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Triumph TR3 - OD Transmission

Here are the things I know.
Solenoid works. Oil is sufficient and of the right kind. All gears check out. Set up the lever as per the book using the drill bit etc. But it does not drop the rpms when I hit the switch in fourth at 60-65mph. Any help would be appreciated. Robert
R.L. GANNON

Robert-Does the od work in 2nd? If so, maybe the isolator switch on the top cover is the culprit. That is a start.
Berry Price
BTP Price

Forgot to mention it is a 68 Tranny with the A type OD. The solenoid seems to "Click" in 2nd,3rd and 4th.
Looking at the manual for the Laycock-de Normanville OD I think I need to check the screen for crud. Do I have to relieve any pressure or can I just go ahead and unscrew the brass plate to view the screen. Berry, do you have experience doing any of this?
Robert

Robert-I have an A type from a TR3 in my TR6, so we are even. As we speak, I am re-assembling the od in the vain hope that the leaks will at least decrease temporarily and it release faster. I made a test stand ala Nelson Riedel to test the pressure and check for leaks. It would take a gross amount of debris to clog the screen above the brass plug, but this might be a good time to drain&refill the oil. There is no pressure involved in this area. If your OD has suddenly stopped working and the sol. is working, it may be a small piece of crud under the ball of the operating valve. It lives near the top of the right side and there maybe an access plug on the TR3 tunnel cover. The valve lever should be operated a least ten times to relieve any pressure before removing the plug. If you can access the Buckeye tech articles, they have a very good section on troubleshooting.
Berry
BTP Price

Woes continue. I adjusted the levers to see if this might be the issue. It looks like that got the oil moving a created pressure. When the car has warmed up and I have driven a bit, I cannot get it to reverse. Even with the engine off and in nuetral.. How ever once I have switched the engine off and let it sit a bit, I can roll it backwards. Sounds like the pressure is not releasing quickly enough. So the next step is to check the release valve as Berry mentioned. Any comments will be appreciated.
R.L. GANNON

Robert-If you can't move the car backwards when the trans. is in neutral, the od is engaged and can self destruct if you try to drive it. The sol. rod should drop down when not energized and allow the valve to close. Try checking the adjustment again.
Berry
BTP Price

Release valve removed and cleaned. Re installed. I had a stuck isolator for 3rd and 4th. Replaced. The solenoid works only in 2nd, 3rd and 4th now. I had the wires hooked up wrong also. But I still have the same symptoms. I need to reset the lever as Berry mentioned. I might have this backwards as i have read a manual on the units. Wednesday will be a whole day dedicated to getting this right. I will advise on my progress. Thanks for your suggestions.
R.L. GANNON

One of the members in our club had an OD problem something like this that was solved by soaking the OD in parts cleaner for a VERY LONG time to get all of the accumulated crud out of ALL of the hydraulic channelsin the casting
Al Christopher
A R Christopher

Ok, so I could not wait until Wednesday. I had the seats, carpet and tunnel out and went over the instructions again on how to set the lever/solenoid. Cleaned up everything, put the interior back in and test drove it around the neighborhood to see if I had resolved the pressure issue. Sure enough it has gone. Took it for a test drive on the highway, flipped it into OD. Like a charm! So if the weather is good, Wednesday I think I will go for a drive in the country side! Thanks Berry for all your help.
Just so you can see how cool this machine is......

R.L. GANNON

Robert-Glad to hear your problem wasn't more serious. I found that it was necessary to push the 3/16" rod slightly forward while tightening the arm in order to get the od to engage. I also found that is a lot more work to remove the seats and tunnel cover on a TR6 than a TR3.
Berry-with leak free od for now.
BTP Price

Very nice, Robert! You must be very proud, especially so now that you can get the revs down a bit on the freeway. Congrats on your perseverance and pride in your machine.
Tom

This thread was discussed between 25/06/2007 and 03/07/2007

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