Overdrive lever in/out?

[Britcheflee]

Still messing with the OD on my 53 mercury - today took for a run and I was always under the impression that the OD lever needs to be pushed in to have it operate normally. Just to see if it made any difference I pulled it out and noticed that with it out I am getting the 'engine braking' that people were asking me about. Even so, it is not going into overdrive when I release the gas after getting up to speed, the car just slows down - nothing changes.
I am going to have my buddy come by next week and we are going to pull the transmission and go and have it checked out. Looks like a heavy but fairly simple job. Was I wrong all this time and driving it in 'Freewheel' with the lever pushed in?
Thanks
Lee

[Kens 36]

Lee,

Pulling the lever out locks out the overdrive. Pushing it in allows the overdrive to function. If anything is not working correctly electrically or mechanically, preventing the overdrive from "kicking in" above 27 mph, the car will freewheel.

Ken

[petehoovie]

Have you checked the fuse on the firewall???

[George/Maine]

I just sold 54 ford with od so can,t check.
I think its out for od. But the way mine worked you have to get up to 45mph and in colder weather its slow to get in. May have to drive 10 miles.
to get in od let off gas to shift in od

[rotorwrench]

Pulling the cable out is always the lock out function for driving in the hills or pulling heavy loads.

[Paul Bennett]

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In for overdrive-out for straight 3 sp. Before pulling the gears from the car, I would drain / change the oil in both.

The electricals which must work are the governor which energizes an internal switch at 28mph (theoretically) and a solenoid which kicks the od gears in place.

The governor energizes the od relay on the firewall which gets voltage from the battery through a fuse sending it to the solenoid. A 'kickdown' switch under the accelerator also disconnects that circuit to drop out the od solenoid for auto-downshift. Some units also have a 'lock out' switch at the od. Hope this helps in your troubleshooting effort. Lastly, the manual warns if you remove the solenoid for some reason, always replace the rubber bushing which keeps od oil out of the inside of the solenoid.

The kickdown switch also shorts the engine ignition for about 4 revolutions to briefly reduce power. That circuit has nothing to do with the overdrive engaging.
GL

[Frank Miller]

If an original relay you have 3 wires. Power in which is on the side near the fuse. Power out which is at the bottom. And the activation terminal which is at the top. I think it is marked THHN. Turn the key on and ground that terminal. You should hear the relay click. If you do not check for power before and after the fuse. If it does click then check for power at the bottom. No power at the bottom take cover off and clean the points. If here is power you should hear the solenoid click or try to pull in. If you do not then you have an opening in the wire leaving the relay at the bottom or the terminals may be backwards oon the solenoid. If everything is correct and the solenoid does not activate there is your problem. If everything is working electrically then remove two bolts from solenid at transmission. Pull on it. If it does not readily come out you're good. If it does then the ball was not correctly engaged when it was assembled. If it all checks out ok then you will need to remove the transmission.

[Robz51]

Check all your electrical parts before you pull the tranny. Are these parts original or have they been on the car a long time? Is the wiring original to the car? Check this stuff first. My 52 Merc has a working overdrive but all components were replaced over 20 years ago. I plan to remove each component and inspect them and check them out. Remember these are under the car exposed to water,dirt, oil etc...
Good luck with your troubleshooting.
Rob

[Mike51Merc]

Britchflee:
What you are describing is normal behavior. Pull the lever and OD is disabled and the trans performs like a normal 3 speed. TO the other posters: Why are you suggesting repairs for something that isn't broken?

Before you start fixing something that isn't broken, perhaps you should read up on how it works.

[rotorwrench]

Britchfree was not specific about whether it was in OD ON-Mode or whether it was locked out when he felt no shift. When locked out, it's definitely NON-Functional. If it doesn't shift in ON-Mode then something is wrong. Shifting function is very noticeable in ON-Mode. If a person doesn't feel it then again something is wrong.

[JSeery]

Originally Posted by Britcheflee

Still messing with the OD on my 53 mercury - today took for a run and I was always under the impression that the OD lever needs to be pushed in to have it operate normally. Just to see if it made any difference I pulled it out and noticed that with it out I am getting the 'engine braking' that people were asking me about. Even so, it is not going into overdrive when I release the gas after getting up to speed, the car just slows down - nothing changes.
I am going to have my buddy come by next week and we are going to pull the transmission and go and have it checked out. Looks like a heavy but fairly simple job. Was I wrong all this time and driving it in 'Freewheel' with the lever pushed in?
Thanks
Lee

Sure sounds like it's not working to me, hard to see how anyone could read this as "normal" operation!

