hey guys, getting the 'new' 53 up and running and ive got a question for ya. first the specs, 1953 ford customline with the flat 8 and stock 3 speed w/ overdrive ok heres the question, the previous owner says the overdrive works just dandy but he ended up cutting the cable that you pull to turn it on/off--not realy sure how you work it im kinda going from what he said and what i roughly know of this era overdrive anyways, theres nothing under the dash just laying there, the chiltons i found on the car didnt mention anything about the cable and i havnt had the opertunity to have it up in the air high enough for me to crawl under and check it out yet. i was wondering if some one could inlighten me with possibly a few pix. of were this cable hooks up to the unit and how it runs under the dash. if you could also filll me in on how you use it thatd be great. no overdrive is fine for right now but the 7 hour each way trip to backto the 50s has me thinking overdrive is probably a good idea thanx! tim
I don't know where it is mounted inside, but it is clamped at the overdrive and connected to the arm on the unit. You pull this to lock the OD in normal three speed. You must be stopped before you do this, but you can push it in at any time to go into overdrive. There is a governor (p*** side with one wire) that kicks the OD out below about 25 mph by breaking the ground circuit to the relay. There is a kickdown switch by the gas pedal to go out of OD by flooring the go pedal, but I like to use a little push****on switch (normally closed) instead so you are not at full throttle when things connect. The relay works just like a horn relay, and the OD drops the rpms by 30 %...I love it! Happy motoring! Frank *************************************************
so pull in park to stay in plain 3 gear push out at anytime to go into 3+overdrive, ****on under gas pedal --engauged when floored put it into "p***ing mode" that right? anyody got a pic of the cable uder the dash? i think that ive got it sorta figured out as to what to look for on the unit itself but whats it supposed to look like under the dash? i havnt got any pictures right now. does the cable rest under the dash in some sort of bracket so when you pull it forward it stays there, and when its in you set it closer? sort of a gated/ratchet thing? sorry if these are preety stupid questions i just havnt anything to look at to figure it out from. thanx guys tim
I recently bought a choke cable at NAPA and used that for an O/D install. Make an angle bracket to mount on the bottom edge of your dash and drill a hole to fit the cable shaft through. Thread the loose end through a firewall grommet and route it back to the trans. Tie the housing down so it won't move when you push/pull the cable, and clamp the cable to the actuator arm on the trans. Hopefully there is whats left of the "shortened" cable there to guide you. The overdrive should work even without a cable- you just can't lock it out. Dan
so with the cable gone the overdrive should be "on" then? and with the cable installed i willbe able to shut it off? thanx for the choke cable explanation/idea thats totaly what i needed to here to picture it. wish i would have thought to ask the question using that idea as it was sort of what i had pictured in my head. awesome thanx tim
Original OD consisted of several components: Relay on firewall Solenoid on transmission Speed governor on transmission (Switch) Kick down switch under accel pedal Engaging cable Pulling the engaging cable out allows the OD to be locked out; straight direct drive in all three gears + reverse. Cable pushed in allows OD operation in three gears when speed is above nominally 28 MPH through governor switch. Solenoid does the work on the ****** to allow OD to engage above this speed and drop out below this speed and freewheel. Car will move in freewheel when not running so you have to be careful when you park it and cable is in! Youre not supposed to be able to use reverse gear when OD solenoid is picked up; the planetery in the OD unit doesnt like to run backwards. I think the pre-52? Units had a rail switch also on the ****** but that was eliminated after 51. If you need some prints I may have some I could scan and e-mail if you PM me with your e-mail addy. Attached pic shows my '49 cable. Left pull is e-brake right pull is OD handle. OD cable pulls out about 2-3/4" from stop.
The lever the cable hooks to is on the (left) driver's side of the trans behind the solenoid on the overdrive case. This a 51 Ford unit in my "A". The lever is toward the back, overdrive engaged and dash handle "in" toward the dash. If you pull the dash handle out it locks out the overdrive like blown49 said. The overdrive is also "locked out" when you shift into reverse. In "locked out" operation the transmission will not "freewheel". I usually park the car in reverse with the parking brake on for safety. You could also pull the overdrive handle after stopping, to lock out the overdrive/freewheeling for parking. As said, you can "engage" the overdrive handle (in) when moving, but do not disengage (out) the overdrive handle when moving. These are regular 3 speed transmissions with the overdrive unit bolted behind the gearbox instead of the regular stock tailshaft housing. There are some other threads on overdrive on here and I posted some links with wiring diagrams and operation info before. overspray
thanx guys those all help alot, i think im going to try the choke cable replacement method. about how long is that cable do you think Overspray? so if the cable is missing all together the only way its going to "lock up" and not free wheel is in reverse correct? thanx, im off to find a cheap cable tim
The lever on the transmission has to be to the rear to be engaged or in the freewheel mode. If you shift into reverse the transmission locks out the overdrive internally--no free wheeling in reverse. I think the cables are 50 or 60 inches. I shortened mine for the smaller car. I've seen cables at farm stores and surplus stores that are heavier than parts counter choke cables that would work real well. Remember, the lock out cable is only one part of the overdrove system, and if the other components don't work, you won't have overdrive. Here's the link to the thread with the other links I posted. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=100435&highlight=overdrive overspray
I don't want to hijack this post but my OD ****** freewheels all the time. Both in and out of OD. Does anybody why this happins and how I correct it?
