Driving a Cold Engine with Fluid Drive Trans.

I have a question. My 1949 Chrysler has a fluid drive trans. The engine must drop down to idle when I let off the gas for the shift to happen from 3rd to 4th.

Problem is when the car is started in the morning, Like going to work time, The choke is engaged which causes the engine to idle high and prevents it from shifting to the next gear.

So how is it suppose to work? I know back when the drivers did not sit and wait for the car to warm completely before taking to the road and heading to work.

Thanks

Who says they didn't? It was considered bad practice to drive off on a cold day without letting the engine warm up. At least a minute to let the oil circulate and the choke to come off. Some guys waited 5 or 10 minutes until the engine was up to operating temperature.

I see you live in California. Your choke should come off after a minute at the most if the temp is above freezing. Your choke may not be working correctly. Or it may be worn out.

Hi,

Thanks for the info. I checked the choke and it is working as advertised. When I startup the car cold it takes probably 4 or 5 minutes to get up to 180 degrees. I asked my wife the same thing after I first posted the question and she said yes they did wait, she remembered her dad having an old car and going out in the morning and stating it up then coming back in the house while it warmed up. Being a child of the 70's I just never had a car that I needed to do that with. I have had some motorcycles that I had to warm up first but that was all.

Well thanks for expanding my understanding of how it was and is to operate these magnificent pieces of American engineering. I'll just let it warm up before I drive off.

Happy Motoring!

The choke should come off and the engine idle down in a minute, you can drive away then but baby it until the engine comes up to temp. It will warm up faster if you drive it. The main thing is to let the oil pressure get up and the oil circulate, especially if you make the all too common mistake of using thick oil.

i am running the recommended straight 30wt oil in the eng. I'll let it have a little time to warm up, after all its older than me and deserves a break.

Thanks for the input. It is appreciated.

I'm wondering if your heat riser is working. . . On my Plymouth it took several minutes and several miles to warm up enough to stop using the choke before I got the heat riser fixed. After I got it fixed the choke can come off and the engine can go to warm idle within 1/2 to 3/4 mile of home, starting to drive immediately after starting the engine. This is California coastal weather, I expect that if I lived in an area where it actually got cold as opposed to merely being in the low 40s or high 30s for a winter nightly low temperature it could take longer.

i am running the recommended straight 30wt oil in the eng. I'll let it have a little time to warm up, after all its older than me and deserves a break.

Thanks for the input. It is appreciated.

That is what I mean by using the wrong oil. Chrysler DID NOT recommend straight 30 oil for your car, unless the outside temp was over 80 degrees.They recommended 10 in winter, 20W20 in summer, 5 if the temp was below zero, 30 if the temp was 80 - 100. They recommended heavy duty, or detergent oil as soon as it was available, in the early 40s. I got this information from original 1940s owners manuals.

Today we have much better oil than anything they had in the forties. For years, from the early fifties to the eighties, 10W30 was the default choice in every garage and dealership. Chances are your car never used anything else.

A good quality, name brand 10W30 is still the best choice for your car. Some people like Shell Rotella 15W40 because it has more zinc but your flathead engine does not need zinc the way a pushrod OHV engine does.

Chrysler DID Recommend 30W oil for normal driving conditions as shown in this 1951 Chrysler owners manual.....

I know it says the same in the 1949 C46 manual also.

Bob

They sure as hell did not recommend it in winter. No wonder the poor boob has so much trouble warming up his car. He should be using 10W30.

I thought you knew better than the " all old cars need good ol' non detergent 30 oil" bunch.

Which makes me wonder what's in the tranny for oil as well...go easy on him Rusty, lol, they don't know what real winter is down there...

I use 30 weight in my old Mopars + ZDDP .

I have used 30W Detergent for 40 years in my 1946-52 Chryslers-sixes /eights and Hemi's. They all have run just fine and no issue's warming up either. Have never had an engine failure in any of them. I never switch brands of oil.

In my modern cars I use what the manufacturer calls for.

Now------Easy Rusty, you are going to have a boob heart attack.

Bob

That is what I mean by using the wrong oil. Chrysler DID NOT recommend straight 30 oil for your car, unless the outside temp was over 80 degrees.They recommended 10 in winter, 20W20 in summer, 5 if the temp was below zero, 30 if the temp was 80 - 100. They recommended heavy duty, or detergent oil as soon as it was available, in the early 40s. I got this information from original 1940s owners manuals.

Today we have much better oil than anything they had in the forties. For years, from the early fifties to the eighties, 10W30 was the default choice in every garage and dealership. Chances are your car never used anything else.

A good quality, name brand 10W30 is still the best choice for your car. Some people like Shell Rotella 15W40 because it has more zinc but your flathead engine does not need zinc the way a pushrod OHV engine does.

Well I am good to go then cause I live in southern California in the low desert. When this car is driven it will be 80+ degrees outside. I am pretty sure the one post hit the nail on the head with the heat riser not working and is probably stuck in the open position so it takes a little more to warm up. I am going to re-ring the engine pretty soon, I'll get a closer look at it then.

Thanks for the info.

Hopefully your heat riser is free or free's up easily! When a straight 8 chrysler heat riser is frozen it is usually frozen solid. Not an easy thing to free up.

I have done many chrysler straight 8 exhaust manifold jobs over the years.

Glad you are in 80 degree and higher temps so you can properly use the 30W oil:D.

Bob

Hopefully your heat riser is free or free's up easily! When a straight 8 chrysler heat riser is frozen it is usually frozen solid. Not an easy thing to free up.

I have done many chrysler straight 8 exhaust manifold jobs over the years.

Glad you are in 80 degree and higher temps so you can properly use the 30W oil:D.

Bob

I have read that if the heat riser is frozen in the closed position it will cause overheating of the manifold resulting in breaking. So this is a bad thing...

But if it is frozen in the open position, other than taking a little longer to warm up what if any is the drawback to just leaving it that way?

Thanks

If the HR is stuck open-weight hanging down and you cannot free it up at all after all lubricating efforts don't force it. I'd leave it as is-open.

The other reason the manifolds crack is they cannot expand/contract along the block because of the three sections are rusted together at the two tapered joints. This causes a crack at the end wings.

The other area they crack is right below the intake manifold heat riser chamber-a thinner oval part of the exhaust manifold that then slopes down to the 4 bolt flange header pipe. When they crack in this area it's extremely hard to see the cracked area.

These manifolds are not easily repaired if cracked in this thin neck area.

Bob

Have had success in freeing frozen heat risers by spraying with a special lubricant made for heat risers, and tapping with a small hammer. The idea is to vibrate the part loose with many light taps from a small hammer. I have worked away at 1 heat riser for half an hour before it came loose but they nearly always come loose. Once they come loose, even a little bit, success is sure. You just have to work the spray in by working it back and forth, back and forth.

An old lubricant for heat risers was graphite powder mixed with banana oil. The banana oil carries the graphite in then evaporates. Can be used for other stubborn squeaks as well.

Thanks for all the expert info. It has helped me not make many rookie mistakes maintaining this fine piece of American engineering.

Ballistol is a special lubricant that freed up a C39 heat riser two others could not free up. A machine shop gave me a sample to try. It worked.

The chrysler eight heat riser shafts/bushings never seem to wear or get loose like the six cylnder engines and therefore more likely to sieze up.