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48 Dodge fluid coupling


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You shouldn't have to do anything to it. It is one of the simplest most trouble free units ever put in a car.

It only has one moving part and one seal. It is hermetically sealed and runs in an oil bath. There is almost no chance of it going wrong.

You should check the oil every 10,000 miles according to the owner's manual.

You do this thru a hole in the passenger side floor boards, about half way up the driveshaft tunnel. There will be a plate more or less under the dash board. Take off this plate and you will see a hole in the bellhousing with a round cover. Pry out the cover and turn the engine over with the starter till you see the fill/drain plug. Stuff a rag around the hole so you can't drop the plug into the bellhousing, and unscrew the plug. Top up the oil supply if necessary. You can use a tractor hydraulic oil called ISO 32 type. You can get it at auto supply and farm supply stores for less than $10 bucks a gallon.

If you want to really go "uptown" you can drain and refill the fluid coupling. There is a place in the bottom of the bellhousing to take out the plug and drain the oil, then you turn over the engine till the hole is in the fill position and fill it up.

There should be a second cover plate farther back, just in front of the seat. It is for inspecting and servicing the relays and wiring on the transmission, and refilling the transmission oil. The transmission takes #10 motor oil.

While we are looking under the carpet there is a 3d cover plate on the driver's side, this one is for access to the master cylinder brake fluid reservoir.

About the only thing that can go wrong with the fluid coupling is for the seal to wear out or fail and if this happens you can put a new seal in quite easily, after you remove the fluid drive unit from the car.

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The fluid drive transmission is extremely rugged and reliable. The main thing that goes wrong is the wiring and controls to the transmission. The insulation on the wire deteriorates and crumbles after many years and occasionally the controls go wrong.

If it was mine I would make sure the engine is running correctly, the wiring is in good shape, the fluid drive and transmission are full of oil, and I would try it out. 9 times out of 10 it will work perfectly.

Recently there were a couple of threads in the Chrysler or DeSoto boards where I covered the correct opertaion and technique of driving one of these babies. They are very simple and easy to drive but do require a little different technique for smooth operation.

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Guest De Soto Frank

Good advice from Rusty...

The electrical controls mentioned apply only to cars equipped with the four-speed semi-automatic transmission.

I think '48 & earlier Dodges only had 3-speed manual transmissions.

Good luck with your D-24 !

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  • 3 weeks later...

Herb : The unit in your dodge will probably be alright for sometime to come if it is not noisy or leaking. I have had several fluid drive cars ( '48 dodges included ) and would still recommend having the seal replaced while you have the drivetrain apart. Be sure to use automatic transmission fluid in the seal NOT motor oil . 10w oil is used in the M-5 and M-6 semi auto trans. only . As long as you do not use the ford type A.T.F. general use A.T.F. is what is recommended as a replacement for the original mopar fluid drive oil. By the way , while you are rebuilding your car be sure to replace both the inner and outer real axle seals.

You can email me directly if I can help you further ; gunfixer2003@yahoo.com

Evan Bennett

P.S. I had a '48 newyorker too - rebuilt everything in the car including the 323 c.i.d. eight.

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