The Ford Barn

mrlaser · 04-19-2020, 10:32 AM

I have a question re: the Borg Warner OD. I recently read this (paraphrased) post on another forum:

If your OD is not working electrically just mechanically, with the cable pushed in to activate the OD, the transmission will be freewheeling when you take your foot off of the accelerator. The engine will return to idle even if you are still moving at a normal highway speed . When you again depress the accelerator, the engine RPM's will "catch up" and again power the car. In other words, the OD may not actually go into OD with the planetary gears powering another gear, but simply allowing the transmission to freewheel.

Again, I am paraphrasing the original post, but if this is accurate, how would you test the system, assuming that all the correct electrical and mechanical connections have been made? In this case, all the components are new or NOS and the transmission was professionally rebuilt.

When driving, this seems to be the situation that I am experiencing. When the accelerator is firmly depressed there is no apparent return to the lower gear. On the other hand when cruising at 40-45 MPH with the accelerator depressed,the engine sounds like it is operating at a lower RPM than when the cable is not the OD ("on") operative position. I have never driven a car with this system and recognize my ignorance on this subject. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

04-19-2020, 10:32 AM	#1
mrlaser Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: Savannah, Ga Posts: 225	1951 Ford overdrive I have a question re: the Borg Warner OD. I recently read this (paraphrased) post on another forum: If your OD is not working electrically just mechanically, with the cable pushed in to activate the OD, the transmission will be freewheeling when you take your foot off of the accelerator. The engine will return to idle even if you are still moving at a normal highway speed . When you again depress the accelerator, the engine RPM's will "catch up" and again power the car. In other words, the OD may not actually go into OD with the planetary gears powering another gear, but simply allowing the transmission to freewheel. Again, I am paraphrasing the original post, but if this is accurate, how would you test the system, assuming that all the correct electrical and mechanical connections have been made? In this case, all the components are new or NOS and the transmission was professionally rebuilt. When driving, this seems to be the situation that I am experiencing. When the accelerator is firmly depressed there is no apparent return to the lower gear. On the other hand when cruising at 40-45 MPH with the accelerator depressed,the engine sounds like it is operating at a lower RPM than when the cable is not the OD ("on") operative position. I have never driven a car with this system and recognize my ignorance on this subject. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.