Overdrive question

[47heaven]

Hey...can anybody here that has a car with the R-10 overdrive help me out here? I've been out driving and trying to get used to the new overdrive trans. Took it on the freeway and when it got up to about 50 mph I pushed the cable in, let off the gas and then accelerated. The overdrive didn't kick in so I repeated the step a couple times and then it finally kicked in. My question, I guess, would be why it took a couple of times and am I doing something wrong?

Another thing is knowing when to pull the cable out to disengage the overdrive. Does the car have to be completely stopped to do this because even at a slow crawl, when slowing down, the cable doesn't want to pull out. I have to be completely stopped to be able to pull it and it's still hard to pull, but it at least comes out. The cable pushes in easy. Am I doing something wrong or is it the overdrive?

[Normspeed]

Normally with the cable pushed in, once you let off the gas it will upshift to OD right away. Maybe sluggish until it "breaks in", or maybe the cable needs an adjustment. You don't need freeway speed to go into OD, the governor lets it upshift anywhere above 40 mph or so.

To get the cable pulled out on mine, needs to be out of OD, either by kicking it down with the accelerator to the floor, or by dropping below OD speed, around 35-40 mph.

There's a copy of the Borg Warner OD manual in the tech area of the forum, and it has a section on operation.

[47heaven]

Normally with the cable pushed in, once you let off the gas it will upshift to OD right away. Maybe sluggish until it "breaks in", or maybe the cable needs an adjustment. You don't need freeway speed to go into OD, the governor lets it upshift anywhere above 40 mph or so.

To get the cable pulled out on mine, needs to be out of OD, either by kicking it down with the accelerator to the floor, or by dropping below OD speed, around 35-40 mph.

There's a copy of the Borg Warner OD manual in the tech area of the forum, and it has a section on operation.

Yeah...I saw that Borg Warner overdrive tech manual already, but I just wanted to get a person's personal analysis.

Norm...when I see you this weekend, I'll show you what I am talking about.

[Ken Bartz]

The overdrive cable is pushed in all of the time on my car. I have replaced the carburetor switch with a toggle switch under the dash. This switch I normally leave on all of the time also. Then when driving I let the governor do all of the work. When I driving I accelerate to over 28mph then I let up on the gas a little and I hear/feel a little clunk when the solenoid makes it go into overdrive. The when the car get below 28 it automatically drops out of overdrive (because the governor told it to). If I'm trying to climb a hill and the engine bogs down I turn off the switch under the dash to disengage the overdrive and climb away as a normal 3 speed. I could email a schematic as to how it is wired. The only time I pull out the overdrive cable is when I wish to take it out of freewheeling as when parking on a hill.

[47heaven]

The overdrive cable is pushed in all of the time on my car. I have replaced the carburetor switch with a toggle switch under the dash. This switch I normally leave on all of the time also. Then when driving I let the governor do all of the work. When I driving I accelerate to over 28mph then I let up on the gas a little and I hear/feel a little clunk when the solenoid makes it go into overdrive. The when the car get below 28 it automatically drops out of overdrive (because the governor told it to). If I'm trying to climb a hill and the engine bogs down I turn off the switch under the dash to disengage the overdrive and climb away as a normal 3 speed. I could email a schematic as to how it is wired. The only time I pull out the overdrive cable is when I wish to take it out of freewheeling as when parking on a hill.

Well, I took it on a fairly long drive this evening and put the overdrive to the test. I have heard someone say before that the cable can be pushed in all the time, which I tried, but when I come to a stop or slow down it feels like I've lost power when I try to accelerate again...like the overdrive is still engaged. I tried to pull it out when the car was sort of coasting, but when I pulled it out the trans made a funny sound until I pushed it back in. It just doesn't want to pull out when the car is moving for some reason. My mechanic didn't put a kickdown switch on the car because he said that it wouldn't be good for that electronic ignition to be cutting the engine like that.

I think the switch schematic might be a good idea to see. Send it to jailhouserock1950@yahoo.com

Thanks!

[Don Coatney]

My mechanic didn't put a kickdown switch on the car because he said that it wouldn't be good for that electronic ignition to be cutting the engine like that.

Can you explain his logic a bit more. How do you shut the engine off if you dont kill power to the ignition?

Here is a George Asche schematic if this will help.

[James_Douglas]

This will not be popular, but the facts are the facts:

I have to say that I am not happy with the stability of my overdrive. After 8 months of problems after the installation the thing worked fine for a few months. A week ago, I took it on a long road trip.

During that trip, on the return leg, the OD did not want to go into gear. I clutched it a couple of times and it finally went in and seemed to work the rest of the way home.

A few days back it did it again and I "giggled" the shifter and it went into OD.

Today I took off to get breakfast and the OD is dead.

I paid good money for my OD unit and made it clear up front that I was willing to pay a premium to make sure that the thing was not just adequate but in top notch shape.

I have had nothing but problems since the installation.