[Mike51Merc]

Jseery:
He pulls out lever.
Trans no longer freewheels, he gets engine braking and it won't upshift into OD.

Are you saying something is wrong in this scenario?

Just for clarification: Is he saying that the OD doesn't work either with the lever in or out? Am I missing part of this puzzle?

[rotorwrench]

I think we are stating that it's not exactly clear to us. Britchfree's statement started with his correct impression that it is supposed to functional when in ON-Mode and he seems to be indicating that it doesn't shift in either mode. At least that's the way I read it. Only He can clarify that.

[Ole Don]

When an OD needs to warm up for many miles to work, it is just sticky. To solve this, I drained the trans overnight, then filled the trans with 85-90, and the OD with ATF. The lube will mix over time, and the ATF will clean the parts. My OD never failed to work again.

[JSeery]

Originally Posted by Mike51Merc

Jseery:
He pulls out lever.
Trans no longer freewheels, he gets engine braking and it won't upshift into OD.

Are you saying something is wrong in this scenario?

Just for clarification: Is he saying that the OD doesn't work either with the lever in or out? Am I missing part of this puzzle?

That's the way it reads to me. He couldn't get it to work so he decided to try it with it pulled out, and it still didn't work. Surprise, surprise. Yep it shouldn't shift into OD when pulled out, but think that was just a side learning lesson, but agree the OP should provide some clarification.

[Kens 36]

Lee, before you pull out the transmission, you should learn how the electrical system works and troubleshoot that. There are a number of Borg Warner manuals available on the Internet to help you - I will try to PM one to you.

Your car should not have a lockout switch. You need to run tests to make sure the governor, relay, kickdown switch, solenoid, and wiring harness are all connected properly and working. Only if all of these are functioning correctly should you need to tear into the trans - a much heavier job.

Ken

[40 Deluxe]

I think step one should be to fully understand how an overdrive actually works. It seems some people who have never driven an overdrive car are giving (wrong!) advice.
Find someone with an overdrive car and ask for a demonstration. Have them pull out the lockout cable (handle is usually labelled "overdrive") and run through the gears. Then show you how it freewheels below about 27 MPH (lockout handle pushed back in, of course). Then show you how letting off the gas allows the overdrive to engage and note the drop in engine RPM. Then demonstrate the full throttle kickdown procedure.
You don't have to find a '50's Ford; many other cars had the same system. Nash and Studebaker especially. Chevy '55 and later, but not very common. Hudson, Willys, and others I can't think of at the moment.

[Britcheflee]

Thanks for your comments and want to clarify something before things get too heated - I think my lack of knowledge of how the system works led to my posting information which was not clear. I am 99% certain that the electrical side of things are correct. I have ground out the relay as mentioned a number of times and can clearly hear the relay click followed by the solenoid clicking too. I can hear the solenoid/relay clicking to disengage when I slow down so I am certain it is being activated when reaching correct speed. I have removed and checked the solenoid and it works great. I have it installed so it cannot easily be removed from the pawl - and I have reached inside the opening into the OD with a hooked tool and can push in and pull out the pawl (it really does not move a great distance but it moves) I have a buddy coming over this morning going to have a look at it - before removing the tranny I am thinking of wiring up the solenoid directly with a push switch and activate the solenoid directly when driving along over 28 mph and see if that does anything. My knowledgeable mechanic who works on old flat heads and other older cars (he is 90!!) took it for a drive and said right away its not working. The comment about it being sticky seemed like a valid point but I have driving it some 30 miles in California hot weather and it made no difference. So either way I appreciate all comments and suggestions as it gives me more options to check. In due course I will get to the bottom of it and report back. Thank you all.

[Mike51Merc]

You should use a toggle switch, not a push button switch. The solenoid need continuous power to stay extended.

Also, on the same issue, check for voltage drops at the solenoid. Bad connections or even too thin a wire can cause voltage drops. Those 6 volt solenoids won't throw if the voltage is too low, even if they sound like they're throwing.

[rotorwrench]

The only thing left to check would be to see that the operating solenoid extends all the way and whether the force can be easily overcome or not at full extension. If it is good then the next step would be to go into the transmission and see if there is something wrong in there. The pawl or balk ring could have problems or there is something going on with the planetary drive components. There could be a shift rail problem too. A person can take the tail end off but the transmission generally has to come out to do all that.