1952-59 Ford OD not working, where do I start?

Hey guys so I just received my 54 customline and took it for a drive. It has a straight 6 and 3 spd with overdrive. Once on the freeway it felt like I was topped out at 55mph I don't know if it was for sure but it seemed as if the rpms were high. Anyways I pulled out the OD and nothing happened. What should I expect? Will I feel it kick in? I felt nothing and the rpms stayed the same so I ***ume it's not working. With that said where should I start to fox this? I can't do 55 going to work everyday. Any thoughts or wisdom would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
George

 

I cant help you, but Im going to follow this one cuz I have an OD waiting to mate with my new yblock and will need to know what to look for. Im on the bandwagon!

 

I'm not an expert on those OD's but from what I've read you should probably check to see if the O.D. solenoid is getting power and that it operates. Someone else with more experience with O.D's can chime in any time.

 

Sometimes you need to let off the gas for the OD to jump into gear .
You will need to look under the car at the trans and make sure your cable is good and no broken or just came loose . There are guys that rebuild them but not cheap . I have seen the ads in the Hemmings Bible News that comes out ever month .
Just a thought .

Jim

 

Ok I'll check it out tomorrow and see what happens. I'll fill you in with the details. If it does work what should I expect it to do?

George

 

The OD on my 56 went out a while back, it was a broken wire at the trans.
Flyboy89 is correct, after you engage the OD, you have to let up on the gas to let it shift.
Where are you located? I'm in Fontana.

 

Ok I'll try that tomorrow. I live in menifee.

George

 

Check the fuse that powers all the OD stuff. Buddy's OD stopped working in his Edsel and it was just a fuse. His was up on the firewall.

 

On my 55, the OD fuse was on the firewall under the left wiper. I would push the lever in to engage the OD, after about 40, let off the gas and you can feel the OD engage. Also, mine was sticky and did not always engage. I drained the oil from the trans and refilled it with fresh. Remember, on an OD, there are two fill holes. I put 50/50 90 WT. and ATF in the OD to act as a cleaner. It worked great after that.

 

So I tried letting off the gas after pulling out the OD and nothing happened. I tried to find the fuse box on the firewall but it seems as if the wiring system has been redone and moved to under the dash. The fuses look good there so I'm not sure if that's the issue. I really don't know too much about this stuff but my fuel gauge, temp and some of the dash lights don't work so it more then likely need to be gone through. What would be the best swap out for the trans if the OD is shot? Would I need a different rear?

Thanks
George

 

I know you can go with a 3 speed without OD... But I kinda guess you already have one of those. There is always the ford o matic, but doubt you will see any performace from one of those beasts. Not too sure what else will mate up to the inline. Have you checked to see if all of the wiring from the trans is hooked up to that fuse box?

 

I haven't fully checked out all the wiring. I was working on some other small things today. I'll get it up on jacks tomorrow and try to trace is back. I have a buddy who has a built 302 that he will sell me for super cheap so if all else fails I might go that route

I'll keep everyone filled in to what I find.

George

 

This is something you might want to get ahold of: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1949...30480033561QQptZMotorsQ5fManualsQ5fLiterature

 

Awesome thanks

 

Has the car been converted to 12 volt? This might be why the gauges don't work. Check to see if the solenoid is wired up and check if it is getting juice. Also check the relay for juice.

 

Yes it has been converted to 12 volt. I really don't have any knowledge about wiring so I'll be taking it to my local mechanic ononday to see if they can find the issue. I hope it's something simple

George

 

If your O.D. solenoid is still 6 volt and you did not put a voltage resistor when you changed to 12 volts it could be wasted,hopefully the fuse protected it if not you will need to install a 12 volt solenoid.

 

Yeah I have no idea I bought the car already done so there's no way for me to tell. Plus
I have no experience with this stiff so I wouldn't know what to look for.

George

 

See if you can find a part number on the solenoid and one of us with a Ford Parts CD can run it for you,if you don't have a Ford Parts CD send Retro Jim a pm as He has a smokin' deal on them for members, the information in them is priceless.

 

Ok, I'll check it out

 

These overdrives are kind of notorious for the solenoids going out due to the seal getting old and fluid leaking into the soleniod, which disables them.