Justin Pease

Gotcha. And this is just 10w motor oil?

Alright, so I tried to use my timing light to measure the idle only to realize it does not have a tach on it... so that didn't work. I don't really believe that this is the issue since the vehicle shifts up just fine, and it's only struggling to shift down. I've linked a short video of the vehicle running so you can decide if the idle sounds high to you or not. It was relatively warm (but probably not 100% operating temp) at the time of the video. I do show the temp gauge so you can see for yourself exactly how warm it is. Additionally, I have made a miniscule amount of progress - for the first time ever, I was able to inadvertently get the transmission to shift down on its own. Not sure exactly how, I think mostly in a "perfect storm" kind of way, but I took the car for a short Italian tune-up (a 2-exit jaunt on the interstate at about 60-65 to see how she liked it - for those curious, she liked it just fine!). The exit I took was a long, downhill stretch - not so steep as to need copious brakes, but just so that she engine braked down the hill without gaining or losing much speed. As I approached my turn, I applied the brakes, then applied them with more force as my turn approached a little faster than I had anticipated. I slowed from about 60mph to 20mph (indicated speed) at a moderately fast pace and turned onto the road. As I reapplied the gas, I found that she had downshifted into 3rd and I hadn't even noticed it! I was stoked, but alas could not replicate the results on the remainder of my drive home. I'm now suspicious of the hydraulic fluid - I have no idea what it's running, and I have not changed it in my ownership of the vehicle. But if it was able to downshift, then I wonder if the fluid is perhaps too thick and not allowing it to downshift unless it experiences a sudden deceleration and causes the oil pressure inside the trans to drop quickly. Thoughts? How do I check trans fluid level and confirm the type? Is it best to just change it for safety? Here's the video of her running (it's hosted on Google Drive since it's too long to attach directly). It is currently still processing but should be done in a few more minutes - if anyone has trouble viewing it, let me know.

High idle speed could be possible, though the transmission shifts up okay (though it does take about 3-4 seconds between letting my foot off and hearing it shift as the idle comes down). I felt like if I adjusted the idle down much further, the car might stall when you come to a stop in gear, which is why I haven't touched it at all. I'll try to record a video of the car running (both in drive and not) so you can hear her run and tell me if it sounds super high to you... I'll also try to measure my idle today with my timing light.

Antique cars galore! These guys have been my steady source of obscure parts and odd bits and pieces for years now. They have everything from run-of-the-mill junkyard stuff to cars from the 80s, 70s, 60s, 50s, 40s, and even 30s (though the 30s cars are usually just piles of rusting metal by now, with few salvageable parts). They're located at 231 Craftsbury Rd., Hardwick, VT and they can be reached at 802.472.5058 M-F from 0700-1600hrs and Saturday 0800 to 1200hrs. Additionally, one can search some of their parts catalog here. Additionally, photos of Gates' offerings and relics can be found here. If they have a part you need and you're not local to the area, let me know - I can probably arrange to ship you the part for a small fee, as Gates doesn't do parts-by-mail as far as I'm aware. Hope this helps someone! EDIT: I reached out to Gates to ask about some parts I needed. I learned that as the scrap price was about to drop, Gates sadly scrapped every single antique car left on their lot. They essentially liquidated their least profitable parts-pulling lot into scrap due to the falling price. Can't fault em, but don't call em for old parts anymore. A big part of my childhood with my dad was grabbing parts from this place together - sad to see the old stuff go

Hey Keith, I have a pretty good understanding on how the trans works thanks to your videos (though I was under the impression that the trans and engine shared oil... realizing now that they do not, but the trans does use engine oil, just not shared engine oil). I'm curious if the governor points causing the trans not to downshift can be possible in this case... It was my understanding that the governor is responsible for both upshifts and downshifts, as the oil pressure cannot flow without the displacement of the ball valve. The governor hits the sweet spot (35), cuts power to the solenoid, which actuates the rod and displaces the ball valve, allowing oil to flow and move the shift collar. The inverse happens as you lose speed, the governor loses contact, the solenoid is de-energized, and the ball valve is seated. Oil pressure drops on the work side and the collar is pushed back. But if the governor is working one way, shouldn't it be working the other? Upshifts are working just fine, and without fail, but downshifts only happen when the clutch is put in. I'm missing the connection between the clutch and the oil pressure - how does putting the clutch in (which increases engine rpm since it is no longer under load) make any difference?

