Overdrive Trouble

[cwilliams]

HI all,

I have a 2 Litre - Mark 2 Vitesse with overdrive.
I am having trouble with it. The problem is that the overdrive will 'engage' but as soon as you touch the throttle it seemes to slip back out, this happens the same in both gears. To get it to engage you have to pretty much take your foot right off the accelerator. Obviously this is not right? I have looked in the book and followed the instructions as to how to adjust it and it is set right, and also have drained the oil and cleaned out the gause/filter.

Any ideas?

Thanks  

[thescrapman]

It sounds like a lack of pressure in the overdrive.

Have you reseated the ball bearing in the pressure releif valve.

Cheers

[cwilliams]

No, I havnt, I just found a site explaining how to do this, so will try tomorrow night, could this be the problem?

Thanks for your reply.

[Pete Lewis]

nice top see you do your homework first  thats a good start.

if thats no improvement, double check the solenoid is getting power , the inhibitor switch and the one in the tail of the solenoid can give interrupted supply which can drop out with engine movement etc.

suggest a small test bulb linked into the solenoid feed , if it stays on ignore  all this , if it goes out when engaged   start checking  inhibitor switch adjustments ,  the relay,and a look at the solenoid , on some the solenoid end switch is accessible  for a clean up, on some its completed sealed in and then its a replacement ,  
Pete

[cwilliams]

Thanks for your help, I havnt had time to look at it the last few days, hopfully tomorrow ill be able to.
Im just hoping its not going to be too much hasle!

Thanks,
Ceri

[cwilliams]

On further inspection, when we drained the oil out of the overdrive, there were some black filings, not metal - presumably from the clutch part of the overdrive?
Has anyone else experienced this?
A quick look on the internet has proven that if the clutch is at fault then it is going to be a costly repair?
What other options do i have?

Thanks
Ceri

[Nick Jones]

A small to moderate amount of the black "filings" - the clutch lining material as you say - is to be expected unless the OD sump has been cleaned recently.

I'm not quite sure whether you are describing a slip problem or an engagement problem.  IE, is the OD going in and then slipping badly in the engaged state or is it going in and then coming straight back out for some reason?

The former could be caused by very worn clutch linings or low hydraulic pressure (worn pump, relief valve spring broken)

The latter could be an electrical issue (though I reckon that would probably be somewhat intermittent as well), but could also be a hydraulic pressure issue.  If it's a worn pump it might work better at higher speeds as the pump is driven by the mainshaft.

Knackered linings shouldn't be the end of the world.  There are at least two decent overdrive specialists, one in Sheffield and one in Coventry IIRC who can overhaul your unit or supply parts.  The mechanical side (ie changing clutches or pump) is within the scope of competent diy.  If there are deeper hydraulic issues then specialist help is probably needed - mostly due to the test gear needed.

Is this a problem that has come on suddenly or is this a car recently returned to the road with a problem discovered?

Cheers
Nick

[cwilliams]

I havnt long owned the car, when i first got it the overdrive did absolutely nothing - the only thing it did do was click as the gearlever pased through neutral with the switch in the 'on' position.
Now, after changing the oil and cleaning out all of the filters ( they were in a prety bad state.)  it will engage, but to get it to do this you have to prety much let your foot right off the throttle but as soon as you return the pressure to the accelerator it seemes to 'slip' back into the lower gear?

The last thing we did was remove the oil again, and on doing so we noticed the 'filings'?

Thanks
Ceri

[marshman777]

Mine's bust as well but not got round to it yet, does absolutly nothing when you flick the switch.

Andy

[Richard B]

Sounds like the clutch unit is worn;

Either Replace with S/H unit or exchange reconditioned
DIY rebuild of the overdrive
Have your O/D rebuilt. Either by one of the O/D specialists or someone like Mike Papworth or Canley Classics



Andy, have you checked the electrics first?

[marshman777]

No Richard as i said i have not even looked at it. The car is off the road and i have just started getting all necessary bit sorted on the outside first, new door skin, repair to the windscreen mount, new head rail / repair to the conv hood, repair front valance due to rust. Going to stop now as it is getting me upset !!!!
But it is a possibility as something is draining the battery.

Andy