Overdrive Operation Manual

[blackhawk]

So, if you pull the OD knob out - you disengage the OD and that should only be done with engine off, correct?

No, you do not need to be stopped with the engine off. Simply floor the gas pedal momentarily to engage the kick down switch and pull out the overdrive knob. I do this all the time when starting down a grade where I want engine compression to help hold the car back. ~ Dale

[RadioRoy]

Kick the OD down. Pull the knob out while the engine is still pushing the car - accelerating.

[blackhawk]

Here is a link to the owners’ manual for a 1956 Studebaker. Use of the overdrive is described on pages 12 & 13. This is the same for every Studebaker that I have owned, car or truck. ~Dale

https://www.1956goldenhawk.com/manuals/56owners.pdf

Sorry, it won’t let me delete the second link (below),,,

[Skvora]

Here is a link to the owners’ manual for a 1956 Studebaker. Use of the overdrive is described on pages 12 & 13. This is the same for every Studebaker that I have owned, car or truck. ~Dale

https://www.1956goldenhawk.com/manuals/56owners.pdf

Sorry, it won’t let me delete the second link (below),,,

Funny enough I just got an owners manual in last night.

[Big Dan]

It only freewheels if the car is below the cut-in speed.

Just the facts, please.

Ya know what Roy, you are RIGHT - Kind of! Assuming, that everything on the Overdrives electrical system is installed and functioning properly, and there is no interruption of the electrical flow to the solenoid, then the vehicle will not freewheel until the Governor disconnects the electrical flow while decelerating somewhere around 25 mph.

BUT, if there IS an interruption of the electrical circuit going to the solenoid (governor failure, wiring disconnect, kickdown switch failure, relay failure, OR YOU INTRERUPT THE CIRCUIT BY OPENING AN AUXILIARY SWITCH SUCH AS THE ONE THE OP HAS ON HIS VEHICLE), and you take your foot off the gas pedal even for a half second, that overdrive is going to go into freewheel (any time you back off the gas pedal) - at any speed just as though the speed of the vehicle had gone below 25 mph and the governor broke the electrical flow. And that's a fact.

Now that we discuss this, it tripped another memory chip in my feeble brain, and I felt the need to go back into my diary notes on that restoration and found I wasn't completely wrong in my posts here, I simply neglected to mention a few non-standard factors I had incorporated in that unique set-up. Thanks for pointing that out.

Actually, it did happen the way I described, but on my set up I had installed a special modification - the manual electrical disconnect switch, that led to that. And as a side effect, I could disengage the overdrive at ANY speed by turning the switch off. (The same special switch modification the OP has in his truck, btw)

I'd simply suggest that the OP go out and drive HIS TRUCK (because the OD has obviously been lightly modified) with the overdrive engaged and disengaged and it will take about 5 miles for him to "know" his vehicle. As far as the AUX electrical switch HE has is concerned, all it does is isolate the Governor and prevent engagement or stress on the solenoid if the overdrive is mechanically locked out using the knob.

My advice - take it or leave it......don't pull out the knob to try to lock out the overdrive with the overdrive engaged. Always check that your Auxiliary electrical switch is in the "ON" position prior to trying to move in reverse - or you'll eat the OD Bearing (frankly I'd leave it on all the time or remove it entirely); and don't follow the car in front of you too closely with the overdrive engaged if there's a chance he might slow down or stop - ESPECIALLY if you are carrying a load in the bed that will add to your braking distance. In that split second it will take the truck to "remind" you (which will be VERY stimulating I promise) that you suddenly have no engine breaking, and you jump hard on the brakes, you may end up in his trunk if you are following from a normal distance.

One of the important questions we all forgot to ask is if his truck has been converted to 12 volt. If it has and the solenoid is still 6V, it will "chatter" when the mechanical knob is locked out and the governor engages the circuit. And THAT is likely the only other reason an electrical cut off switch would be installed if all the other components are present and functioning properly.

[jackb]

I had a governor that went south in a 59' D6. I installed a toggle switch for the governor and really had to understand how that thwarted the original design of the OD. I won't get into it now, but it poses issues with the tranny function. What this alteration does is poses operational issues. I probably should have opened up the governor and inspected the insides for oil or other problems. Best bet - get the original system up to snuff and follow the owner's manual for it's operation. My guess is this was the fix for CASOs and hard to find, out of business, parts' availability....

