38 lincoln 2 speed rear end

[ken c]

I need to know how to use 2 speed rear end (or overdrive)

[imported_Phil Knapp]

I'm assuming that the rear end is installed in your car and is complete with the controls.

It's shifted by manifold vacuum. There's a knob that probably has "Overdrive" (or maybe just "O") on it under the dashboard.

To shift into overdrive, pull the knob OUT and depress the clutch. If everything is working properly, you should hear and feel a "clunk" from the rear axle. Let out the clutch and you will be in overdrive.

To downshift, push the knob IN, press the clutch, hear or feel the "clunk", let out the clutch and you will be back in "underdrive".

Obviously, this must be done while the car is in motion.

The 2-speed axle provides SIX forward speeds (and TWO in reverse. This really fakes people out - to be able to shift gears in reverse!)

If you're interested in a picture essay showing the installation of a Columbia axle in my 1939 Lincoln Zephyr, take a look at my Webshots Photo album at: http://community.webshots.com/album/535592120cTKtFX

Good Luck,

[ken c]

hello, thanks for your reply. yes everything is in place and i found the (unmarked) knob i'm not sure if everything works but i plan to try it out soon. is it possible once the car is in overdrive to stop and start in overdrive or do you need to go back to underdrive to get the car going from a stop? can you get up to speed in the underdrive or does the car need to be in overdrive? the car is only getting up to 30-35 mph? i'm just not sure if i other problems or if this all the car can do in underdrive.everything on the engine has been checked out and is ok except for the carb.what is the top speed for this car? thanks again for all your help.

[peecher]

The Columbia overdrive was intended for cruising at highway speeds. It sounds like the engine needs some attention if you are only able to get the car up to 35 even if it's in overdrive. These cars when new would do close to 90 without the Columbia but wouldn't go much, if any faster with the overdrive engaged. Less fuss,noise and better mileage but not a lot of power when engaged.

[imported_Phil Knapp]

The Columbia overdrive is a 2-speed rear end. It functions just like a transfer case on a truck and has no way of knowing what gear the car is in. Since the Lincoln V12 engine has pretty good low-end torque, you can start out in any gear, overdrive or not. It would be pretty tough on the clutch, but it CAN be done.

If the overdrive is working, you'll know it by the reduced engine RPMs and the audible "clunk" in the rear end. If it's not shifting, I would first check the two vacuum hoses at the Columbia control valve. The vacuum should shift from one hose to the other when the clutch is depressed. If that happens, the next step would be to check the vacuum canister on the rear axle. There's a piston that shifts the planetary gear set in the axle. The piston is sealed in the canister by a leather seal, which may be dried out. If that works OK and the axle still doesn't shift, it may need some major internal surgery.

If everything else on the engine has checked out OK and the car still will only go 35 MPH, the finger of suspicion would seem to point to the carburetor.

[peecher]

When I was a teenager I had a '40 zephyr with a Columbia and it was a regular exercise for me to crawl under it and re-grease that shift cylinder from a big can of chassis grease my Dad had. It would work great for a week or so before it got sucked out.

[ken c]

thanks to everyone for the help. i'm having the carb and the fuel pump rebuild and maybe that will help and then i plan to check out the overdrive. i think it maybe in overdrive since it is not to easy to get going from a stop.

[pfatz]

Hello everybody,

In 1955 while in High School I owned a 1941 Ford Flathead with a 3 speed and a Columbia Rear End. It seems that it shifted with an electrical switch. (Can't swear as the memory is a bit foggy) I do remember using it to stretch the $1.00's worth of gas I was able to buy with my pay as a 1/2 day gofer at the local Chrysler dealership.

Wouldn't that rear end be a good way to upgrade some modern (rear drive) cars not having overdrive transmissions. No hope for the front drive stuff made nowadays tho!

[ken c]

hello thanks for your input i found a electrical switch that looks in very bad shape once i get the engine prolem fixed i will look more in to the columbia rear end. i got the fuel pump and carb rebuilt but the car is still doing the same thing runs great but no power on the road. the timing has been adjusted but there is no change in the car. no matter where you set the timing. i was reading in the handbook about the vacuum brake? does anyone think this could be the problem ??

[peecher]

Ken,It may be possible that the distributor/ignition is causing the power loss. You might check to make sure that you are getting spark on both cylinder banks. Your ignition is actually 2 separate systems that are "synch'd". A bad condenser,points etc. for one side might be your cause. The engine will sound like it's running on all cylinders with one bank "dead" but will have very little power.

