What'this overdrive 1934

[B-nut]

My new 34 has an iron overdrive unit welded (very neatly) into the drive shaft in front of where the radius rods tie in.Cast into the side is W G DIV n2. Under the dash has the electric switch and 3'' lever to actuate. The hot wire to the battery is disconnected. Can you tell me what kind of overdrive this is? How does one operate this?Manuals must be out there. Shall I just flick the switch an pull the lever while proceeding slowly down the road? Tempted to start playing around.What weight oil should be in it? Car has been a storage for a couple years.What ratio might this overdrive be? The differential gear is a 4:11. The car has the standard 600x16 tires. Thanks for any advise!

[Bruce in southern OH]

B-nut, 33 & 34 had 17" rims/tires standard. Next need photos for everyone to look at to see what you have, only option for overdrive in 34 was a Columbia in the rear axle. What you have is an installation by someone in past. Let us see it, Bruce

[Terry,OH]

You may want to post the photo even look in the V8 Times at the Mitchell overdrive. I believe the Mitchell is mounted on the torque tube closer to the pinion. I would not connect wires or try shifting without knowing more about the unit.

[scrapiron]

For starters, "WG" is almost certainly Warner Gear Division.

[40cpe]

I agree it is most likely a Borg Warner OD. Push the handle in toward the dash and see if the car "freewheels" when you let off the accelerator as you drive. If so, it helps to confirm the ID. It should act like a normal transmission when the handle is pulled out and gear the car down with engine compression.

To operate the OD, push the handle in to freewheel, get the car up to about 30 mph in high, turn on power through the switch, and release the accelerator. If working, it should momentarily free wheel (split second) and you will feel the engine compression slowing down the car when the OD drops in.

There are operating manuals to download on the 'net. Someone will be along to give you a link.

[B-nut]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Oh it's a Borg Warner overdrive unit ,how numb of me. Yes there is info on it on the internet including operation, care and ratios. If I am reading right it turns a 4:11 differential into a 2.87. Hey I can hardly wait to get this baby on the road! Thanks for the comments.

[V8COOPMAN]

Does it look anything like this one? DD

[B-nut]

Yes Coopman that's the unit.Good pictures! Thanks!I see yours is mounted closer to the rear axle. What car is that in? What does it do for your driving , rpm's and speed? Do you use 90 weight oil? What speeds do you shift at?

[40 Deluxe]

Why didn't the former owner explain the O/D operation?

[bchrismer]

Hey B-Nut,

Here's a doc that I got about the Lloyd Young Borg Warner conversions.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9l...ew?usp=sharing

bret

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by B-nut

Yes Coopman that's the unit.Good pictures! Thanks!I see yours is mounted closer to the rear axle. What car is that in? What does it do for your driving , rpm's and speed? Do you use 90 weight oil? What speeds do you shift at?

Not mine.....took the pics from the link below! DD

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showth...borg+warner+od

[scooder]

Originally Posted by B-nut

Oh it's a Borg Warner overdrive unit ,how numb of me. Yes there is info on it on the internet including operation, care and ratios. If I am reading right it turns a 4:11 differential into a 2.87. Hey I can hardly wait to get this baby on the road! Thanks for the comments.

Yup you got it, the overdrive ratio is 0.7:1 so your 4.11:1 will now act like 2.87:1 in overdrive.
Martin.

[CaliforniaBorn36]

One thing the instructions above don't say..."Never attempt to move the lever for the overdrive in or out while the car is in motion, always engage and disengage the mechanism while the vehicle is stopped". If you attempt to change the mechanical engagement while in motion you could seriously damage the overdrive mechanism.

The electric switch can be turned on and off while driving to disengage the solenoid/overdrive, this is useful when attempting to climb a grade.

Others may chime in here.

[B-nut]

Thanks for all the responses guys! Yes Californiaborn good advice from you who have operated one of these Borg Warners is extra helpful. Is there really something magic about shifting best at 28 mph?

[scooder]

Originally Posted by B-nut

Thanks for all the responses guys! Yes Californiaborn good advice from you who have operated one of these Borg Warners is extra helpful. Is there really something magic about shifting best at 28 mph?

Yes it's magical, but the reason is a secret.
Martin.

[40cpe]

The "magic" is that 28 mph is the number that the governor was designed to ground the relay so the solenoid could engage the OD. If the OP has a switch, the magic goes away.

On the comment about only operating the OD handle when stopped: While I haven't looked for the Borg Warner operating instructions, It is entirely safe to operate the handle while driving. The transmission must be out of OD, and enough gas given the engine to propel the car (not coasting or decelerating). Then the handle can be shifted. If the car is in OD, hit the passing gear and pull the handle while the accelerator is down.

[35joe]

Does anyone show how the input (main) and output shafts are connected to the torque tube? All this stuff about the operation and wiring. How about the actual installation? I have an R10 and I have no idea how to marry the shafts??? Please help.