Hey all! I really appreciate all the support on this thread - you guys truly come through every time! Somehow I didn't get subscribed to this thread automagically which means I just read all of the replies here moments ago rather than as they came in. I ended up doing some more diagnosis and bleeding and found that my pedal was decently firm at the end of the bleed job and stayed as such, but within 2 miles of driving, the brakes faded to an unreasonable level and the car came to quite the leisurely stop. Pumping the brakes still caused a better effect, but I couldn't believe that there was still natural air in the lines. I inspected the master cylinder further and found that there was a small, nearly invisible tear in the boot. I wasn't sure that this was the cause, as I didn't think a small tear in this boot could cause the effect I was experiencing, but in the end I was faced with taking her to a shop (I couldn't stand to look at the bleed screws another time without expecting a different result) or replacing the master cylinder. I decided to pursue the BMW Service Advisor method and Diagnose By Replacement® and replaced the master cylinder. Finished that install today, after also running a new line to the rear (since the old one wouldn't come off without a fight) and upon bleeding all the brakes one last time, I had an incredibly firm pedal, so firm that I had to get used to how high my knee was during braking. The car now stops smoothly, evenly, and (if necessary) quite quickly. My friend and I tested the brakes and had a bit of an incident - we braced ourselves for the lurch of a sudden stop, and suddenly stop we did, but we forgot to brace the unsecured fire extinguisher on the seat, and it viciously attacked my friend's leg with its sharp nozzle. But, foresight shortcomings aside, all is now well. Again, really appreciate everyone's ideas! Keith, I have bookmarked your comment and may return to you in the future to snip up one of them fancy tools: I manually measured the distances with a tape measure and some mathematics, but it took ages and eventually I entered entirely the "guesstimate" method and snipped it all back together. On to the next - I finished this job and returned home, literally 10 minutes after the completion of the brake job, and discovered that I could not open my LR door. Another hour of fiddling and grease, and I've found the problem - but that's the next thread

Hello again! A brief hiatus from the forums as I spent hours and hours underneath the car every evening after work. Things that are new, for those that are probably not that interested: -New fuel tank -New fuel lines (this was a nightmare. I had to empty the tank twice, and I earned chemical burns on both of my arms from 93 non-ethanol. Ow.) -New distributor cap -Windshield chip filled (thanks to the guys at the local glass shop, and they thought the car was so cool they did it for free!) -And a lot of driving! Put about 500 miles on the car since my last post, and it's running very well. It was my daily for about a week straight, through rain and shine. My next problem is this. I had been running the car on 3 brakes (the left front wheel cylinder was totally shot - bleeder screw snapped of inside it and so did the screw extractor. Whoa). I finally got round to installing a new wheel cylinder on that side to find that once my brakes were bled, the left front was completely locked from going forward (backwards was fine). I spent at least 5-6 hours total (across a few days) bleeding this brake system to get a nice firm pedal. Further investigation revealed I had a brake lining that was delaminating from the shoe. Yesterday, I replaced those shoes and the problem was solved - except that my pedal still goes to the floor. I can't believe I still have air hiding in the lines - I've put 4-5qts of brake fluid into this car and pumped it out across all the wheels (mostly the fronts). I originally followed the order (furthest first, according to the manual) but eventually I just started going round and bleeding each one that I suspected in no particular order at all. I've now bled the brakes on this car on 8 separate occasions, and I think if I ever see another bleeder screw again I might curl into the fetal position and slowly rock back and fort while muttering about "brake lines" and "bleeder screws" and "3/8, no no, 5/16 on this one." I thought I solved the bleeding issue yesterday (I finished on the backs, inverse of the proper order) and got no bubbles from my lines. But when I took the car for a jaunt, I had a lack of stopping power, enough to come to a quicker (but not quite a short) stop, but not enough that wheels locked. Pumping the brake pedal did produce this effect, after 3-4 pumps. By the time I got home, my pedal was going all the way to the floor and I had to pump it a few times to get it to stop anytime this year. Is this air leaking into my lines somewhere? Is my master bad? Is it possible that air is sneaking in around the bleed screw threads? I've had various people pumping my brake pedal, and they all agree by the end of the bleed process that the pedal is firm the first pump. By the time I get back from a 2mi drive, the pedal is soft again and stopping is a suggestion, not a command. Anyone have this happen before? Any good ideas on how to solve it? Is it worth it to just bring the damned thing to a shop and make them bleed the brakes since I might go crazy if I have to do any more? Thanks y'all.