they cable you need is a thick one, bob drake repo's it. i bought one for a customers 51 woody wagon and one for my chevy panel truck. with the cable out your have the engine break with the cable in it freewheels when you let off the gas (this is without the circut energized).
it freewheels in o/d when you let off the gas? i would say if it freewheels just with the cable in or out but not in o/d gear then check the cable and make sure the arm is moving with the cable. if it does it with the o/d gear ingauged then it's inside the trans.
If the planetary gears (overdrive) is engaged, say at 55mph on the highway, when you let off the gas you should have compression braking and feel the engine slowing the car down. It won't freewheel until below 25 or 26 mph when it automatically returns (cuts out) to underdrive (ford-gm- chrysler). Old Studebakers, however, don't "cut in" to overdrive until you reach 55 mph, so they will free wheel up to the "cut in" speed. "Cut in" speed for most of the rest of cars, with planetary overdrives is 30mph. overspray
With the OD DIS-engaged (cable pulled back) it freewheels no matter what speed I'm going. I know that the OD isn't working because of the PRM it turns at a given speed compared to when it's in OD. It's doesn't appear to be hurting anything but it just shouldn't be that way.
FuelPump, Sounds like you could possibly have two problems. Check that with the handle all the way in the arm on the ****** should be all the way back. When the cable is pulled out the arm on the ****** should be all the way forward. If it not this way it needs to be adjusted. Once the arm is right when you pull the handle out and drive it it should not freewheel and if it does something is not right in the ******. Even if that portion works the solenoid must energize above 30 mph in order for the OD to switch to the OD planetery to function. My Merc runs 70 MPH @ 2200 rpm while I'm in overdrive. Don't know if I could get 70 mph in normal non-OD without breaking something in the lower end of the motor because of high rpm's. My Merc has the optional 427 rear end not the std. 411.
i keep noticing this poping up in coments, the rest of my overdrive is fine the electronics and ect. long story shot the overdrive cable was the only thing removed. thanx tim
does it go into o/d with the cable out? if so then i would think the cable is off or it's not pulling the arm all the way back. if it is returning the arm then for some reason the planetary is not going back to the original position. i've heard on old fords you have to come to a complete stop to pull the cable back out. on my '67 gm trans you need to release the load on the trans (put in the clutch or rev it up in gear and it releases on the wind down). like said above with all the stock stuff (gov, sol, relay, cutout) you need to be above about 30mph for the sol to kick on.
My OD ****** is a 50 Ford. I haven't checked the arm adjustment but I will the next time it's on a hoist. With the cable pushed in I can hear the OD kick in and feel the PRMs drop. It runs down the road just fine and freewheels (like it should) when when you let off the gas. With the car stopped I push the cable in all the way in. It goes up through the gears at a higher RPM like you would expect. It acts just like a regular 3 speed until you let off the gas and it freewheels . I know it shouldn't do it but it does.
This print shows the engaging lever mounted in a down position. this wont work inless you grind off the stop on the case. The picture in Overspray's reply is correct.
so this little 'arm' in the pix. thats going to be sorta spring loaded right? or have sort of tension on it? tim
Sounds like the lever on the ****** is installed upside down because OD works with the dash handle in, not with it out.
My ****** is out of a 51 Merc and the lever is up. The unit looks the same as yours, the mounts in the same place etc. Of corse that does not mean anything as 55 years has p***ed before I got it. I tried to mount it down as in the diagram but as i said I incountered a projection cast in the case. There is a spring loaded stop that keeps it in or out of O.D.. Pogo
thanx for all the info guys looks like the car is going to be in overdrive untill i can get a new cable AND a new arm. i crawled under it and the arm that the cable bolts to is completely gone :O im going to see if i can find it in one of the piles on the work bench in his shop other wise anybody got one they want to let go of or at least measure for me and take a few pix so i can just bend one up? thanx tim
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