[Drbrown]

Vcoopman .... those are photos of my BW unit in my '47 which I posted back then. As noted, I was in touch with Llyod Young several years ago and he did say to filler-up with straight GL-4 140w gear oil, which I do using Sta-Lube.

It uses a 30 amp fuse and relay on the firewall. I have the dash pull/push handle and toggle switch (only). You can leave the switch "on" all the time. As long as you are stepping on the gas, you can engage the OD while in forward motion, then let off on the gas and it engages. Best to disengage handle while at a stop. Do not use in first gear - engine has to much torque and can cause long term damage.

I am running 15 inch Coker's.

Lloyd believes these are CA dealer installed kits of the day.

[Drbrown]

35joe .... Llyod Young who did many OD installations over the years is now about age 84. I don't know if he's still working. He had a full machine shop and the knowledge and experience to make custom shafts and housings. Phone him. He'll help you if he can. Not many of these fellows around anymore.

PS: Your unit looks shorter than my BW R10 (?)

[rotorwrench]

Those instructions are a bit vague on operation for what to do and what not. In order to use reverse gear, the unit has to be shifted out of overdrive. If you park the car, it is best to shift it out of OD or the car can roll easily on hills. The clutch in disable switch should allow for a "moving" out shift of OD but shifting it back in may be a different story.

The original R10 electric overdrives had safety features for a good reason. A lot of folks do away with these features when modifying drive trains for these ODs and it can cause breakages if a person doesn't know the operational theory behind these units.

[flatheadmurre]

Just put it in rewerse when you park and it locks out the freewheel.

[Kahuna]

NEVER reverse with the O/D engaged.

[blucar]

The installation of an OD in a torque tube type of drive-line is a pretty rare application.
I knew a man in Idaho in 1950 that had one in a '41 Chevy coupe, the OD was in the car when he bought it.
About two years ago I saw a '50 Chevy for sale at the Pomona Swap Meet. The car was a mess, needing a complete restoration, however, the OD unit was complete, installed in the drive-line close to the differential..
I would make a guess that BW had an installation kit available to install the OD's in torque tube drive-lines, thereby making the application user friendly.

[rotorwrench]

Originally Posted by flatheadmurre

Just put it in rewerse when you park and it locks out the freewheel.

The reverse lock out only works when the linkage is in there between the transmission and the overdrive housing. These drive shaft units don't have any of that in there.

[flatheadmurre]

Originally Posted by rotorwrench

The reverse lock out only works when the linkage is in there between the transmission and the overdrive housing. These drive shaft units don't have any of that in there.

Yep...will take a long rod down to the torqtube...my bad.

[Automotive Stud]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

I have one of these units in my '40. I know not to operate the unit in reverse in overdrive, but if the solenoid is off and one forgets to pull the lockout handle before reverse, what would happen? I'm assuming the unit would just freewheel and not damage anything but I'd like to be sure before I start driving with it.

[TJ]

With a 2.87 overdrive I would think you would need some really good brakes to get stopped in an emergency.

[jetmek]

Originally Posted by Automotive Stud

I have one of these units in my '40. I know not to operate the unit in reverse in overdrive, but if the solenoid is off and one forgets to pull the lockout handle before reverse, what would happen? I'm assuming the unit would just freewheel and not damage anything but I'd like to be sure before I start driving with it.

It will grenade the sprag assembly

[jetmek]

I built a bunch if these years back for model a’s. I have some cores, a bunch of partially machined parts and raw end castings and tooling that I would consider selling if anyone is interested. Im not building any more of them. Email for info

[Automotive Stud]

Originally Posted by jetmek

It will grenade the sprag assembly

Even with the solenoid disengaged? How would that differ from freewheeling?

[rotorwrench]

It would only freewheel if the unit is not locked out. The problems would happen if it actually shifted into OD while freewheeling in reverse.

[Automotive Stud]

Originally Posted by rotorwrench

It would only freewheel if the unit is not locked out. The problems would happen if it actually shifted into OD while freewheeling in reverse.

That's what I was thinking. Thanks!

[CaliforniaBorn36]

I see there is some new activity here. I am attaching a document I came across in my research that will hopefully answer a lot of the questions in this thread...

It shows pictures of an entire enclosed drive shaft installation broken down to its component parts and how to repair. quite detailed.

I also have a document that I cannot seem to upload that is named "1C-Borg-Warner-OD-Restorer-Mar-Apr-2005" maybe people can search and find that one if interested, more about operating the units. (I think it is to big to upload) I can also email directly if someone is interested.

[Automotive Stud]

That's a good link that explains everything very easily. A must read for anybody with a BW overdrive, torque tube mounted or not.

[rotorwrench]

Lincolns were the first Ford made cars to use the BW electric OD. Those early ones were torque tube.