I did a search and didn't find anything. Somebody has got to know about these. I have a 50 mercury flathead with the stock 3 speed overdrive. I'm trying to figure this thing out, which solenoid does what? ect. I was told the manual cable kicks the ****** into a freewheel mode, and the big solenoid on the left side in the back shifts it into overdrive. The smaller solenoid on the right side is a rail switch to kick it into p***ing gear. Is this accurate? Also are there any parts available, and where can I find them? Any help would be appreciated.
Hi! I had the same ****** in my 49 Ford, i liked it alot. I did not get the govenor at the end of the ****** to work, so i found an article in a Tex Smith book, just connected the 12v throught a solid switch to the solenoid. When the free wheel is angaged, pushed inn, just toggle the switch when you are going faster than aprox. 25 mph. Then the OD is in. Great for high way use. Had a 3:91 rearend with 14 inch wheels, still could cruise in 80-9O mph! ................................. taildragger&fenderless
That's my problem, I tried hooking the big solenoid to 12 volts and it's not working. Where could I find one of these? I have this setup in a Model T roadster with a '54 F-100 4:10 rearend. I think it will work ***s if can figure it out.
Take the solenoid apart and clean it up. There are two sets of contact points in it that get coroded when they sit. I just did one last week that was packed full of dirt and it works like a million bux now.
There is only one solenoid, the large 'can' on the left, which actually engages or disengages OD, when the cable is set to allow OD. The smaller one on the right is the governor, which enables overdrive above a preset speed. The manual cable locks the OD out, or allows elecrical control. Search for overdrive wiring diagrams on the web, there are lots of them out there, from stock to custom layouts that let you control it with switches. Ebay is one source of parts, but they are expensive!
Nice, thanks guys. How the hell do I get that thing outta there? I unbolted it, but it's hooked to something internally. Do you have to remove the whole *** of the ******, or am I missing something?
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=245628 To remove the solenoid, remove the 2 bolts and then rotate it 1/4 turn counterclockwise and pull out carefully. The pawl on the end has a flat spot and needs to clear. Remember the position of removal, and install in the reverse order. Like Eyeball said, clean the contacts and make sure they have a gap when open (pretty wide .0120 or more). Check the wires and solder joints. Bench test to make sure it works. They have 2 coils --1 to actuate and 1 to hold open. Relays can be replaced with a Bosch type from Radio Shack. Governors actually screw in on the right lower side and only have 1 wire to them. They are only a switch that opens at cut-in speed, usually above 30mph or 55mph on old Studebakers. Make sure the wiring is good. Read the links above. overspray
Thanks alot, I see the light now. I already removed the governor, and I was just gonna plug the hole. I appriciate all the help.
Is this the same OD that was used into the early 60s? I have one that came out of my 63 Meteor and I'm not sure what to do with it. I don't know what it's worth, don't want to dump it because I'm sure someone would get some use out of it.
I believe it is, I know they used them at least to the mid to late 50s. It's a Borg Warner something or other.
My buddy has a early Chevy trans with a solenoid and he's telling me it's a OD trans? is that right and about the same??
Yeah and another thing to note is that the points on the top of the overdrive solinoid are for the overdrive kickdown. In the stock application that wire runs to the kickdown switch near the gas pedal. You don't have to have those points working to have your overdrive solinoid to work. You will just need to put the solinoid on a toggle switch. Also you should make sure to leave your toggle switch off at low speeds below 25 mph. And if your overdrive is ingaged via the toggle switch you will not be able to get into reverse. I put mine in my 50 merc hooked up to a indicator light to see when the solinoid is getting power. To get it into overdrive you will need to turn your switch on take your foot off the gas wait for it to engage then foot back on the gas. You can get out of overdrive at any time by turning the switch off. Let me know if oyu have any more issues as I've been dealing with this alot on my car.
Way cool man, I live in Wyoming, so I'm kinda by myself out here. Nobody knows **** about anything cool. Unless big gay diesels are cool, or ****in' horses. Anyway...
Here's how it works in the stock set-up. Repro wire harnesses are available. A lot of cars used the same Borg Warner T-85 and they will inter change OD parts if they are the same series. Solenoids can be different lengths so if you find a used spare compare the pawl length and use the same length to replace it. Kick-down switches work the same for most but the mount placing is different. I have a Studebaker solenoid and kickdown in my Flathead OD setup and a Ford relay. I finally found a guy in town who can test the solenoid coils. I'm bringing him a 6V and 12V solenoid to see if they are voltage specific. Some guys say they use 6V solenoids with 12V and it works OK. I think cleaning and gapping the points is the most critical to keeping them working. <embed width="448" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://img.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vidmg.photobucket.com/albums/v104/overspray/100_0303.flv">
I used to work with similar solenoids. These also had the points. They had a pull-in coil which was high amperage, than the points opened when the little push rod hit as the solenoid engaged fully, and the coil drew less amps on the hold-in coil. If you didn't get the pull-in coil disconnected (with the points), the high amps would heat up the solenoid and possibly fry the solenoid, or blow the fuse. Frank
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