Vintrader Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 About a week and half ago I picked up a 1950 B2B 3 speed Fluid Drive truck out in Iowa. Truck is in great shape but the transmission does not want to function in the automatic mode. I have it back in NY now and will be replacing the rear main seal Thursday and will drain, flush and refill the transmission while I'm at it. I got the seal from Andy Bernbaum and he told me to use 10 weight hydraulic jack oil. Anyone have any knowledge of what should be in the transmission? I found a gallon of the stuff at NAPA today but nowhere on the container does it give the viscosity? Just says it 100% Pure Oil. Here are a few pictures of the truck. Dutch 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reg Evans Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 That's a beauty Dutch. Are you refilling the transmission or the fluid coupling ? The trans should use regular 90 weight and the fluid coupeling uses universal tractor fluid I believe. It it an eBay find ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merle Coggins Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 (edited) Automatic mode??? There is no automatic mode. It's still a 3 speed that is shifted manually. With the Fluid Drive you can leave it in 2nd and putt around town with just the brake and gas, but it won't shift on it's own. Trucks didn't get the semi-automatic trans until '53 and then they were badged "Truck-O-Matic" Like Reg says, the Fluid Drive coupling uses a hydraulic type oil. I got AW32 Tractor Hydraulic Fluid from my local Farm Fleet for mine. The trans, since it is still the manual shift type, takes gear lube (80w90, etc.) That's a nice lookin' truck. I think the wipers should be parked to the outside though. Merle Edited September 23, 2009 by Merle Coggins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatS.... Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 "Fluid Drive" is not the transmission, it's the method of power transfer. Like Merle says, you have a regular standard transmission behind the "Fluid Drive", which is a fluid coupling replacing the flywheel. It's similar to a tourque converter except it does not multiply torque, just transfers power via fluid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg g Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 Its only gonna shift itself if tis a truck o matic. They didn't make many of those. Nice looking truck. Which Red Hook are you in in NY. Gonna try to visit with a Studebaker guy who lives in Poughkeepsie next monday in the evening. So is your red hook the one on that side of the river?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vintrader Posted September 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 I understand how Fluid Drive operates. I have had 2 of this same model truck and both where 1950 year models. When I say (Auto Mode) I am referring to being able to come to a stop without using the clutch. You can do this even 3rd. it is very sluggish from a dead stop but it does work. The other 2 trucks I have had worked OK in this mode, This truck does not. I just have never had to change fluids before, Thanks for the input, Dutch I retrieved this information from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_Drive The standard Fluid Drive configuration consisted of the fluid coupling and a manual transmission and clutch in tandem. If the Fluid Drive was mated to a manual transmission, the driver still needed to use the clutch to shift between any of the gears. The presence of Fluid Drive, however, prevented the driver stalling when taking off from a dead stop. The driver could also come to a stop in third gear without using the clutch and proceed without downshifting. It must be emphasized that Fluid Drive was not a transmission, only a fluid coupling between the engine and clutch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vintrader Posted September 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 (edited) Greg, Yep, Northern Dutchess County, east side of the river 20 or so miles north of Poughkeepsie. Send me an email or a PM maybe we can meet up. Dutch Edited September 24, 2009 by Vintrader Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg g Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 (edited) Letcha know when we are in the area. Wonder if the unit is filed withthe wrong stuff. Maybe pop the access and take a sample. Or back in the day I have seen guys weld the components together when seals failed. But my bet is wrong viscosity fluid. Edited September 24, 2009 by greg g Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vintrader Posted September 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2009 Eureka, After draining, flushing and refilling the fluid coupling with (hydraulic jack oil) me thinks around 10 weight. The Fluid Drive works like a champ. Also replaced the rear main seal on the transmission. This seems to be a different part than the one used on Non Fluid Drive vehicles. The only place I could find it was Andy Bernbaum. I got one from NAPA as well, the only one they had listed did not fit. Dutch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
48Dodger Posted September 25, 2009 Report Share Posted September 25, 2009 Nice work Dutch! This was a good thread for me. Not having a "Fluid Drive" or "Truck-O-Matic", it was interesting reading. I have two 1950 trucks now, one with a collum shifter. Is this shell of a truck trying to tell me its a "Fluid Drive" or "Truck-O-Matic"? Or is shifter location not related. 48D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vintrader Posted September 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2009 Nice work Dutch! This was a good thread for me. Not having a "Fluid Drive" or "Truck-O-Matic", it was interesting reading. I have two 1950 trucks now, one with a collum shifter. Is this shell of a truck trying to tell me its a "Fluid Drive" or "Truck-O-Matic"? Or is shifter location not related.48D I'm not sure I understand the question? Maybe I am just a little slow. Dutch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reg Evans Posted September 25, 2009 Report Share Posted September 25, 2009 Tim, Go here and scroll down a little to see what a Fluid drive looks like. http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=14607&highlight=fluid+drive+bell+housing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
48Dodger Posted September 26, 2009 Report Share Posted September 26, 2009 This 50 is a parts truck. No motor or tranny. It has a shifter deal on the collum I haven't seen before. Thought maybe its was related to the kind of tranny it may have had. 48D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vintrader Posted September 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2009 Nice work Dutch! This was a good thread for me. Not having a "Fluid Drive" or "Truck-O-Matic", it was interesting reading. I have two 1950 trucks now, one with a collum shifter. Is this shell of a truck trying to tell me its a "Fluid Drive" or "Truck-O-Matic"? Or is shifter location not related.48D All of these trucks I have had that are Fluid Drive look the same. The 3 speed shift lever has looked the same as a Non Fluid Drive model. If you have the hood for this truck there should be holes for the emblem. Dutch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4852dodge Posted September 26, 2009 Report Share Posted September 26, 2009 I have two trucks both with 4 speeds, one with fluid drive one without. The the interior difference is the fluid drive has the shifter closer to the seat. The floor panel has two circles embossed on them, the forward one is cut out for non fluid and the rear one is fluid with a floor shifter. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
48Dodger Posted September 26, 2009 Report Share Posted September 26, 2009 Don't have the hood Dutch. What you see is what I have. I have two 1948's that that are fairly complete, but my two 1950's aren't. I'm trying to learn something here, niether 50 has much of a chance being original. So I guess the collum shifter isn't a clue about which tranny came with the truck. Hey Tom, what years are your trucks? 48D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4852dodge Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 I have a 48 and a 51 both with the later sheetmetal. They are both 126 in wheelbase. The 48 is stock and driven weekly, the 51 is a parts truck at this point but will probably be a hot rod in the future. I have a driveline from a dodge motorhome waiting to go in. The 51 has the fluid drive but that might be installed in the 48. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merle Coggins Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 All the column shift tells you is that it had a 3 speed trans. The 4 speeds are all floor shift. The Truck-O-Matic would probably have a column lever too, but that was only available in '53. That was the semiautomatic (M6) trans that Chrysler, DeSoto, and Dodge cars used. Merle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
48Dodger Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 Great info.....all my trucks are 4 speed. So a 4 speed, I'm guessing, it has a "granny gear" ? 48D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vintrader Posted September 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 1st gear in the 4 speed trucks I have had did seem to be a different ratio than the 3 speed trucks. Even the 3 speed floor shifts. Dutch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Shepard Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 The other thing to consider in Fluid Drive vehicles that won't act like they're supposed to, i.e., keep running at a stop with the clutch out, is the carburetor. Fluid Drive vehicles had a carb with a dash pot. The purpose of the dash pot was to keep the vehicle from decelerating too quickly and stalling the engine. If a non-dash pot carb were installed I'm not sure you'd get the full advantage of the Fluid Drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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