47 dodge not shifting in to the higher gear.

[Sal M.]

So I had bought this car that had sat for awhile. I finally got it running and it has the fluid drive. So when in gear where second would be. I give it gas and let off the gas and it does not shift. When I put it in the next gear where 3rd gear is i give it gas and it does not shift when I let off the gas. Top speed is around 40 MPH. I have checked the fluid in the the fluid drive and it is good. What else can I check? I took it to a mechanic that works on old cars and he thinks there may be something behind the manifold that is blocking it and not allowing for more speed. I tend to lean towards something in the transmission that is not working properly. Any help or suggestion would be helpful. I did do a search on past post and could not find anything. I do have an appointment to take it to a transmission shop. he says he needs to open it up to see inside to see what is wrong.

[joecoozie]

....

Edited August 17, 2023 by joecoozie
incorrect info

[Doug&Deb]

Your car has a 3 speed transmission with the fluid coupling. It doesn’t self shift. It can be driven like a normal manual transmission or simply shift into high gear and drive like that without using the clutch. Of course acceleration is very slow that way lol.

[Dan Hiebert]

Ditto Doug&Deb's post.  What it looks like you are expecting to happen is not supposed to happen with your car's fluid drive, it is not an automatic transmission.  It's up to the operator how to drive the car, you can either go through all the gears like normal, or once in second or third, just leave it there the rest of your trip, depending on where you're driving.  I find that city driving where you rarely get over 25-30 that leaving it in second is a little livelier, to avoid getting honked at too much.  Use the clutch to get into the gear you want, then you don't have to use it again.  Sounds wrong if you're not familiar with it, and the carb has to be the right one for it to work right.  What would help with expectations for how the car operates would be an owner's manual in this case, or look up some of the old advertisements for the model.

[DonaldSmith]

" in gear where second should be...?  What does that mean?

Dodge was slow to get the semi-automatic transmission.  It had Fluid Drive with the 3-peed manual, as described above.   Eventully, Dodge got the semi-automatic.  

 

Easy way to tell - Standard Transmittion, H pattern.  Pull and up for Reverse, pull and down for 1st, push and up for 2nd, push and down for 3rd.  Semi-Automatic - pull and up for Reverse .  NO Pull-and-Down - No "1st".  Push and up for "Power" (automatoic shift !st to 2nd - stump puller.) Push down  for "Drive"  (Automatic shift 3rd to 4th.)   

 

[Sal M.]

I have tried all these and I can not get past 45mph.

[busycoupe]

Ditto to what others have said, but if it is third gear it should go much faster than 40 mph.  It's sluggihness could be because something is out of adjustment and youdo not really have it in third, or it may need fresh gas and a tune-up after sitting for years.  

[Sal M.]

So what could be out of adjustment. it has clean gas and has had a tune up.

[DonaldSmith]

I had trougle getting my DeSoto to rev high enough.  The limit was in engine revolutions, not road speed.  Lower speed in  lower gears.  My carburation problem was in the distributor - I had the points spring in wrong, and the points would float.   

 

Do you have the standard transmission connected to the fluid coupling (st gear toward you and down)? 

There is no automatic up or down shifting? 

Is your speed limited to what gear you have it in?  

 

 

 

[Doug&Deb]

Check your speed with an app on your phone. Sometimes the problem is the speedometer not working properly. 

[Sal M.]

I do but it doesn’t tell me much on what to check. There was no mention of a relay. On another thread I read about a governor. I’m going to go back to my manual to see if I missed something. Thanks. I just have no speed 

[Sal M.]

I have tried driving it shifting in all the ways possible. I just don’t have no speed. I’ve never had a fluid drive, so I am open to try anything. 

[DonaldSmith]

"Fliud drive" is not specific. For Dodge, the "Fluid Drive" fluid coupling came with a 3-speed transmission at first, and eventually with the 4-speed semi-automatic. 

 

Do you have the 3-speed manual transmission or the 4-speed semi-automatic transmission?  (Does it have the "H" shifting pattern, with "First" toward you and down, or not?)

 

The Fluid Drive with 3-speed manual transmission will have no governor or other wiring at the transmission, no transmission relay that looks like a voltage regulator, and no wires to the carburetor. 

 

 

[Sal M.]

So I must have the fluid drive with the 3speed manual transmission. So when I get into 3rd gear it does not go past 45 mph. What can I check if that is the case?

