As you can all tell, I am new to this old car thing. I have a 53 Customline with a Flathead V8 and overdrive with a 3 speed manual transmission. Can I drive around town with it pulled out? I quess that means it is in overdrive, right. When I drive around town with the handle pulled out the car will down shift, when it is pushed in it will not downshift, and will just cost. Please help. I like to drive with the downshift, but if it is bad for the trans I need to know. Thanks again!
3 speed manual, right? control out puts it in OD, gas it and it downshifts, right, out of OD? Leave the control in, no OD, nothing to downshift? right? Push in the clutch and change to 2nd? It sounds like it's working fine. "around town" is not enough info. What rpm does it turn at 45 mph in OD? Is that low enough to lug the motor? If not, use it, but remember that is was meant to lower CRUISE rpm, not be a 4 speed.
thats what they do.. if your expecting to have the gear slow you down you need to leave it out of the overdrive......coming down the Rockies in overdrive... now thats fun matt
These transmissions freewheel when coasting in overdrive. Most guy that I knew including my former stepfather and myself never drove around town in overdrive. Overdrive is intended to save a bit of gas and lower the engine rpms when you are out on the highway.
might be expensive.. but I always try and find an original owners manual for my cars/trucks, they usually have a play by play for what you can and can't do.
One thing to remember is that it will "freewheel" when parked if you leave it in OD. I jumped out of my 57 Ford Ranch wagon to run into the supermarket. When the door slammed, it started to roll down the small grade. Fortunately I was able to get in front of it and get it stopped before it picked up too much speed. If you are like me and never use the parking brake, make sure the handle is pulled out if you want to find it in the same place that you parked it. You can drive it in or out of OD in or out of town. Just check the handle when you park.
With handle pulled out, the overdrive is "disabled" or locked out. In that condition it's exactly the same as any 3 speed/non O.D. car. That's just the way you should drive it "around town". With the handle IN, the O.D. is enabled but has nothing to do with operating it. With it enabled (and ***uming it's functional) you accelerate to 26 m.p.h. (or more) and let up on the gas. At that speed the governor switch tells the shifting solenoid that it O.K. to shift. The solenoid then engages the planetary ge****t in the O.D. Back on the gas and you're in O.D. To downshift, floor the gas pedal (against the kickdown switch)-the switch momentarily interrupts ignition to unload the transmission, and triggers the solenoid again-this time to DIS engage the planetary. The handle under the dash is NOT used for ordinary operation of the O.D. It is only there to enable or disable it.
My Ford overdrive when handle is pulled out does not freewheel and when you park it with handle pulled out it will not roll away if transmission is in low or reverse. With handle pushed in it will free wheel and will shift into over drive if going over 30 mph or so which means to me it is is overdrive. I let off the gas to get it to shift into overdrive. When in overdrive and and I floor it it will shift down into regular drive. I don't use overdrive in town not because it will hurt anything but I got to remember to pull the handle out when parking. Some of the above has been pointed out to you already.
Not freewheeling in town makes for less wear on your brakes as well! Keep the handle pulled out while in town.
Back in 56 I outfitted my 53 Customline with a separate switch up on the dash. I would leave it in 2nd and OD most all of the time. With the switch I could shift back and forth between 2nd and 2nd over and it was kinda like having an automatic. Well until you had to come to a stop But I was just a kid what did I know.
Wierd, never heard of the overdrive "in" causing the car to freewheel with car parked. I have a 53 Willys Aeroeagle with overdrive and it does NOT do that, in fact with it in 1st you can engage the starter and the car will move. Now this might not apply to Furds, but I believe the overdrive has a governor and will not be engaged (even with the handle in overdrive) at low or no speed. If I leave my car in first and let off the gas the engine will slow the car, but in 2nd and 3rd the car freewheels. Now in 2nd when the car slows down enough it will engine brake. Yes they are strange but it should not hurt the car, unless you are freewheeling and hit a light pole.
