TR2/3/3A Here We Go!

I have been saving the TR2 overdrive for last. It's now that time.

I expected this to be bad, as the PO, which bought the car 4 years ago hoping to restore it had actually bent the shift lever trying to get the car out of reverse. That is stuck when you bend the lever! I did not know what to expect...but what I got is worse than anything I have ever seen.



The easy part was the clutch lever was welded to the shaft. That was new, but actually only took 1 minute with a grinder to take care of. In fact, it was so easy that I may just weld them on from now on...no more pins to worry about breaking...



But now the bad. There are no broken parts, and rust is minimal. But, most of you are old enough to remember Steve McQueen's movie "The Blob". Well, I know where the blob went after they dropped it in the artic...it is in my OD! I have never seen anything like this. The tranny had about 1 quart of yellowish oil, about the thickness of 90W. But under that oil is, well, tar.









This makes dis-assembly very difficult, as it is essentially glue. You cannot move any part quickly. Instead, you have to put pressure on it and walk away for 2 hours. The tar then slowly oozes and allows the part to move. It took 12 hours to remove the OD from the tranny, allowing the 8 strong springs to push the tar. It took 3 hours upside down for the countershaft to drop out. Tapping or hammering is a waste of time, as the blob is hard as a rock if you try to move it fast, as with a hammer impact.

I almost changed the solvent in my cleaning tank before starting this job. Thankfully I didn't, as this will contaminate anything it touches...

Has anyone seen this happen?

Yikes... Looks like you need a horse trough filled with something to drop that tranny into to break that guck down.

Oh I put that on my cereal--- gasoline will cut it and they have the trough in the home depot garden section, your still my hero John

Have it hot tanked (in a solution that won't eat aluminum)?
Berry

What chemical reaction caused this. I've seen blow by do this to a motor and I know the original 90 weight was really a grease but still.....

John-

I've not seen oil set up that bad before - but actually the good news appears to be you may have very intact, unrusty overdrive there - time to just let it soak in solvent.

I used ATF in my last OD and it worked well to ungum things but yours is definitely severe. I would stay patient though, especially with the operating and accumulator pistons as I think they'll benefit from a good solvent soak before disassembly and you can hopefully save all the piston rings which are fragile.

John,
that one is messy! I should have straight shifter arm and know I have good clutch shaft. If you get into a bind I have a friend that rebuilds o/d trans for me. Hes good!

marv

That stuff looks like the inspiration for gorilla glue, bet it smells real nice, I have an old TR6 motor in the garage that exudes a very unique and ripe smell whenever I expose some previously unearthed innards. But it looks like the sticky goo kept things covered up pretty well and limited corrosion pretty well.

Thanks for the tips...

I've got the parts that I could get free in kerosene. I'll step up to gasoline if that doesn't work, and finally a shop to hot tank. I'd hot tank first, but my favorite machine shop would give me a ration of $&@t if I try to drop that blob stuff in his tank!

The cases are tipped upside down, so hopefully a lot of that blob will settle out over several days. This thing has been sitting 2 years...if I had know what was in it I would have filled it with gasoline for the 2 years!

John - I bet you that it didn't leak a drop during those two years. Most overdrives leak on a continuous basis - not much, but just enough to make a stain.

You're right, Don. Not a drop. I even pulled the plug to drain it and nothing came out. I (wrongly) concluded that my PO had drained it. If only I knew...

I grew up in Houston, and I remembered a story from one of the roustabouts that some oil that came out of the ground was more like sludge. He told me they had to keep it hot or it would turn solid. Makes me wonder if they put some of that Texas crude in this OD?

That was a good one Don

I've got my first tranny question...

What is the difference between the "early" 2 piece shift lever vs. the one piece? And, when was the transition to the one piece?

I am exactly sure John, but my buddy Barry Nelson had some made and would sell them on evil bay. I have tried to contact him, but he retired and moved to NM. You are down that way and perhaps you can have better luck. He did have a couple of originals and was very proud of them. Peter K use to buy stuff from him, so maybe he has his email. My computer crashed and I cannot find him.

The two piece lever has the same dimensions as the single piece, but it does have a different means for fixing the shift knob. Instead of a threaded top, the early lever used a special push-on gear knob. Here is a picture (my spring is upside down, by the way). I don't know the transition point but I can find out if you want. It is probably a lot easier to use the threaded one piece.

Cheers

Dan

John,
what is the number on your trans?

marv

Thanks Steve, Marv. Funny you asked for the tranny number, as I just spent 6 hours cleaning the tar out/off the case so I can even see the number! It's 5565. If the transition was the same for the push-on knob, then I think the one piece is correct for me. At least that's one part I lucked out on for a change, as I see the 2 piece is about as common as my wire wheel collars! I have a spare later shifter from my "magic" pile, although it will take a trip to the chrome shop...always something...

I did notice that the shift lever that came with the car does not have the little anti-rattle spring that came later. So it is a one piece lever with no anti-rattle spring.

Thanks again!

John, the change to single piece lever was 2876, so you are correct with the single piece.

dan

I have an early o/d trans TS 11635, its a one piece. It had a funny extension on the shifter that screwed off. I thought it was home made but now I'm wondering. Will have to dig it out and look it over a little closer

Marv