[ken c]

thanks for your input. in the summer of 08 i had alot of parts replaced since the car had no spark. i had the coils,points,condensers,plugs,plug wires replaced.at that time the engine was tested as well.since then i have checked each plug for spark and all of them are working.also the gas tank has been cleaned and coated on the inside.it just don't seem right to me that timing adjustment doesn't change anything.thats why i was thinking of the vacuum brake. if this is like other cars with vacuum advance. thanks again

[peecher]

Ken, the so called vacuum brake in the distributor is the device that retards the ignition when there is a sudden drop in vacuum like when you open the throttle quickly. There is an adjustment on the let side near the vacuum line which varies the spring tension on the plunger that contacts the circular plate attached to the centrifical weight assembly. If the spring is adjusted all the way down there may be way too much tension on the plunger and not allowing any advance. The ajustment on the side of the distributor just sets the initial advance.

[ken c]

yes i read about the vacuum brake in the handbook. i took the vacuum tube off to make sure it was clear and once i put it back the engine is running very bad at idle unlike before.so me and a friend adjusted the timing and it did make a change to the engine this time but it seems like you need more adjustment but thats all the adjustment you have.almost like it is one tooth off. i have had that happen before on other cars. but thats alot more simple on a v8.we also adjusted the vacuum brake ( it was already backed out all the way)but it didn't seem to change anything. i'm in central fla do you know anyone close to me that may be able to help? can i remove the vacuum brake without removing anything else to check the plunger and spring? how do you know where the timing should be? on other cars you have the markings on the engine and use a timing light but i don't see anything.

[peecher]

The distributor is key'd to the camshaft and can't be "one tooth off" unless the cam gear itself is a tooth off. Has the cam gear been replaced or worked on? Yes, you can remove the vacuum brake components from the distributor while it's still in the car but I would strongly suggest you remove the distributor and have it reset (timed and synch'd). It would be almost impossible to correctly set the timing with out the proper equipment. Skips ( Fords R Us) is in Florida and he could do this for you. Jake Fleming in Dallas Texas is an old pro with V12 distributors and coils and could do this also.

Unlike most cars there are no timing "indicators" on the V12 engines.

[ken c]

thanks for help i'm talking to jake fleming about having the distributer reset.

[jim43]

Hi Ken;

I owned a Washington blue 1940 Zephyr sedan with the Columbia several years ago. I think I had all the same problems. I sent my tank out to be lined too after emptying out the gravel. You really want to join the Lincoln Continental and Zephyr Club. These problems are all addressed in the "service bulletins" that were sent out to the dealers after these cars have been in use a while and the problems arise and eventually get worked out and are sent out in the bulletins.

Shop manuals and operators manuals are good to have , but the problems get solved in the bulletins, and the club people have them. And they really only have one engine in all years, so they know the quirks that they have.

There is a known problem of one bank cutting out, and I forget the reason, and I think it is under load when it happens. The cure is a relay harness that a member produces, I guess, like Lincoln did back in the day to cure the problem. I ordered one, and still have it in its package along with the instructions. I traded the car before it arrived so never installed it. If that should prove to be your problem, you can have it for $50, which is less than I paid for it. I thought I might own another Lincoln one day, but maybe not.

The member is in Florida that made the relay harness. If this is of any interest to you, let me know and I will dig it out. Good luck; Jim43

[jim43]

Hi Ken;

I owned a Washington blue 1940 Zephyr sedan with the Columbia several years ago. I think I had all the same problems. I sent my tank out to be lined too after emptying out the gravel. You really want to join the Lincoln Continental and Zephyr Club. These problems are all addressed in the "service bulletins" that were sent out to the dealers after these cars had been in use a while and the problems arose and eventually got worked out, and fixes were sent out in the bulletins.

Shop manuals and operators manuals are good to have , but the problems get solved in the bulletins, and the club people have them. And they really only have one engine in all years, so they know the quirks that they have.

That is a known problem of one bank cutting out, and I forget the reason, and I think it is under load when it happens. The cure is a relay harness that a member produces, I guess, like Lincoln did back in the day, to cure the problem. I ordered one, and still have it in its package along with the instructions. I traded the car before it arrived so never installed it. If that should prove to be your problem, you can have it for $50, which is less than I paid for it. I thought I might own another Lincoln one day, but maybe not.

The member is in Florida that made the relay harness. If this is of any interest to you, let me know and I will dig it out. Good luck; Jim43

[jim43]

Hi Ken;

I owned a Washington blue 1940 Zephyr sedan with the Columbia several years ago. I think I had all the same problems. I sent my tank out to be lined too after emptying out the gravel. You really want to join the Lincoln Continental and Zephyr Club. These problems are all addressed in the "service bulletins" that were sent out to the dealers after these cars had been in use a while and the problems arose and eventually got worked out, and fixes were sent out in the bulletins.

Shop manuals and operators manuals are good to have , but the problems get solved in the bulletins, and the club people have them. And they really only have one engine in all years, so they know the quirks that they have.

That is a known problem of one bank cutting out, and I forget the reason, and I think it is under load when it happens. The cure is a relay harness that a member produces, I guess, like Lincoln did back in the day, to cure the problem. I ordered one, and still have it in its package along with the instructions. I traded the car before it arrived so never installed it. If that should prove to be your problem, you can have it for $50, which is less than I paid for it. I thought I might own another Lincoln one day, but maybe not.

The member is in Florida that made the relay harness. If this is of any interest to you, let me know and I will dig it out. Good luck; Jim43

[ken c]

thanks for your reply jim43 i will let you know if i need the part.we think the problem may be the manifold since the vacuum is so low (5-7 hg) or valve problem.

[ken c]

hello, is there any lincoln zephyr owners in florida

[ken c]

just a update i replaced the the intake manifold that was bad and had the distributer reset by jake fleming and the car is running good but seems to overheat. temp is on the high side of normal. any help ?

[peecher]

You might want to check out the thermostats in the upper hoses? see below. If the thermostats are still in the hoses you could remove them and see what the result is. Your radiator could be partialy clogged or even the temp sending unit might be bad or a little out of calibration so you might want to check the temp with an independent gauge.

[ken c]

thanks for your help.i will check it out this weekend.is this a common problem with the v12 engines? i'm just thinking of our hot weather in the summer time.

[peecher]

Overheating was a fairly common problem with not only the Zephyr but many cars of the era. I can remember as a boy my Dad's '38 Zephyr would many times boil about half way up the Mountains in California from San Bernardino to Big Bear Lake. In those days that was a pretty steady climb and the engine was working hard all the way. I think they mitigated this problem some by enlaging the water pumps in 1940 and modern head gaskets have revised water passage openings to improve flow.

Skip's re-built pumps with new impellers seem to do a better job of cooling also.

[Guest jims41]

Phil, I just reread your post from 1/09. I have a 41 conti and the operating inst. for the overdrive are just the opposite. Was this typical for the 38 vs 41?

[Phil Knapp]

Jim,

I don't remember what I wrote on 1/09 and this "user-hostile" forum won't let me go back that far!

I don't believe that there is any difference in the operation of the Columbia axle between the early and late Lincolns. I've never owned a Lincoln with a Columbia axle (except the one I installed in my 1939 Zephyr).

See my Webshots screen saver photo album at:

http://community.webshots.com/album/535592120cTKtFX

In any event, the operation should be as follows:

To shift INTO overdrive:

1. Pull the dash knob OUT and depress the clutch.

2. You should hear a "clunk" from the rear axle.

3. Engage the clutch and you should be in overdrive.

Reverse the procedure to get OUT of overdrive:

1. Push the dash knob IN and depress the clutch.

2. You should hear a "clunk" from the rear axle.

3. Engage the clutch and you should be OUT of overdrive.

If there's no "clunck" from the rear axle, the overdrive is either broken or the controls aren't working properly.

Take a look under the car. If the rear end doesn't look like the attached photo, you don't have a Columbia overdrive!

Good Luck!

Edited August 5, 2010 by Phil Knapp (see edit history)

[Ken/Alabama]

If this car has been sitting for a long time and the columbia has never been rebuilt I would be wary about shifting it. The syncro clutch inside the columbia is originaly lined with pads made of cork and after years of sitting and age they will stick to to sycro clutch hub. If they are stuck it can destroy the sun gear when shifted under a load. The replacements are made of Teflon.I would think about putting the car on good jackstands and run it and shift the columbia with the rear wheels off the ground. If it doesnt shift ,pull the hoses from the shift can mounted on the rear axle and check for vacuum. You may need to take the can off and put some Marvel Mystery oil in it and work the piston back and forth by hand or low pressure air,the piston has large leather cups and may be dry.

Edited August 6, 2010 by flatcat (see edit history)