borg warner o/d
 

I have a borg warner o/drive on my twin spinner but the shift rail lockout solenoid has nothing behind it. there should be a plunger of some sort.
does anyone have a sample to measure so I can make one?

Re: borg warner o/d
 

You lost me at "twin spinner" erl!

Re: borg warner o/d
 

I'll take a crack at it; "Twin spinner" = 1951 Ford. ('49-'50's are "Single spinners".)

Re: borg warner o/d
 

You're an "honourary Kiwi" Tubman.

GB

Re: borg warner o/d
 

The original reverse lockout switch would have had a short plunger protruding from the mounting flange side. When the transmission is shifted into reverse, the lockout rail pushes backwards and depresses the plunger. This, in effect, opens the circuit to the governor. The end result is cutting the power to the solenoid (taking the transmission out of overdrive).

The lockout switch was determined to be a redundant control and was eliminated by Ford after 1951. In the factory service bulletins there is one covering this issue. Rather than replacing a defective lockout switch, they recommended keeping it in place, but bypassing it electrically. Keeping the actual switch mounted to the transmission prevents gear oil leaking from the opening. It can be bypassed because there was always a mechanical part of the transmission that took it out of overdrive whenever you shifted into reverse.

Just connect the two wires together. I recommend soldering them together and covering the joint with heat shrink sleeve. Or run a new wire replacing the two leads.

Re: borg warner o/d
 

Some of the transmissions had a ball bearing in there too where they mounted the switch at a 90 degree angle from the lock out rod. The rod pushed the ball and in turn pushed the switch plunger. There were several switch versions depending on the application. I think the main reason for the switch was when you have the transmission locked out with the cable pull. It kept the shift solenoid from energizing after the governor switch closed. It couldn't shift but it was using up electrical current when it wasn't necessary. Most folks used the overdrive more than not so they discontinued the switch. The only time I ever pulled the cable out was in running up & down mountain roads in Colorado. In Kansas, we never pulled the cable into lock out unless we were towing a trailer. This was a 1951 Mercury application.

Re: borg warner o/d
 

He lost me at shift rail lockout solenoid. The only solenoid is bolted to the side of the transmission, underneath for a convertible in 49-50

Re: borg warner o/d
 

I think they are talking about the governor located on the opposite side at the rear of the trans.

Re: borg warner o/d
 

It's called a rail switch. As said before, eliminated in 1951 as unnecessary.

Re: borg warner o/d
 

thanks for the info guys.
murray.

Re: borg warner o/d
 

Hey, thanks man! I don't know if I can live up to it, but I do try to drink a lot of beer!