Coming home yesterday my 55 farilane town sedan quit shigting into od, I put the od handle in non od and it had back pressure when I let off moved it back into od and it freewheeled when I let off. The car dosent have to have a new clutch installed but since the od quit shifting I figured it would be best to go ahead and replace the clutch and it would be a lot easier to replace the soelnoids, wiring and kick down switch. If anyone has any advice on issues I might run into or where to get parts would be great. Thanks.

Did you check the fuse mounted on the overdrive relay?



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

yes I have power on both sides of the fuse

For a quick check of the solenoid run a heavy gage wire direct from the solenoid connection at the relay to the battery. Touch the the wire to the battery; the solenoid should click. If it does click check the governor. They rarely give trouble but it's not unheard of. 

A shop manual can be very helpful and informative when dealing with these overdrive transmissions. There is an excellent wiring diagram and the text and illustrations will cover testing of all the components with out removing them from the vehicle. All good advise above but if you study the wiring diagram in the shop manual it will really simplify how it all works. As always, there is lots of good advise here - good luck................

64F100 57FAIRLANE500

Ive got a shop manual and Ive been studying it but I cant get comfy with shorting stuff out as I cant fully comprehend what is what.

You may find this helpful:

https://www.amazon.com/Borg-Warner-Overdrive-Transmission-Manual/dp/B07B8WX2YN

This is the official Borg-Warner manual and goes into more depth than most auto manufacturer service manuals. It used to be available online for free but I can't find the website now.

On line manual for free. Maybe more in the electrical trouble shooting section than your factory manual.

http://www.oldwillysforum.com/forum/TechData/BWOverdriveManual.pdf

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

Does the ‘kick-down’ switch ever fail in the OD ‘off’ situation?  I know I once had to replace mine, but can’t remember what happened then.
P.S. I think the ‘56 shop manual has more OD data than the ‘55.

6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

Thanks guys I appreciate the help, Ive never used the kick down switch so I dont know what you are describing, I always keep the rpm below 2k and mainly just puut around, I will read the manual and hopefully I can ask better questions.