How to make a B-W R10 OD work

Robert Dip

Robert Dip

Senior Member
Need help here. Have this Borg Warner R10 OD unit installed on the torque tube of my '32. A lot of beautiful work has been done to mate it to the TT. On the passenger side there is a centrifugal switch that works on the principle that at a certain speed, it can make the OD available. ( so I have read ) Not sure if this is need on this application. On driver side there is the solenoid to activate. Another part is the lever ( ty-rapped at present for my unknown reason ). On the solenoid, I read that it has to be the 12V model to work. In simple 101 style, how do I make this work. Thks Robert
 

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That lever is secured in the out-of-overdrive position so it won't free wheel. It has to be in the opposite position for OD operation. The OD can be activated in a simple or more sophisticated way. The simple way is to install a 30A rated toggle switch in a wire from the battery side of your starter relay to the solenoid using #12 wire, # 10 is better. There are two wires on the solenoid, a blue and an orange. I forget the proper one, if one doesn't work, try the other. Someone will be along with the correct wire. You close the switch when you get to cruising speed and release the accelerator to engage OD. You MUST open the switch to use reverse. Damage will result if you don't. If you want more complicated methods, give your intentions and expectations.
 
40 Cpe Appreciate the input. Yes, all I want is to turn it on at higher speeds and off when getting off the hi-way. Much like my Columbia 2 speed which uses a vacuum to operate. Press on the clutch and either switch on or off. As you mentioned, using the simple way, I run a 12V wire to a switch on the dash and run it to the solenoid. My solenoid has only one wire. ( is it a 6v or 12V...don't know ) To get the OD to function, power to the solenoid pushes a plunger to activate ....something. In the meanwhile, the lever has to be also activated to the rear position ( towards front now ) I would need a cable to do this, Vintageautogarage sells these. $59.00. To recap, this is a two step process...push in the clutch, pull out the cable to place the lever in the correct position and also flip the 12V switch to activate the solenoid. Is this correct?
 
First off, is the lever tied off because the overdrive unit is damaged?

I have the same setup in my 1936. the lever engages the overdrive unit and you are in free wheel mode. There is an electric source, (switch), that should run through a relay.

1. Engage overdrive
2. Turn on switch
3. Run up to between 20 to 30 mph, and momentarily take your foot of the gas and you should hear the overdrive engage.
4. The momentary interruption of acceleration allows the spawl to engage, you must do the same when decelerating if you want it to disengage while in motion. Keep in mind that you will still be in free-wheel mode.

The Model A article attached previously is a good source and I have attached an article about repair that shows all the parts broken down.

Be sure the overdrive lever is disengaged before you put the transmission into reserve.

You can find the operating manual and much more information by searching the web, ("borg warner r10 overdrive manual")

(EDIT:) I see that Bob C attached both the Model A article and the repair article as well
 

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I've heard of folks running a 6-volt operating solenoid on 12-volts with some success but I would look for a 12-volt solenoid if the car is so equipped. This solenoid has a pull in coil and a holding coil that activates as soon as it is fully engaged into overdrive. The centrifugal switch is a governor that keeps it off line till the speed is up to 26 MPH or a bit more. It also allows it to drop out automatically when decelerating down to 23 MPH or so.

The unit will free wheel if you put it in reverse without pulling the lock out cable. This can cause a problem with re-engaging so make sure you don't forget that.

You can operate these like a two speed axle with a switch but make sure the switch is rated for the electrical load of the operating system. The original Borg Warner system used a kick down switch that also momentarily killed the ignition coil power so that it would drop out of overdrive when the throttle was pushed all the way down. I doubt that this feature is used on these modified torque tube units but I don't know. I've only run the transmission mounted units. The transmission mounted units would automatically lock out when reverse was selected but that isn't the case with these units.

There may be something wrong with the unit if it has been locked out with the control system. A previous owner may have had problems with something simple too and just locked it out so that it could be driven without worrying about reverse.

Another caveat is that you need to know that the car will freewheel if parked on a hill without locking the system out so either lock it out or make sure the emergency brake is on with wheels steered toward the curb. My oldest brother found this out the hard way with my old hand me down 1951 Mercury.
 
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rotowrench....very informative also. many Thanks. The lever has been ty-rapped because it was decided that the lady who owned/had this Deuce built, would not use it at all since she never drove it very far. It is not because something had broken. We are dating back to 2002. I was just informed on this. The replacement 12V coil for this application seems to be about $300. So it goes if they are rare or difficult to build. Appreciate your input.
 
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