Thanks for all this info - a little update, the trans is working beautifully (turns out I didn't have enough speed which is why it was only upshifting sometimes - give it 30-35mph and it shifts happily into 4th). I've been driving the car on the road for about 2 weeks now, and for one of those weeks it was my daily. It starts every time, runs beautifully, and I found the source of my evil oil leak (I joke that this car is like a feral cat - sometimes it dislikes new people, you must approach it slowly, and it marks its territory). The transmission will not downshift, though, from 4 to 3 when I come to a stop (I must come to a full stop and I have to put the clutch in and release it to force the car to shift back into 3rd). I think this likely has something to do with the thickness of the oil that I'm using (I have been using very thick oil in the engine as the car was burning a lot of it due to rings - the rings have now seemingly rejuvenated and it now burns no more oil than would be normally acceptable for a car of this vintage. I am going to start moving the oil back thinner and thinner to bring it back to a more acceptable, thinner oil). I have to replace the wiring for the dashpot and the coil interrupter wiring before I dare connect it - those wires are very, very frayed and a giant fire waiting to happen if I were to run any power through them. I have been driving the vehicle without the aid of the kickdown in the meantime.

Update - got the car moving a little bit faster and I believe the transmission may have shifted, but I wasn't sure. Certainly sounded like it did, but by that point I was going about 35-40 and being that the car currently only has rear brakes, no plates, no insurance, and my turn was rapidly approaching, I didn't keep it going in what might've been fourth for more than about 5 seconds. I'll try again tomorrow evening perhaps and see if I can't get it to shift again.

Just a final update to everyone following this topic - following all the help I got here, and following some carb help and a small fire, I started the car for the first time a few days ago. It runs very smooth, without any big knocks or bumps. There is some scoring in the walls of cylinders 3 and 4, so it burns a large amount of oil - the engine will eventually have to come out to repair that damage. But it runs well, sounds good, and the transmission engages and moves the car! There is a new topic up regarding some questions/issues I'm having with the transmission - you can find that below if you so desire. (I create a new topic for each issue for the benefit of future people looking for the same answers to the same questions - as someone who often browses through 15-year-old forum posts for answers, it gets confusing when I'm in a thread about a carb and suddenly I'm reading about valve trouble and transmission issues, and then when I have trans issues I look for trans threads and not the carb thread that has the answers in it.)

