the shift lever is thrown forward it trips the brake switch sending current to the solenoid while throwing the overdrive arm at the same time. It isn't working. The solenoid is throwing out its plunger rod when the current comes, I've even had it out and grounded to the ch***is, shifted it, and seen the rod pop out so I know it's doing that. When I'm driving, the ****** acts like a normal 3 speed, I let off the gas throw it into od and it just freewheels, if you bring the rpm's up, it engages and goes down the road just fine, but still in 3rd. Pull the lever back, give it some gas and it's back to a normal 3 speed. I don't have anything else hooked up for wiring, no governor and only the main terminal on the solenoid. I was taking the lead from some older guys who said that's the way they ran them back in the day and they were fine. The ****** sat for many years in a building, I changed the lube before installing it, the old oil didn't look all that bad, I'm wondering if it's a mechanical problem like maybe the od unit needs to be cleaned, it might be a little froze up, or is it a wiring problem. I apologize for the long post but I wanted to be clear. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!
Did you say that the switch is feeding current to the solenoid the same time that the overdrive lever is engaged? If so i think that is where the problem is. I've used overdrives in the past but havent installed one where there wasnt one but its my understanding that you need to feed current to the solenoid to make it kick out of OD. You need the switch activated by the accelerator to when you floor it it makes the ****** drop out of OD. Sounds to me like the way its wired the solenoid is keeping from going into OD.
Yes, the way I have it wired is that the current is sent to the solenoid at the same time the lever is throwing it into od.
Unhook the switch and see if it goes in to overdrive after pulling the lever and letting off the gas. Then move the switch to the carb or accel pedal to be activated when your foot is in it.
Food for thought............... On mine I have the OD lever locked "in" with wire ties permanantly. I just use a toggle switch on the dash to engage the solenoid when I need the OD. To use it I just hit the switch, push in the clutch and let off the gas just like I was changing any other gear. You will feel the OD engage. If you forget to turn off the switch when you come to a stop the OD will still be engaged. It'll be like starting out in 1st OD if you get the idea. And yes you can downshift to 2nd (or 1st) without disengaging the OD. Mines been this way for years and works fine. Steve
Sorry to hijack, but with my OD engaged and ready to put it into overdrive say at 55, do I just put in the clutch and expect it to go into OD? I can't seem to get mine to engage but I am fairly confident I don't know exactly how to do it. I thought I was told that I just needed to let off of the gas and it should go into OD. Mine will free wheel at that point but won't actually kick into OD. This was the first time I had even heard the clutch was needed. Mootz
Clutch is not needed. Should be able to just let off the gas. 61 shevy I had in high school would shift into OD in any gear. I won a lot of bets telling em I had a 6 speed ******.
How long should it take to engage? Like I said, it free wheels and rpms drop like it's in neutral but the OD won't engage. If I ease back into the gas after a couple of seconds, it goes right back to third. Bad solenoid? Any ideas? Mootz
good idea, but what do you do for reverse? with the od lever in all the time, the there is a blocking dog that dosent allow reverse to work, mine is wired the same way with a switch, and no governor, but the lever has to be out of od to get reverse
I don't know what's up with the reverse thing.........all I can say is it's never been an issue with mine. My ****** is out of a '57 chevy car that I put into my '65 pickup. As for using the clutch to shift into OD, you are correct, it really isn't neccessary. I just do it to be "kinder" to the OD when I engage it. As for the freewheel problem I'd say check into looking through an early Chevy service manual for that ******. It has an excellent flow chart to diagnose your problem. Steve
I have a FORD product with an overdrive. I wired the solinoid to a toggle switch (and relay). When I am on the freeway and ready for overdrive, I turn on the switch, push in the handle, and let off the gas and it goes into overdrive. When I need to get out of overdrive, I turn off the switch, mash the gas and pull out the handle and I'm out of overdrive.. That basically over-rides the governor, and has worked well for many years... Sounds like the solenoid is not enagaging... Keep in mind, there are two wires on the solenoid. You only need power to ONE of them. The other wire is used with the governor the kick the solenoid OUT of engagement when not wired with a toggle. The solenoid grounds itself... I made this mistake A LONG time ago(10 years) after ****tering another transmission, with a similar problem...
I tried this set up yesterday with no new results. I byp***ed my manual brake switch that I have controlling the solenoid now. I wired in a toggle switch, went out on the hiway, threw the lever, hit the switch, pushed in the clutch and nothing. It did as always, freewheeled and then went back to regular 3rd gear when I got on the gas, when I pull the lever back, the freewheeling goes away and its a regular 3 speed. I was wondering if it would make any difference if I powered the solenoid first, then threw the lever and let off the gas? I'll try that tomorrow. I'm beginning to think something is stuck or something like that. Thanks to everyone for the good advice, I'll get it yet, the HAMB rules!!
This is right, there are 2 wires on the solenoid, if its hooked to the wrong one, its going to free wheel and not go into o.d. other than that its pretty simple, not much else that can go wrong, hook the wire to the other terminal on the solenoid, ill bet it will work
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=134582&highlight=overdrive I don't like the idea of using the lever to engage/disengage the overdrive while driving. That is not what the disengage/engage lever was designed for. In town driving was usually done disengaged so you would have compression braking in traffic otherwise at low speeds you will freewheel and have to use the brakes more. Check the link above and the links in the thread for some good wiring info for both stock configuration and with a toggle switch. Later on I'll try post a short video of how the OD works while driving overspray
One thing many people miss on the old overdrives is the lube. I drove one for years that would work one day and not the next. I drained all the lube out of the trans, and refilled the trans with 75/90 wt gear lube, and then filled the OD with a pint of ATF, and filled it up with the 75/90. After a few miles, the ATF cleaned the stickies out and it worked great. Remember, the OD section has its own filler, and it MUST be disengaged before backing up. Most have internal linkage to do this.
Here ya go. This is how the Fords and Chevy overdrives work. You can see the little chrome "T" at the bottom of my steering column mount which is the lock-out cable in the "engaged" position. At about 28-30 MPH the governor (a switch) engages the solenoid thru the relay. As long as there is pressure (throttle applied) it will not shift to overdrive. When you lift your foot off the gas it relieves the pressure and it shifts into overdrive. The "kickdown" switch reverses the process by momentarily shorting the ignition and disengaging the solenoid causing the trans to shift -like a p***ing gear- to underdrive. At around 26 MPH, as you decelerate, the governor (a switch) disengages the solenoid an it shifts to underdrive and freewheels. Shifting to reverse mechanically locks out the overdrive. My set-up is wired in the original configuration and works very well. <embed width="430" height="389" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://vidmg.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vidmg.photobucket.com/albums/v104/overspray/100_0303.flv"></embed>
Wow,just found this thread and by reading the replies I think I`ve figured out why the O/D on my Merc failed!Thanks fella`s.Overspray,that footage was kool.cheers,Kol.
so i take it the '57 trans is the same as a '60 trans.....arms and all? i have one in my '64 panel but it's from a '67 elco (syncro'ed 1st) and i had to modify the shift arms to fit my shift rods. i found a '57 trans and i want to put it in my '60 elco with much mods (except driveshaft). i wired mine up to a a/c relay (metal one), the toggle switch completes the ground circut and then sends power to the solenoid. with cable pushed in, let off the gas, hit the toggle and you'll feel a little clunk right away.....then off you go. also does anyone make o/d parts or rebuild kits. they have 2 fill plugs (trans and o/d), so i'm thinking two seprate systems and mine leaks out of the vent tube. when i check it after about a month of daily driving the trans is low but the o/d is overfull, so i'm thinking there's a seal somewhere.
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