When driving "In-Town" with the overdrive engaged, you can upshift into 2nd high by accellerating over 26 MPH and releasing the gas. Second high can get you up to about 50 MPH because it is nearly the same ratio as 3rd gear. It will downshift automatically under 23 MPH, or when you floor it at any speed. Most flatties with OD can pull from a dead stop in 2nd, or at least a "rolling stop" at crossroads. The result is nearly an automatic ****** experience. You can also upshift without the clutch when in OD. If you want or need compression-braking then disable the OD. Personally, I like it engaged around town.
FWIW, as a rule-of-thumb I engage my Columbia Two-Speed Axle around 45 mph in high gear, and disengage it at 35 mph.
Interesting, but I will try an experiment. I am going to try parking on my sloped driveway both directions and see. If what the paragraph says is true then the car should roll in only one direction (Forward) and not (backwards as the sprag clutch should be engaged and not overrunning. I think I parked on an incline and the car stayed put because it cannot role backwards. As far as it not being affected in 1st, well you can only go about 15mph in the Willys. Self explanatory why it engine brakes in 1st.
Sounds like Chrysler's old FLUID TORQUE DRIVE. Simply accelerate and release the pedal, upshift occurs. Probably what that thing was, a simple manual transmission, with torque converter, safety clutch, and an overdrive unit. Gee what a concept, enough said of the late Chrysler Co.
Here's how it's done. Overdrive cable "IN" is in overdrive--cable "OUT" is locked out works like a regular 3 speed with compression braking. Reverse automatically "locks out" the overdrive.
]Interesting, but I will try an experiment. I am going to try parking on my sloped driveway both directions and see. If what the paragraph says is true then the car should roll in only one direction (Forward) and not (backwards as the sprag clutch should be engaged and not overrunning. I think I parked on an incline and the car stayed put because it cannot role backwards. As far as it not being affected in 1st, well you can only go about 15mph in the Willys. Self explanatory why it engine brakes in 1st.[/quote] At anything less than 23 MPH the OD cannot engage because of the governor switch, therefore your experiment will fail. With OD disengaged, the trans acts like a typical manual 3 speed. If for any reason your OD remains engaged at a stop, DO NOT TRY TO RUN THE CAR IN REVERSE, as that will likely explode the sun gear and housing.
At anything less than 23 MPH the OD cannot engage because of the governor switch, therefore your experiment will fail. With OD disengaged, the trans acts like a typical manual 3 speed. If for any reason your OD remains engaged at a stop, DO NOT TRY TO RUN THE CAR IN REVERSE, as that will likely explode the sun gear and housing.[/quote] OK, this is confusing. First someone on this thread says that the car will roll when the car is parked (if the OD lever is in the engaged position). Now you say that the governor switch causes the OD to be disengaged (at speeds below 23mph) and the transmission acts like a normal 3 speed. So what is it? I believe your explanation as my Willys doesn't seem to roll when parked and in 1st.
With the OD in freewheeling mode, I used to get up to about 15 MPH in Low gear, then let off the gas. When the engine hit idle speed, I'd punch the gas pedal to the floor. When the overrunning clutch caught, the ol' stovebolt would squeal the tires! Just like the big boys, rolling start rubber! Not good for the ******, but I was seventeen, what did I care?! Oh, and by the way, if you ever get it in Reverse and OD at the same time, the reverse idler will punch out through the side of the case. Go ahead, ask me how I know that! It won't happen unless someone ( like yours truly!) removes the lockout pin in order to use a non-OD trans case with an OD back end.
It is amazing how many people have overdrive and have no idea how it works. Overdrive doesn't have much use in town. Pull out the lever and drive like a regular transmission. If you are on the highway, push in the overdrive and lift off the gas in third gear and it will click into overdrive and give lower RPMS on the highway which is the only purpose of the overdrive. If you need to p*** someone, floor it and it will click back into regular drive. When you get p*** the car you are p***ing, let up on the gas and it will click back into overdrive. That's how I remember it.
d2 Willys, I was wrong. The car will freewheel if moving forward (but not backwards) at less than engagement speed with the lever pushed in. THIS INCLUDES WHEN PARKED SO SET YOUR BRAKE. Sorry for the brain fart, y'all.
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