Fluidrive problems

[Ramon Angulo]

Hey guys

Does anybody know were I can get a rebuild kit for a 48 d24 fluidrive. I have use Bernbaum for most of my restoration but some of their stuff dosent fit right or you have to make it work. Besides they are very short and kind of rude. Any help would be greatly appriciated. Has any body rebuilt their fluidrive tranny.

[Dodgeb4ya]

Problems W/ the M5 1946-8 Hydraulically operated trans are:

#1 -Blocker ring and sleeve- if bad bangs into/out of high range gear

#2 -free wheeling cam and rollers worn

#3 -input shaft bearing worn- causes howl under low range gear loads

#4 - oil pump gears worn- low oil pressure, another cause of poor/slow upshifts

#5 -Input shaft gear teeth worn- another cause of poor upshifts. Should be replaced W/blocker ring and sleeve.

#6 - transmission fender mounted relay/fuse, make sure it`s good

#7 - new correctly installed trans wiring harniss W/ proper color coding

Personally if the transmission works ok- leave it alone. Parts for these are really hard to find- being the input shaft and the blocker ring and sleeve pkg. Bearings no problem. Then you need to know what you are doing. These are not as simple as a 3 speed or an OverDrive! Some of these old very well used M5`s still shift perfectly and quiet after 60 years!

Bob

[greg g]

Well that all depends on which fluid drive system you have. The regular with the fluid unit backed up with a regular three speed of the Gyromatic dodges version of the Semi automatic. But I don;t think Dodge had them till 49.

What are ou trying to achieve. The regular fluid drive is just about bomb proof. Unless it is leaking. Then you need to replace the seals but this is pretty rare. If it slipping when in gear, then you might need to add some fluid or do a drain and flush with the correct stuff (basically universal tractor hydraulic fluid)

So tell us more about which version of fluid drive you have and what mankes you consider and overhaul.

As far as Andy and his parts are concerned the general concessus is to look and do business elsewhere.

Check

Robertsmotorparts. They have an online catalog.

[55 Fargo]

Once again , another Burnbomb victim of the abuse cycle, too bad he could get a lot more business I am sure.........Fred

[JIPJOBXX]

Check out Hemming Motor News adds! I'm fairly sure you will either find a rebuilt fluid drive or the parts to repair them in that magazine.

I found out when I was thinking of rebuilding mine that its almost better to get a rebuilt one as the seals are not hard to get but just machining them can be a problem. I paid 275 dollars for my fluid drive unit and it was worth every cent.

Jon

[Ramon Angulo]

Please excuse my lack of knowledge regarding my trans. This is my first old car so please bare with me. When I baught the car it shifted just fine but it did leak. I figured I would replace the gaskets and reinstall it. I must have screwed something up during the process. Now I have no reverse and a driving gear. The trans has three speeds and no wiring of any sorts.

[Ramon Angulo]

Here is a pic of my trans.

[Tom Skinner]

Ramon,

When I re-installed my Clutch and Tranny on my 1948 Chrysler Royal Fluid Drive and installed new Rear Motor Mounts, I had no Reverse Gear.

Check and Adjust your Transmission Linkage at the Steering Column just in front of the Firewall. You probably will get back your Gears that way.

Go to Chrysler Imperial Club Web Site and look at their Technical Booklets. Transmission Fundamentals Volumn # 2 Number # 6 Copyright, 1949, Page 20, and 21. (Adjusting the Linkage to Fit and Movement of the Selector Lever)

This should help.

Tom Skinner

Huntersville NC

[Dodgeb4ya]

Oops,

I forgot- few Dodges ever had the M5 trans, just the coupling W/3spd. Never mind ! My previous info is for DeSoto and Chrysler.

Bob

[Tom Skinner]

Dear Ramon,

Looks like your Tranny is Standard, not Fluid Drive, however that Booklet still pertains.

Tom Skinner

Huntersville, NC

[Brendan D25]

While on the subject of fluid drive, did all D24s come with it or did some have a regular 3 speed?

[Ramon Angulo]

Thanks for all your help guys. I did mess with the linkage and still no luck. I am pretty sure it is a fluidrive because when first bought the car I drove it and i could stop with out putting the clutch in on third gear. Then just get on the gas and just go. This is what the fluidrive does right? I think I'am a little over my head. I spoke with a guy at a local shop and I will probrably take it to him and take it in the wallet.

[Dodgeb4ya]

If you did the transmission repair work correctly and now it just won`t go into reverse or low (1st) gears, I also aree you need to carefully re-check again the shift rod adjustment- the one with the 2 lock nuts. It`s either too tight or too loose. That will cause no reverse or 1st gear and sometimes hard into 2nd/3rd. You need the factory shop manual, if you want to repair and do maintenence on your car with confidence.

Bob

[JIPJOBXX]

I have a fluid drive car and yes you can use the clutch to get the car going. The fluid drive will get the car a rolling by just having the clutch in and letting it out to get the car to moving. Or you can start out in second the same way. Its not as mysterious as it sounds and is probably the simplest automatic there was ever made.

You can check the fluid in the fluid drive part by taking back the carpet on the passenger side of the car and remove the small sheet metal access cover. When you do this you will see a cap that screwed into the bell housing, remove that and then rotate the engine by hand and look down that hole where you removed that cap. There is another cap down there and remove it and fill the fluid drive unit till it full. You can use tractor oil for this purpose and can bought at any napa car parts store. When full just put the first cap on and then the second-no big deal and easy to do. One thing be sure if and when you remove the second cap be careful not to drop it back down into the bell housing as it would be very hard to get back out. I used a small towel around that hole stuck in just in case I dropped it back in.

If you have any question just e-mail me oft line. Jon

[John Nickell]

I have very little experience when it comes to these cars but I have a quick thought to throw out and let the real experts comment on. I was wondering what gaskets he replaced in the repair process. If it was the one between the transmission and the bell housing it may be blocking the hole that one of the rod passes through when you put it in 1st and reverse. I know some have installed the gasket without a hole in it to allow for the passage of the rod without a problem but maybe in this case it is causing a problem. The link has a pretty good discussion about this top.

John

http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=2086&highlight=transmission+gasket

[Ramon Angulo]

Hey guys thanks for all the advice. I decided to take the car to a lock shop. These guys really know their stuff. With in an hour they had may car ready to go! They brought revers and third gear back from vacation. It turns out when I took it apart a spring inside the trans popped out of place. What really got me is that they didnt charge me anything. It was a big thing for them to fix it but it was to me! They refuse to let me pay for that hour. It feels good to know that there are still good shops around. They could have easily charged me an arm and a leg like some of these big shops. That why I like the small ma and pop shops!

[dirty dan]

Hey guys thanks for all the advice. I decided to take the car to a lock shop. These guys really know their stuff. With in an hour they had may car ready to go! They brought revers and third gear back from vacation. It turns out when I took it apart a spring inside the trans popped out of place. What really got me is that they didnt charge me anything. It was a big thing for them to fix it but it was to me! They refuse to let me pay for that hour. It feels good to know that there are still good shops around. They could have easily charged me an arm and a leg like some of these big shops. That why I like the small ma and pop shops!

Well, now you know who to bring her to when you need work done that you can't or don't feel like doing.

[Don Coatney]

Lock shop? Guess I need to find a transmission shop to fix my door locks.