[Big Dan]

I had a governor that went south in a 59' D6. I installed a toggle switch for the governor and really had to understand how that thwarted the original design of the OD. I won't get into it now, but it poses issues with the tranny function. What this alteration does is poses operational issues. I probably should have opened up the governor and inspected the insides for oil or other problems. Best bet - get the original system up to snuff and follow the owner's manual for it's operation. My guess is this was the fix for CASOs and hard to find, out of business, parts' availability....

Probably correct on the parts issue, and definitely good advice.

The governor is simply an electrical/mechanical switch that completes the system electrical ground at a given speed, and that activates the solenoid which shifts into overdrive. If it stops working properly 90% of the time the wire has stopped making a solid connection with the contact plate, or one of the pins holding the flyweights has broken and the shaft is no longer able to contact the plate inside to make the electrical connection. Oil inside won't stop it, but it might impede it somewhat (resulting in a higher cut in speed). It's a pretty simple and down to earth device.

If your governor goes out - for whatever reason, you can manually use the overdrive if you bypass the governor and connect the wire running to it up to a switch in the cockpit and then to ground. But then you must engage and disengage the overdrive by manually turning the switch on and off.

This switch can also be used in lieu of a kickdown switch as that also simply disconnects the overdrive electrical connection and recoils the solenoid when you floor the car/truck. And of course, you have to relax the forward pressure on the drive train in order to allow it to disengage. Again, you are flipping that switch while driving to manually control whether the overdrive is engaged or not. And that really destroys the concept of it being "automatic."

Physically it can be done. But unless you are really good at knowing that overdrive and how/when to engage it, it would be somewhat dubious to operate that way. Especially if you forget you have it engaged, and try to go into reverse, you will eat the bearing in the overdrive.

I'm not convinced that the switch the OP has is there for that reason as much as simply turning the Overdrive system off electrically.

Here's a really good YouTube video of the overdrive and how it works: Borg Warner R10-R11 Overdrive operations and parts breakdown - YouTube

[Big Dan]

One last post with some unrelated advice about your truck. And I'll apologize in advance for going off topic.

I have restored 3 1950s vintage Ford Trucks (1951, 55, 56) - my current truck (the 51 F1) that I have been driving for the past 17 years has been a REAL lesson learned in driving. There are a few things I thought you should know before you go out and try to go screaming down the road.

First, please remember that these trucks like yours and mine, built in the early 1950s were not used like pick-up trucks today. They were work vehicles used on farms and ranches and for delivery and the like in town. They were never intended to be fast or comfortable (and they're not - lol!) - they were intended to work hard and carry the load required. That's one reason they were geared the way they were. The overdrive was installed on these trucks to help remedy that and give you a little more speed when unloaded (as you will probably find that when you are loaded, the engine will not provide the HP necessary to get to any decent speed let alone when IN overdrive to take you to much of a higher speed - so, first, when loaded, lock out the overdrive. You don't want to deal with the "freewheeling" when loaded anyway.) And for a number of reasons, we've uncovered here, I have to question if the OD Transmission was Original Equipment on your truck to begin with.

But more important, these trucks whether Studebaker, Dodge, Chevy, Ford, et. al. have a very narrow front track. That makes them fairly dangerous to drive over 55 mph. And as I mentioned, without the overdrive, you'd probably have trouble going over that speed on 85-95 horses anyway especially carrying any type of load (assuming you have a 170 Champion in there). The monikers "Death Wobble" and "Monkey Jerk" are very well deserved and time-honored terms by regular drivers of these trucks - including myself.

Having the narrow track and the single tie rod manual steering, if you hit a pothole or even a seam in the road that's a little too deep, at 55, it will jerk that steering wheel out of your hands, and you will find yourself going down the road sideways until you flip over. And you will be late getting home for dinner. So, stay below 55-60 mph and if the road appears to be a little rough HOLD ON to the steering wheel TIGHT!

If you respect your truck and understand why certain things were built into it, it will work hard and long for you. It will be fun to drive, and I can promise you that every time you drive it somewhere, someone will stop you and want to strike up a conversation with you about your truck (it's very flattering, but after a while it'll start to drive you nuts). They are a lot of fun when driven respectfully. If you don't it could kill you. Take it easy breezy!