TR2/3/3A T4A Type OD Transmission Operation Testing

[DornTRoriginal]

Here's my newest hopefully not too boring of a question...

I purchased a rebuilt Type A OD Transmission in July 2012, when it arrived it was a mess, very poorly packaged for shipment, oil everywhere and the solenoid bracket was broken off but other than that everything looked in pretty good condition otherwise. As my story has gone for a while now I was attempting to get the car off to the body shop to be quickly painted :rolleye: 3 years.... ugh! I didn't take the time to do any real diagnostic testing other than just see if it would spin, the unit was bench tested prior to being transported so I was fairly confident it was going to work. Now after almost 4 years and the drama of the body shop (BS) my confidence is not quite as strong. I am starting to prepare for the final installation of the wiring, Slave cylinder etc., after finding the water in the engine I am just hoping nothing as far as the clutch & transmission has been damaged from sitting at the body shop, apparently out in the weather or from the goonies who worked at the FBS.

I am reading the Buckeye notes to learn more about these beasts, this would be a good book on tape narrated by Randall I think? :highly_amused: I was wondering if you all had any suggestions on testing procedures, if you think I should pull the transmission out to inspect the clutch etc. or just go forward and pray it's gonna be fine? When I put the drive train together I replaced everything; bearings, clutch disc, pressure plate, shaft pin EVERYTHING possible! Plus I had the fly wheel re-surfaced! Right now there is quite a bit of transmission fluid that has been leaking from somewhere but I can't tell from where yet, my first thought was the drain plug but reconsidering that quick assumption after reading a bit more, I can't push the shaft to operate the clutch by hand but I'm thinking that's just from not having enough leverage from beneath the car. Gentlemen and Ladies any thoughts? Should be a fun weekend!

Thank you!

 

[TR3driver]

If I read this right, you've already got the OD gearbox & engine in the car, right? If so, I would probably go ahead with the wiring, clutch slave and so on; but stop short of installing the tunnel for a brief test drive. At that point, you'll discover pretty quickly if there is a problem, and the effort with the wiring and slave won't entirely go to waste even if you do have to pull the gearbox back out again. (The wiring just snaps off, and the clutch slave can be left dangling from it's hose without opening the hydraulics.)

You're right about the clutch lever, takes too much force to do by hand. IIRC Nelson worked out that the ratio between the pedal and lever is roughly 7:1 and it takes roughly 30 lbf at the pedal to release the clutch, so that would be around 200 pounds of force at the lever. If you absolutely have to move it without using the hydraulics, then a length of pipe might give you enough leverage ... but I would suggest hooking up the hydraulics instead.

 

[jfarris]

What Randall said - don't put that tunnel on until you are happy with the way the OD works. I got one rebuilt by a well known, reputable individual. It took a long time, about 100 miles (over 8-9 months) for the two friction surfaces to match to the point that they would release when electrically or mechanically disengaged. I used a heavy rubber mallet to pound on the case to get it to release. Most of this time, I actuated the lever on the right side of the tranny with a small piece of wood to engage the OD. Getting the solenoid adjusted to work properly was another nightmare. But, it's done and everything is buttoned up and working. If you drive without the tunnel, be sure to build a small screen (I used cardboard) over the front driveshaft U-joint so it doesn't sling grease everywhere. And it goes without saying watch for loose clothing and where you put your hands. If I had it to do over, I would want the OD rebuilder to run it in on a test bench and guarantee it or I would build my own test bench using a small electric motor. I lost a lot of good driving time fiddling with the OD.
Good luck!

 

[TR3driver]

Getting the solenoid adjusted to work properly was another nightmare.

FWIW, that clamp has to be really tight, or it will slip later on. I found it hard to get it tight enough with the OD in the car, so I made a small modification that both allows it to be tightened with an Allen wrench, and removes the need to hold a nut.





Also, the "setting hole" in the lever is sometimes not accurate any more, due to wear in the valve stem and where it rides on the cam. My feeling is that the ball lift should be checked at least once to make sure the setting hole is accurate.

https://www.buckeyetriumphs.org/technical/AOD/AOD4/AOD4.htm

 

[Geo Hahn]

Definitely a good idea to leave the tunnel off while you do a test drive - but consider a cardboard shield over the u-joint:

It will spare your pants from acquiring a racing stripe if the u-joint is freshly lubed.

Will also keep your fingers, shirttail, seat belt end etc from getting caught up in the works (which could surely give you another sort of racing stripe).

 

[DornTRoriginal]

If I read this right, you've already got the OD gearbox & engine in the car, right? If so, I would probably go ahead with the wiring, clutch slave and so on; but stop short of installing the tunnel for a brief test drive. At that point, you'll discover pretty quickly if there is a problem, and the effort with the wiring and slave won't entirely go to waste even if you do have to pull the gearbox back out again. (The wiring just snaps off, and the clutch slave can be left dangling from it's hose without opening the hydraulics.)

The tunnel is on the car, I wanted the tunnel and the bolts to be painted body color, sounds like I need to remove it to work on the wires correct?

 

[TR3driver]

The tunnel is on the car, I wanted the tunnel and the bolts to be painted body color, sounds like I need to remove it to work on the wires correct?

Might depend on how long and thin your hands are. I can't begin to even touch the lockout switches with the tunnel in place. Had to pull the tunnel when one of the wires came off it's switch.