VintageJalopy

Jon, The follow up to the story............. Took the transmission out and cleaned all the parts, needle bearings and all. The entire transmission was coated on the inside with years of build up on the case and all the moving parts. The oil filter was so clogged we filled it with gasoline and none of it passed through. Gave the filter a good cleaning, scraped and scrubbed all the moving parts until they shined like new. installed the transmission and took a short drive and ...........so far so good. its amazing how well the transmission shifts when its actually getting oil through the filter!! And I must mention that I found 10w-ND oil in a 2 gallon jug at tractor supply. I was pleased to find that. I didnt mind taking the transmission out, I will drive this car on a regular basis, so peace of mind knowing its cleaned out and in good condition. all total it took about 20 minutes to remove and the same to install,( and the entire day to take apart and clean and put back together!) . Before I took The transmission out I did try the test you mentioned and no response, and now we know why. Thank you for all the help and suggestions. I will drive a few short trips this week, and then start driving to work and back. Its about 80 miles round trip. I used to drive it in a 55 plymouth years ago and am looking foward to driving it in the dodge very soon. I will let you know how shes driving, and if she has any more problems. Again , thanks for all the help and input. - VintageJalopy

Jon, Did some more tests today on the transmission. solenoid chacks out ok, even with oil coating the points it still makes contact and disconnects when its supposed to. I still dont like all that oil being in there though. So..... Heres what I did today. rechecked the fluid level, thats good, I put the rear of the car in the air, removed the interupter switch on the trans, started the car, put it in gear, and ran it till the speedometer read about 15 miles per hour. While doing this, I looked in the hole where the switch was to watch the Direct speed rail and nothing moved.. the rail didnt budge. So i figure its a sheared off pin that drives the oil pump or a stuck shifter rail. I Removed the entire transmission and took it completely apart. I cleaned everything. the oil pump seems to pump fine, I will do a pressure check before installing. the pin was not sheared off. the Direct speed rail was pretty snug. there was a lot a gunk inside the trasmission. i have most of it back together and will finish it on sunday. I will let you know if its fixed or not, cross my fingers! - Vintage Jalopy

Do you have a stomberg for a 1952 dodge with a gyromatic transmission. dont know the number off hand but it has an anti stall control and a kickdown switch on it witch tie into the transmission wiring circuit. Let me know.Aynscait@aol.com

I posted A question about my Gyromatic trans not upshifting in low or high gear. I checked all the wiring from the coil on down to the solenoid on the trans as my dodge manual instructed. 1952 dodge coronet by the way. I checked for magnetic pull on the solenoid as well, checked fine.Engine idle speed is correct, and i installed a stronger spring on the linkage for a faster return to idle speed, still no upshift... no noise or anything. I have removed the governor cap and wiped off the points.. I will mention that there was a lot of transmission oil in the governor, to the extent that the points were covered with oil. I wiped them dry and reinstalled. I think the problem could be within the governor or internal. the correct amount of fluid is in the transmission. ANY reply about wether the governor should be dry inside, let me know. I hope its just a seal or something simple. ANY help on this problem would be great. Thank you. - VintageJalopy

i have a 51 cranbrook, but no manual for it. I do have an old motors manual that covers all cars up to 55, but just the wiring basics. you might want to post same message on the WPC Club section. I posted a dodge question on there and recieved some helpful information.give it a shot. good luck

I just printed the entire manual, and am I glad to see it . Looks like i am sitting down tonight to read it. I am thankful for this sight and the fellow automobile enthusiasts that dont mind helping others. Its nice to know people still want to help others by passing on knowledge. Thank you. - Vintage Jalopy

I purchased a 51 plymouth cranbrook sedan about a year and a half ago, drove it home,it has 67k original miles on it. I paid 1200 for it,but it needed paint, chrome and complete interior,some new rocker panels,window chanel replaced, new tires and other odds and ends. all total,(the car is almost finished)i have about 5000 invested. Truth be told,i could have found one completely redone for about 5 or 6k, but I sure have enjoyed restoring mine. I suggest looking through hemmings to get an idea of a price and also search completed listing on E bay to see what some have already sold for. good luck .

Jon- Thanks for responding. I will try the solutions you recommended. Is the carter carb ok on the car if it doesn't have the anti stall control or the kick down switch? does that mess up the trans if that part of the system bypassed? and as far as the govornor, when I remove the cap to inspect the points, a lot of tranny fluid is present in the govornor and on the points. Is that normal or is there a seal to keep oil out? Thank you for your help. My E mail is Aynscait@aol.com if you could send the wiring diagram the would be great.

I am a new member and I am looking for help solving my automatic trans. problem.Its a 1952 dodge coronet. I just got the car a month ago. The first time i drove it, i started in low range, let off the gas pedal, it upshifted, then as i picked up speed, using the clutch, i shifted to high, and repeated the same as before. basically using "1st,2nd,3rd,and 4th gear". After reading some forum posts I learned that you start out in high range for most driving. Here is the problem.I drove the car on its first "long" trip, about 60 miles,and it started out fine, but here is the problem. During the drive it got hard to shift, I was driving using high and low, And I eventually only had top gear in low and high range.The trans wasnt down shifting. The next morning I went to drive the car and I only have low gear in both high and low range "1st and 3rd". I checked the fluid, thats full, I removed the top part of the governer, there is some trans. fluid present inside. I dried the points off and cleaned them, reinstalled, and still no solution. Any help would be appreciated. I will also note the carb is not the stromberg, it has been replaced with a carter ball and ball. so the wire curcuit to the carb has been bypassed becuase of no anti-stall control and no and solonoid on carb. I realize this is not the right set up, but it was on the car when purchased.I am getting the corect carb soon, but I am pretty sure thats not the problem.Again, any help would be helpful. Thank you.