[Dan Hiebert]

With a '47 Dodge, you will indeed have the 3-speed manual tranny behind the fluid coupling.  There are no relays, and there shouldn't be any sort of governor, either.  Check the fluid level in the fluid drive itself.  If you are getting the engine rpms but the car isn't moving like it should, low fluid could very well be the culprit.  There is an access panel on the passenger side of the transmission hump.  Rotate the fluid drive assembly until the plug is lined up with the access hole.  Remove the plug, and the fluid should be just to the bottom of the hole, if not oozing out a bit.  If it is not there, it needs fluid.

Edited August 17, 2023 by Dan Hiebert

[soth122003]

I don't know a lot about the fluid drives, but it seems to me if you can't go that fast in 3rd, maybe the clutch plate is worn out. I just changed my clutch assy this past summer, and 1st and 2nd seemed good but when going into 3rd, the engine would build up the rpm fast but the car speed was not there. It would take a few minutes to get to about 40mph from 25mph. Since I was in town, I did not need to go faster. Makes me wonder if it could or would the clutch slip and not grab that good limiting the speed? 

I knew it was the clutch slipping on the pressure plate and could get a light wiff of it as well. When I changed the clutch plate it was worn smooth and down to and in some cases past the rivets. Just throwing this out there as a possible cause.

 

Joe Lee

[Merle Coggins]

When you get to 45 MPH does it just loose power and quit pulling, or so you just feel it’s revving too high at that speed? If it is loosing power at that speed I suggest you go back to your recent tune-up and reinspect things. As Don mentioned earlier, a few of us have experienced a failure to properly connect the points spring and have experienced points bounce at higher RPM’s. When this happened for me the truck wouldn’t get over 40 and would start to bog down and run terrible. Once I discovered my error, and corrected it, I got all of my power and speed back. 

[Ivan_B]

If the clutch is slipping, I suspect that the TS would notice it ain't driving right ? He already checked the fluid drive liquid, too. The engine loosing power and not pulling up well in high gear sounds possible. Besides what others suggested, check that your throttle down the carb opens all the way while the pedal is pressed.

[John Reddie]

Yes i would be sure the points are gapped correctly and your spark plugs are gapped right along with correct ignition timing setting. A plugged fuel filter or a restricted exhaust system could produce power loss as well Whatever the case good luck to you.

John R

[Bryan G]

If it's in 3rd gear, pedal to the floor, and not running at a very high RPM...then it either isn't getting enough fuel or it has a timing issue. Check your throttle linkage. Does the pedal really move it like it should? 

 

If it's revving high in 3rd gear and not gaining any more speed, it's a drivetrain issue. I've found the Fluid Drive has to be very low to cause significant slippage. A worn out clutch is possible. Who knows: you might be closing in on what retired this car in the first place.

[Ivan_B]

If it was not getting enough fuel, I'd expect the engine to start stuttering. Ever drove on an empty tank? ?

[Sal M.]

So what I have come to find out. It is going into 3rd. Gear but just doesn’t go the motor revs up but it doesn’t go past 40mph. It has not gone low on gas and doesn’t sputter. Drivetrain issues would be rear end?

[Sal M.]

John Reddit stated restricted issues with exhaust. A mechanic stated there may be some blockages and wants to remove the exhaust manifold to check for blockages. So I need to start somewhere.

[soth122003]

If the motor revs and it don't go, it's either the fluid drive or the clutch plate or both. The rear end is kinda like a fixed item. It only uses what is given from the tranny. Like I said before, i don't really know about fluid drives but if it won't go, double check the fluid level. Also see if there is an inspection plate you can take off and check the clutch plate, and pressure plate. On normal 3 speed tannys it is on the lower side or bottom.

 

Joe Lee

[soth122003]

14 minutes ago, Sal M. said:

John Reddit stated restricted issues with exhaust. A mechanic stated there may be some blockages and wants to remove the exhaust manifold to check for blockages. So I need to start somewhere.

If you had a restrictive exhaust, the engine would knida buck and stumble, due to the back pressure. Remember the kids putting the potato in the tailpipe? even a partial obstruction would hinder engine performance, like a miss in the cylinder or a back fire through the carb. running rough things like that. You stated in 3rd the engine runs fine and just won't go past 40mph or so. 

 

The gearshifting on these old cars goes about like this, 1st 0-15 mph, 2nd 15-25/30, 3rd 30 on up. In 3rd the torque output from the engine is over riding the grip of the clutch plate to the flywheel. I just changed my clutch assy 3-4 months ago for that very problem. Now it will climb a tree in 3rd.

 

Joe Lee

Edited August 20, 2023 by soth122003