Good morning all! Happy day-after-the-Fourth-of-July. I got my 52 Custom up and running with loads of help from you guys, and it now starts right up, warms up, idles, and goes into gear. I did change the engine oil but didn't pull the oil pan or open the trans cover yet. I've driven it about a little bit, just basically across the street and in the parking lot where I work on it, but I noticed that the transmission does not shift from 3rd to 4th in Drive/high gear. The car speeds up to about 20-25, and sounds like it's ready to shift, so I pick my foot up off the gas, but it doesn't shift for me. This condition exists the same in Low gear, where the car is in 1 but does not shift to 2. I don't dare speed up any more past 25 or so in Drive because I know that's about where the shift point from 3-4 is and don't want to overrun the engine. I have a good understanding on how the transmission works (thanks to my shop manual and @keithb7): Where is a good place to start looking at failure points? I suspect wiring, as the wiring on this car is rather... terrifying. I have four connections in the engine compartment that are disconnected - two that go to the carb, and two that go to the coil. Do all of those need to be connected for the transmission to shift? I was under the impression that the ones to the carb were the kick-down shift, telling the car to shift back into 3rd under 40mph when the accelerator is pushed to the floor. What do the ones to the coil do? Would connecting them allow the trans to shift? Or is a more likely scenario that the transmission solenoid, governor, or wiring between the two has failed? Could it perhaps be the trans oil pump? There are so many potential points of failure on this wildly complicated transmission - I'm basically just looking for what might be the most likely to fail and where to start looking, or whether those wires to the carb and coil need to be connected to shift UP. Thanks all! Have a safe weekend!

Hi again! Just a little update. I inspected the carburetor again and determined that little dry-chem fire extinguisher had actually entered the carb. I cleaned up the outside a bit and then applied some actual brain power as to why it was overflowing - turns out, the float was adjusted fine, and it was missing the float needle. I installed that (it was in very good shape, like it was replaced at one point) and the car runs smoothly, idles, and goes into gear. I'll be opening another topic on some transmission questions I have (I do this so that it's easier for anyone else down the line who has the same questions to find the threads and the answers they need). Thanks all!

Update - was fiddling around with it this afternoon and the carb caught fire. It was definitely user error, I knew gas was dripping, but didn't think the car had run nearly enough for the gas to spontaneously combust. But it did, and it was not a small fire. The carb was engulfed. I grabbed a fire extinguisher and put the fire out, but I'm now thinking between the amount of dry chem inside the carb and the likely damage the seals sustained from the heat, I'll have to do a full rebuild if not a replacement. I will inspect and clean the carb further tomorrow... Hopefully I don't have to replace it as it seems like it might be hard to find another in good shape.

@Bloo you're a lifesaver. I followed your "thumb over #1 plug hole" trick and was able to get everything the way it should be, and after much turning over and argument, it fired up and ran very smoothly. Of course, I've now encountered another problem, but it ran, and sounded good, so I am pleased. I'm now having an issue with the carburetor I believe, but I'm going to start a new thread to track that one. Thanks for everyone's help in this thread!! My next issue:

Hi all! Thanks again to the many continued replies to my other threads regarding this car and it's progress. It's now running following a lot of help from other members, and I'm now in the process of diagnosing some carb issues. I have a Carter carb, I believe it's a 629s (or maybe an E7L3/E7L4, not totally sure), that I believe isn't actually providing fuel as it should. The car ran well for about 1 minute, before it ran out of gas (my fuel can emptied, it isn't running off the tank yet). I refilled my can and pumped the carb, turned the engine over to fill the bowl, etc. with no success - the car just will not start. I popped the top of the carb off and from what my untrained eye can tell, it looks like a spring on the electronic kick-down/fuel shutoff is disconnected and may be keeping fuel from entering the carb body, keeping it all in the carb bowl on the side of the carb closest to the front of the car. I'm not sure if that's actually what is happening, but pumping the accelerator does cause the accel. pump to work properly. If I turn the car over, fuel seems to leak from the seal at the top of the carb profusely - no amount of accelerator pumping causes this to happen. My hunch is that fuel is being trapped in the carb bowl and isn't being allowed into the body, which causes the fuel to overflow out the top of the carb instead of being used for engine power. That said, I have not pulled the plugs to investigate whether they are wet or not. Does anyone have any ideas, or a diagram I could hook my peepers on? Thanks!! The carb from above, with the top of it removed: Some sort of linkage with a disconnected spring on the underside of the carb bowl: The carb linkage as it sits normally: The carb linkage as I hold it up with my finger: