Rolling_Iron Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 have a 1946 dodge fluid drive with the manual, that has a hard time getting in to third gear it will go in if the vehicle is stopped but if you are moving it is a reel dance. Does any body know what to do to adjust /fix this? it was drivin once a mounth by the guy I got it from but that is kind of iffey. It will go in to 3rd if you put it in nutril and pop it up and down 4 to 5 times and/or jiggle the stick randomly. it will go in to therd at a stop. I have hade the car for 2 weeks and have put 50 mmiles on it mostley bringing it home and going around town Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 There is a certain technique required to drive a Fluid Drive correctly. If you try to drive it like a standard it won't work. Then again, it doesn't drive like an automatic either. It is a unique transmission all its own.I have a technique for driving a fluid drive that works very well and makes it practically the same as driving a modern automatic.Right off the bat you need to know that the gearshift is not like a standard. It only has 3 positions. Reverse is toward you and up, low range is straight up, high range is straight down.You should do most of your driving in high range. Low range is for starting on steep hills, pulling thru deep snow, sand or mud or for starting off towing a trailer, etc.Start the engine with the transmission in neutral, the hand brake applied and your foot off the clutch pedal.Let the engine warm up until it will idle at its slowest speed.Depress the clutch pedal shift into gear and release the clutch, all with the handbrake still on.Release the handbrake and drive away like any automatic. When you get up to 15 MPH lift off the gas and wait for the "click-clunk" and step on it again.If you elect to use low range it is the same except you can shift into hi gear (of low range) at 6 MPH. If you then wish to go from low range to high range step on the clutch pedal and move the shift lever down into high range.This is very easy, it is based on the owner's manual recommended technique.You have to drive it more like an automatic, if you drive it like a standard you will hate it. It is not a standard, it is a primitive automatic with a few quirks of its own but with a little understanding your fluid drive or fluid torque drive will work great for you.Give this a try, if it doesn't work come back and ask again. Chances are there is nothing wrong with your transmission but if there is, it is usually easy to fix. The transmission itself is very rugged and trouble free. Most problems are to do with the wiring and controls, which are external, easy to get at and easy to fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolling_Iron Posted October 13, 2006 Author Share Posted October 13, 2006 I don?t understand about the automatic. it is a 3 speed transmission with a reveres gear towards you and up. 1st is toward you and down. 2nt is up and 3rd is down. It looks just like a Chrysler transmission and when I let off the gas I don?t here a click at all? I am shore puzzled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 See if you can get it on a grease rack. If it has what looks like a standard transmission but with 3 gizmos on the right side that look like electric devices with wires on them, it's the M6 semi automatic.The semi auto model also has a little box on the air filter brace that is about the size of a matchbox with 4 wires on it. Also the carburetor has 2 electric switches on it, one in front and one in back.If your car has any of these things even if they are disconnected, it is the semi auto. So far as I know they did not make a fluid drive with a standard transmission. It has to be either a manual trans and clutch, or a fluid drive with semi automatic M6 transmission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolling_Iron Posted October 14, 2006 Author Share Posted October 14, 2006 thay did have a manual, it is shown in the 1946 brochure and it is printed on the tech sheet(OEM)that I have for the car. I ran in to the same problem lookin for thew swiches on the carberator but ther are none. This is a shock to me to but it is what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rob1960 Posted October 14, 2006 Share Posted October 14, 2006 A 1946 dodge did indeed have a 3-speed standard gear layout, exactly like any other standard shift of the day. The only difference was the fluid coupling clutch. The driver would shift just like he would in a Plymouth, Ford or Cheve. However he had the option, when on the level, to start in 2nd gear. The clutch could be used just like a standard shift, or the driver could let the clutch out first...then accelerate. And one could come to a complete stop without pushing in the clutch. It's main advantage was easier starting on a hill [let the clutch out first], and generally smoother shifting. By the way, always pull up the hand brake when parking. With fluid drive, Reverse or Low will not hold the car in a parked position.The transmission Rusty describes very accurately was introduced in 1940 [possibly 39 as an option] on the Desoto and Chrysler cars. It was used with very little modification up through mid year of 1953. It had numerous names. One was "Tip-Toe-Shift". Kids of my day [the fifties] liked to call it "Clunk-O-Matic." It was truly a Simi-Automatic transmission.Dodge began offering this type transmission under the name "Gyro-Matic" in 1949, but only on its top line... the Coronet. The Meadowbrook and Wayfarer continued with the 3-speed variety fluid drive into the 1953 year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 OK I stand corrected. If it is a 3 speed manual it sounds like the trouble is the clutch is not releasing. Either that or the shift linkage is bollixed up. Check for worn out bushings in the linkage. Also check your clutch adjustment.My MoToR repair book says there are 2 adjustments to the clutch. One adjustment is the stop screw, it should be adjusted so the clutch pedal is in its highest position without touching the floor. The other adjustment is clutch pedal free play, you should have 1" of free play, you adjust this at the cluch release fork adjusting nut.You could also check the clutch pedal is working freely and not binding.Here is the instructions for adjusting the gearshift.To adjust the control rod, loosen the lock bolt at the upper lever on the lower end of the steering column. Set the transmission gears in neutral and the hand control lever in the horizontal position and tighten the lock bolt. To adjust the shift control rod, set the transmission gears in neutral and loosen the lock nut on the selector rod at the transmission end. Tighten the nut until all play is eliminated and back off 1/2 turn for clearance and tighten.That is from the MoToR manual too. Let us know how you make out. Hope your clutch is not coming apart inside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolling_Iron Posted October 15, 2006 Author Share Posted October 15, 2006 Thank you, I will try the adjustment first thing tomarow morning. How would I tell if the clutch is coming apart inside? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 If your clutch is coming apart inside it won't release properly and you won't be able to shift gears without grinding if the engine is running.This is very rare but let's face it on a 60 year old car things wear out that never wore out before. I have only seen one other Chrysler clutch disintegrate it was on a 52 New Yorker fluid drive. Of course it used to happen on race cars and dragsters but I mean ordinary cars.There is another problem I hate to mention. Have also seen a clutch jammed up with a mouse nest as big as a pillow.Sometimes when a car is out of commission for a long time the clutch gets stuck together and won't release. This is not too hard to fix, but in your case it seems to be releasing sometimes but not other times??These are all very unusual cases but who knows these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolling_Iron Posted October 16, 2006 Author Share Posted October 16, 2006 The Rubber bushing on the fire wall is fine and the clutch is adjusted to the MoTers manual. It may be that the linkage has one or mare bushings that ate worn-out. I am thinking of fabricating a temperately flour board that will give me access to the selector lever on the transmission, weld a old 7/16 socket(Japan) on to a ¼ inch rod and place it on the arm nut. This would eliminate the linkage from the equation and let me rule out the transmission or the linkage. Of core safety is very imported so this would not be a balling wire job, and it is important not to reek on the nut.The transmission works flawlessly in R 1 2 but it is reel hard to get in to 3 I lubed the shifting linkage, adjusted the clutch linkage and it seems to be slitley better, this may just be the car being used, or me getting the hang of the ?dance? but I think that my illuminating of the linkage is a good step in diagnosis.What do you guys think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 If the bushings in the shift linkage are worn out you will see it easy. They will be loose at the joints. If the linkage is adjusted correctly, and the clutch is not dragging about the only thing left is an internal transmission problem. You should see any worn out joints, bent linkage etc by a visual inspection and shaking the rods with your hand. Have also seen where an arm worked loose on the transmission. It had a square shaped hole which wore out allowing the arm to work back and forth without shifting the transmission. This was on a Ford. The cure was to braze up the hole and file it square so it fit the transmission shaft tight.The transmission should be real easy to shift but slow.Since it does not drag or shift hard in low second or reverse that rules out the clutch. So it must be in the shift linkage or inside the transmission.By the way the transmission on your Dodge is supposed to be filled with 80 gear oil.The semi auto takes 10 motor oil.Don't know what all that business is with the floorboards and wrenches. You don' need to make things more complicated and harder than they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolling_Iron Posted October 17, 2006 Author Share Posted October 17, 2006 The idea with the wrenches and floorboards was to eliminate the linkage from the mess. It did work the problem happens regardles. I rechecked the clutch. so I ges it is the transmission. I did find a build up of mud under the clutch fork, but cleaning it out had no chang. So what do I have in sore for me in side the transmission? Thank you for all the help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 I looked up the transmission section of my MoToR manual and it looks pretty straight forward. Don't know what problems you will find inside. It's a good rule to replace the low second synchro any time you take a tranny apart, it is usually the first thing to go. In your case it's the 3d gear one. Maybe because in the case of FLuid Drive the last owner habitually started off in second then shifted to 3d.You should get a repair manual if you don't have one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolling_Iron Posted October 18, 2006 Author Share Posted October 18, 2006 Thank you, I just got a (OEM) MoPar repair manual off EBay. I gees this is where the iron hits the steel. Thank you for all of your help this has been an interesting run. I got this car hoping it was going to be like a Plymouth, but it has its differences and quarks. But I am still more then happy with it. Thank you again for all if the insight and help with the old girl.Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 The more I think about it the more I think your symptoms sound like the shift levers are loose on the side of the transmission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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