Transmission / Overdrive: 1950 land cruiser overdrive/ freewheeling

[wagonairedriver]

Next task on the Land Cruiser is to fix the overdrive. The electrical troubleshooting section from the B/W manual turned up a bad relay. Took it apart and cleaned the contacts and looked for bad solder connections. No soap, so got one on the way.
My question is this: Without the relay in place, if I drive the car, should it still freewheel if the knob is pushed in all the way, or do the electrics still play a role? Couldn't answer this from reading the manual.
Thanks, Kelly

[mbstude]

The freewheeling is strictly mechanical. It should freewheel, but not engage the od.

[wagonairedriver]

thank you! Guess I'll go for a test drive...

[TWChamp]

Since you don't have OD for the moment I would pull the lever to lock it out rather than freewheel. It'll save wear on some of the parts, and freewheeling is actually outlawed in some places. My 1950 OD relay didn't work until I polished the contacts because the little old lady I bought the car from never got it over 30 MPH to kick in the relay and keep the contacts polished.

[wagonairedriver]

I just wanted to test the freewheeling to see if it would work. On my test drive it would not freewheel. The knob was pushed all the way in. I climbed under the car and the lever is moving just as it should, all the way to the stop.
I don't really know where to go from here. This car is a mystery. It looks like every bolt has been replaced and is brand new. The transmission looks fresh. I wonder if something was assembled incorrectly.
If anybody has any ideas of things to check, I'm all ears.

As far as the relay is concerned,I took off the cover and filed the points and cleaned everything before I ordered a new one. It must have a bad spot in the shunt winding.

thanks again, Kelly