ActionGrant

Frank, you were exactly right! It was the emergency brake making the squeaking! Thank you everyone for your input!

Don: I actually haven't checked the fluid levels. I was under the impression that the rear differential was sealed and doesn't have a fill plug on this year. Other issue I have is, when I had the carpet installed the shop glued it to the floor even over the access panel for the transmission and I tackled that particular issue yet... John: I'm pretty sure it is a cross type. I have to jack the car up and check it to see if it looks dry or feels loose. I've parked it for now as I've been quite busy with work and classes but I hope to take a look at it next week. Frank: When you say another, do you mean this happened to you as well or there was another topic on it? It doesn't seem to make the sound when it is in underdrive. Also of note, I forgot to mention that the sound stops immediately if I push in the clutch while coasting along. Thank you for the responses!

Hi Everyone, long time no post! I have a 1951 DeSoto Custom (S15) with a 250.5 L6 and a two range Fluid drive transmission. Currently the issue I'm having is that when driving the car, when its cold there are no problems, but as it heats up I start to notice a squeaking coming out of what sounds to be the transmission. This only happens when I am driving along after the car has shifted out of underdrive and I am not accelerating any more. I notice a squeaking that is speed dependent (faster if I'm driving faster) when I let off the gas to coast along. Any thoughts on what this might be?

Well it only has 34,000 miles on it, so I was thinking it might be valve related. Is it possible for this to be caused by something like that?

I'm actually having an extremely similar problem. (1951 DeSoto Custom with the 251 Flat 6) I took a video of the problem, hopefully you guys can shed some light on this problem for me. It seems to smoke more when the car is in gear and not moving (e.g. going up to a traffic light), and that is how this video was made. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! - Grant

I havent been particularly active, but I'm a mere 21. Two reasons for being inactive: 1. School work was a bit pressing. and, more importantly, 2.a. I got my 51 DeSoto running rather well before I left for college. 2.b. I left for college and cannot drive my DeSoto around.

Wow I totally forgot to subscribe to this thread and see all the replies. I double checked the oil as was suggested, and it turned out to be low after all, adding more oil solved the problems. >_> Now that I appear completely incompetent, haha... Thanks for all the suggestions though! I'll definitely keep them in mind if I /actually/ encounter real oil pressure issues.

Shel Bizzy, I read that post, but that really seems to be the opposite issue, stepping on the gas makes my problem get worse, and the engine will start to make some... distressing noises, as if it were running without oil. As soon as I let off the gas and let it coast it will go back up to around 5 or 10 PSI and not sound so rough. I did check my oil level and it was alright. How do I get at the screen on the oil pick up assembly? Do I have to drop the whole pan or is there a way for me to get at it from the outside?

Hi Guys, I have a 1951 DeSoto Custom with a 252 flathead 6 and the three speed fluid drive transmission. When I first start the car, the oil pressure is around 40 PSI, but once it warms up and I step on the gas, the pressure drops to near zero. What could be causing this? If it is just an easy fix, what do I do? Thanks!

Pressure gauge shows nothing when the car is off, then it goes up to around 35 when just idling when its warm, and 60 when I'm on the gas.

http://www.oldmoparts.com/r.htm

it is still pressurized, it actually came with a 16 lb pressure cap rather than the 4 lb stock one. Also, regardless of whether or not my temperature gauge is a bit inaccurate, the car overheats to the point where the engine will turn off. It doesnt start knocking or pinging (like it would were the coolant boiling), it just overheats and turns off. When it does this, it smokes quite a bit from the crank case, so I'm rather concerned at this point...

Ok, so replacing the ignition coil solved my problems! ..with starting. When idling, the car overheats like crazy. I realize this is normally an issue, but it seems to overheat more quickly than it should, even just stoping at a stoplight I'll see the temps creep up past the third dot on the sensor... I dont know what the issue could be! I replaced the stock radiator with a three row aluminum rad (because it was cheaper than recoring the original, clogged one), I have a new water pump, and I even pulled the water distribution tube to clean it up and make sure that was ok. Any suggestions?

The paint on the front end... riiight... it only looks funky because it is in the rain in that picture, the hood is actually primered. As for the other suggestions, the ignition coil is wired up correctly, but I think that it may still be the source of my problem, as it wasnt starting because the dipstick had rotated into it and was shorting it out, and I suspect that this may have damaged it. I'm picking up another ignition coil tomorrow morning, and I'll drop that in and see if it makes a difference.

Lol you're welcome to come by! I have new spark plugs, I left the battery cables alone because they look solid, and they do look like a heavier gauge than 12 volt battery cables. The points were really wide, so I filed them down a bit. At this point, I suspect it is my ignition coil, I'll throw a new one on there tomorrow and see how it goes.

Hi! I've been lurking for a while, and decided to finally sign up so I could ask some questions. I have a 1951 DeSoto Custom, with the 251 Flathead 6 and the 3 speed fluid drive transmission. I bought this car in August of 2009, and haven't done too much work to it. I rebuilt the brakes, cleaned the water distribution tube, replaced the water pump, and replaced the radiator. Its been out on the road a decent bit since then, but I've recently started having trouble getting it started. I had a mechanic take a quick look at it, and he said he suspected that it was the auto choke / high idler switch. I'm kind of a noob, so I'm trying to learn as I go, but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I'll throw up a picture too. I realize that this forum is mostly Plymouth folks, but I believe the engine is really similar, so hopefully you'll have some tips for me. Thanks!