Alan, after reviewing the information again, I continue to believe that the root problem is mechanical and evidenced by the lack of freewheeling. I can see only two causes of no freewheeling: sun gear stuck engaged in locked position with planetary set, and locked up freewheel clutch. I can’t think of any way of dealing with either potential problem without overdrive disassembly.

I hope you can find a pro to sort it out for you. Good luck! I’m curious to know what the ultimate solution is.

1954 Crestline Victoria 312 4-bbl, 3-speed overdrive

It is looking more and more like my transmission is going to have to come out and someone who knows what they are doing will need to tear down the overdrive to figure out what is wrong inside of it.   I could pull the transmission myself but working on the internal parts of the overdrive is "way above my pay grade".  Does anyone know someone in the Southern California area who knows these transmissions?  

Peeeot....I have a feeling that my problem is going to come down to one of the causes described in sections 27-29 in the Borg Warner Manual.

Miker, when I am using the term “locked up” I am referring to the planetary gear set being locked, causing the transmission to operate like a conventional 3-speed. As for your question, it looks like there is a groove in the O/D pawl that corresponds to a larger diameter section of the shift rail. I am not positive but it looks like the idea is that when the rail is moved rearward (overdrive lockout) the pawl is prevented from moving at all because the large diameter section of the shift rail fits in the pawl groove. Conversely, if you were trying to shift into reverse while the solenoid is engaged, with pawl extended, you would be blocked from doing so because the large diameter section of the shift rail wouldn’t match up with the groove in the pawl.

Alan, based on what you described it sounds like the shift rail is indeed moving forward and backward like it should. I’m going to have to reread the thread to see if I can come up with anything else to try short of pulling the transmission out.

1954 Crestline Victoria 312 4-bbl, 3-speed overdrive

Peeeot....as you suggested, I disconnected the O.D. cable to test the tension of the shift lever with the transmission in reverse.  Just as you predicted, there was no resistance to moving the lever from one stop to the other and no spring tension.  I then shifted the transmission into first gear and the free play of the lever was about 1/2" and the spring tension returned for the rest of the travel.  I assume that this means that the shift lever is working correctly????   Now what????  

peeet, I get that. But If the rail is properly in place and working (solenoid not engaged while parked). Shouldn’t the shift to reverse either 1) force the o/d to disengage or 2) stop the main transmission from engaging reverse? Maybe I’m confusing the remarks “locked up” with both being engaged. I owned a car with a bit of a Mickey Mouse factory 4 speed that would do that. If you pulled it from reverse and weren’t careful you could stick it in first (not always, just when it lined up right), with reverse still partially engaged. Letting the clutch out then really locked things up. Like call a roll back and put dolly’s under the rear wheels to load it. (It was a scrubby by the way).

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ

Miker, when the rear transmission shift fork is moved into reverse position it physically pushes the overdrive shift rail (and sun gear) rearward into the lockout position. This is why the overdrive shift lever loses all resistance to movement (cable disconnected) when the trans is in reverse—it doesn’t “feel” the return spring pressure anymore.

Here is a link to the manual for any who haven’t seen it. http://www.oldwillysforum.com/forum/TechData/BWOverdriveManual.pdf

1954 Crestline Victoria 312 4-bbl, 3-speed overdrive

This is just a question as I try to keep up. I now understand the part about the shift rail and the spring thanks to the above post. Does the rail stop you from engaging reverse (if something fails and you’re in o/d and stopped) or is it supposed to mechanically disengage the o/d as the transmission itself goes into reverse. It been some time since I pulled my last o/d unit, and the only problem I had was a failed solenoid. Just trying to learn a bit and refresh my memory.

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ

Alan, I believe what you and Ranchero Jim describe would happen any time the solenoid is fully engaged and the sun gear is in the locked position (toward rear of car). This would never happen organically because the solenoid would never activate in reverse. I do not believe it confirms anything about the shift rail specifically, but only that (as already suspected) the sun gear is in the locked position, either along with the shift rail or somehow independent of it.

Unfortunately it is not possible to swap overdrives without removing the whole transmission.

If no matter what you do at any time you never have freewheeling, it seems removing and tearing down the overdrive is inevitable.

1954 Crestline Victoria 312 4-bbl, 3-speed overdrive

I only use a manual switch and if I forget to switch it off it locks up in reverse, so that sounds normal