George when confronted with the problems has either accused me of not knowing what I am doing and or falls back on the old adage that "I have sold 20 of these without anyone complaining…”

I am at my whit’s end with this thing. I have had to spend a considerable amount beyond what I paid George for the unit in replacement parts for his that failed. He has not reimbursed me nor sent me good parts to make up for the NOS parts I had to get to replace his failed parts.

You only find out what folks are made of when there is a problem. Not when things are going well. By this test, George has failed me.

I am at the point where I may have to remove the transmission and overdrive and either put back in the M-5, switch to something else, or tear down his unit and invest even more money and time in his transmission.

James

[Mr. Belvedere]

Sorry to here that James, George is definitely not cheap, but he does seem to know his stuff when I talked to him on the Phone. I also live out here in CA, I had wanted to do business with him but transportation costs to ship on top of his price put it more or less out of reach for me, plus I wondered what would happen if I ran into trouble, being clear across country from him. Well now I know. Maybe some trannies are like some cars, just plain lemons, something didn't go right in the original manufactoring process. I am sure you have gone thru the installation process and possible problem senarios a hundred times. I find it insulting when people refuse to accept that they may not have done something right so they just turn it around and blame it all on you. He could have done something to accomadate you. Just because you have done something a hundred time does not make you infalible, in fact it can make you somewhat careless.

[Normspeed]

James, I was wondering just the other day if you had gotten the bugs worked out of that OD. Sorry to hear it's still acting up. Mine was a factory install, so maybe that's why it was still working pretty well after over 50 years. My wiring is still to stock configuration, although I've made a new harness identical to the original layout. Still 6 volt + ground as well.

I think Darin's mechanic might be referring to the ignition interrupter that allows the OD to disengage on kickdown by momentarily cutting power to the ignition coil. The kickdown simultaneously cuts power to the OD solenoid and kills the ignition just long enough to unload the drivetrain and allow the shift out of OD.

Darin, give me a call any time, I should be around all day Sunday. In fact I'll probably be putting my own OD back together. Today I'm headed to Upland to visit a friend who just bought a center door Model T. Has some weird idea about street rodding it with stock body.

[Ken Bartz]

This is how I have my overdrive connected. See my previous posting as to how it works. With this setup it is a pleasure to drive.

[blueskies]

The cable pushes in easy. Am I doing something wrong or is it the overdrive?

Heaven-

You are only supposed to pull the cable out when the transmission is in direct drive' date=' and the system is under torque (as in accelerating). If you pull the cable any other time, it will protest, as you have found.

I leave the cable in all the time on my car, unless I am parked on a steep grade, or am decending a steep grade and want the engine compression braking that only happens in direct drive. The OD will freewheel otherwise, and you have to rely on the brakes to slow down.

You absolutely need to have a kickdown switch, as it is the only way to get the tranny out of OD without slowing down under the cut-in speed of about 28 mph. Remember, you can't pull the cable out when the unit is already in OD. The cable is only supposed to be used as a "lock-out", to prevent the unit from going into OD.

You do not have to install the kickdown switch as the factory did however, and interupt the ignition. I have a mini GM HEI on my car, and am using a kickdown switch. Have a look at my site, [url']http://www.50plymouth.com[/url], under the transmission page, to see how I did it.

I'm wondering, from your description, if your governor is working correctly. If it is, your OD should automatically drop out, back to direct drive, under about 28 mph. Conversely, accelerating up to about 28 mph, the governor should energize the electrics, and when you let off the throttle and release the torque on the system, the OD should enguage automatically. The kickdown allows you to move in and out of OD at will, the cable simply prevents the OD from enguaging.

Pete

[BeBop138]

I understand wanting to keep stock appearences but with the problems your having with the OD why not go with the T-5. My buddy has one in his 38 and he said it`s like driving a new car---granted he changed the rear end with a later model with 3:36 gears---for the $1500 bucks that someone spent you could do the same with the T-5---just my thoughts........

[martybose]

I understand wanting to keep stock appearences but with the problems your having with the OD why not go with the T-5. My buddy has one in his 38 and he said it`s like driving a new car---granted he changed the rear end with a later model with 3:36 gears---for the $1500 bucks that someone spent you could do the same with the T-5---just my thoughts........

Well, when someone figures out how to deal with the T-5 using the column shifter, I might consider it. until then .......

Marty

[Dodgeb4ya]

A properly inspected/built OD will last along time.Keep em full of 90W oil - front and rear and have a extra solenoid and relay, then your good to go. I put over 60,000 trouble free miles on my 53 wagon that I drove every day back in the late 80`s /early 90`s. I`ve had several mopar OD`s. Run the back 1/2 low on oil, the planetary gears will burn up and the ring gear will damage the back housing bore, which causes the OD to rumble at high speeds in OD. Need to have a clearance of .010 to .015 in the back case. R10`s are a good overdrive unit!!! They are way too expensive now days though !

Bob