rulloyd Posted June 19 Report Share Posted June 19 So my o/d conversion continues part time. First attempt, when fitted, the lay shaft needle bearings gave up (another story) but once that was fixed the od wouldn’t engage. Traced to the Solenoid. Basically there’s a bad connection in the solenoid unit. The solenoid works if I squeeze the plastic end in towards the metal casing. Question, does the plastic bit on the end come off? The 2 little screws in the unit don’t seem to release anything. Also, anyone know the thread size of the screws/bolts that hold the solenoid to the od? One of the Philips heads is shot so I plan to fit hex headed bolts. many thanks Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted June 19 Report Share Posted June 19 This is what the free to download workshop manual shows... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rulloyd Posted June 19 Author Report Share Posted June 19 That’s interesting. Mine doesn’t have any nuts, just 2 small screws that don’t aid the removal of the plastic section at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted June 20 Report Share Posted June 20 I think those screws must hold the cap in place but maybe it needs some gentle levering in the gap to release it? Does the plunger come out as per the manual? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted June 20 Report Share Posted June 20 mostly the switch under the plastic cover is solid sate and sealed up you will probably only access and mend to destruction gully did a mod using a long stud and locknuts to aid access from behind the unit some use a socket cap screw so you can get on it with a long key pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rulloyd Posted June 20 Author Report Share Posted June 20 Thanks both. Yes, I think it’s non serviceable. I’ll buy a new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted June 20 Report Share Posted June 20 If it's D-type, happy days - I'd replace for about £30. J-type solenoids are way over £100. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted June 20 Report Share Posted June 20 Trouble is how good are they Colin? Seem to be plenty of complaints about these pattern replacements including recomendations to try to find NOS and sure enough Rich's doesnt look very old☹️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rulloyd Posted June 20 Author Report Share Posted June 20 To be fair, I wouldn’t be surprised if it got damaged during gearbox fitting. The amount of abuse the box as a whole takes to get it fitted, little wonder something like the plastic section can get damaged if prefitted. It’s in a very vulnerable position! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted June 20 Report Share Posted June 20 True and as Pete indicated above people have come up with mods to enable installing/removing of the solenoid with the gearbox in place👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gully Posted June 20 Report Share Posted June 20 This was my piece on removing and replacing the solenoid - was in The Courier back in 2017. There's a picture of what my solenoid looked like when the rubber cap was removed - it was supposed to have been a new solenoid with the rebuilt gearbox / overdrive and looked great until I dug beneath the surface... I did find a NOS replacement. Gully Overdrive Solenoid Replacement.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rulloyd Posted June 20 Author Report Share Posted June 20 3 hours ago, Gully said: This was my piece on removing and replacing the solenoid - was in The Courier back in 2017. There's a picture of what my solenoid looked like when the rubber cap was removed - it was supposed to have been a new solenoid with the rebuilt gearbox / overdrive and looked great until I dug beneath the surface... I did find a NOS replacement. Gully Overdrive Solenoid Replacement.pdf 609.5 kB · 10 downloads Thanks Gully, that’s very interesting. I’ll probably follow your lead. Mine came out ok once I’d disconnected the prop and raised the back of the box above chassis height. For me it’s refitting the rear gearbox mount that’s the biggest challenge! I couldn’t remove the mount from the chassis so had to remove the gearbox from the rubber extension. I know from experience that lining up those 2 bolts again with the bell housing bolted to the engine is VERY challenging. Anyone - The lower bolt holding my solenoid was not very tight. Out of interest have I read that only one of the bolts is acting as earth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted June 20 Report Share Posted June 20 cant see thats a possibility so ....no the front solenoid case is all earthing the only way a bolt position to earth would be if the sol. has some exterior earth wire and thats not normal Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rulloyd Posted June 30 Author Report Share Posted June 30 Ok, new solenoid installed, even made a ‘Gully’ type screw for the inaccessible lower screw 😁 However, I included a new plunger and adjusting the nut on the end was a right pig. The lock nut off the old one which I reused was also too wide to engage to locking part…. Anyway, my new query is…. i aligned the lever using a 3/16 bar. The solenoid is working but surprised the throw is so slight? (Yes the holes align). Also, I connected an ammeter in the circuit expecting to see a 20amp spike then a drop to 2amp but in fact, it’s consistently sitting a 1amp when switched. As I say, the solenoid is definitely firing although I haven’t tested that the overdrive is engaging yet. Does this sound like an issue? Thanks for all advice. Rich IMG_2920.mov Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted June 30 Report Share Posted June 30 the short travel is normal cant advise the current , but its seems to work about right test run advised Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted June 30 Report Share Posted June 30 I suppose its too late to try it now but it would have been good to have measured the solenoid resistance to earth (lower) and then manually operate the plunger to see if it changes to a higher resistance... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rulloyd Posted June 30 Author Report Share Posted June 30 1 hour ago, johny said: I suppose its too late to try it now but it would have been good to have measured the solenoid resistance to earth (lower) and then manually operate the plunger to see if it changes to a higher resistance... Can I do that on the car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rulloyd Posted June 30 Author Report Share Posted June 30 So took the car on a test run. Switching in and off as it should, no change to the current draw. Maybe modern solenoid doesn’t have the spike? what I do notice is the disengaging in both gears felt like changing down gear with no clutch control. Quite jolty like if you let a manual clutch out to quickly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted June 30 Report Share Posted June 30 So its definitely engaging and disengaging OD then? It is D type isnt it as J type draw a lot less current... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rulloyd Posted June 30 Author Report Share Posted June 30 (edited) Yes engaging & disengaging. Could the clutch not be working properly disengaging? Edited June 30 by rulloyd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted June 30 Report Share Posted June 30 The engine revs are definitely changing for the same car speed? Should be about 500rpm difference... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rulloyd Posted June 30 Author Report Share Posted June 30 1 minute ago, johny said: The engine revs are definitely changing for the same car speed? Should be about 500rpm difference... Yes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted June 30 Report Share Posted June 30 Constant power or certainly not accelerating or decelerating during OD operation will make it smoother... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rulloyd Posted June 30 Author Report Share Posted June 30 Yes, probably just not used to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted June 30 Report Share Posted June 30 its quite normal to feather the clutch or throttle same as changing gear to make smooth progress you can or not is purely down to your driving style some like a kick under power some like to smooth it out with a short dip of clutch or a change of throttle do what you like Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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