Terry,
It's obvious that the clutch in the old Plymouth was slipping much of
the time. A clutch should never get hot, period.
<<Jim>>
terry tyler wrote:
>
> Hi Mike,
> In your note, you asked:
>
> >I suppose transmission coolers are only used in auto trannies- is this
> >true? If this is true then I suspect I don't need to "sweat it out" about
> >my manual transmission getting too warm. Thanks
>
> Yes - transmission coolers are only used in automatic transmissions.
> But, your suspicion that you don't need to "sweat it out" about your
> manual transmission getting too warm, isn't true.
>
> Example: In a previous life during 1950s when I knew everything
> and no one could tell me anything, we towed a 35' Spartan house
> trailer from Norfolk, Virginia to Quonset Point, Rhode Island.
>
> Our tow vehicle was a 1952 Plymouth 4 door sedan with a 6 cylinder
> engine and a manual transmission. I had inserted coils springs
> over the rear leaf springs to cope with the 1,000 pounds hitch
> weight that the equalizing hitch (it was called something else)
> had to distribute onto all four wheels.
>
> As long as I used 2nd gear most of the time, I could sustain
> forward momentum up most rises in the highway. When it came to
> small hills, I quickly learned to make a run at them.
>
> The reason for telling you about this experience is each
> hill required a half hour wait along side the road while the
> clutch cooled down. There was never any question about what
> was required.
>
> The clutch plate would get hot, it would begin to slip and
> the choice was to pull off and ease into a safe place to
> park or don't pull off and don't have a safe place to park.
> The car would stop all forward movement within a minute or
> two of when the clutch began slipping.
>
> We never heated up because the speed seldom reached 45 mph
> and we stopped often to let the clutch cool down, sometimes
> every half hour.
>
> Maybe manual transmissions are different today. Fifty years
> have passed and changes may have occurred.
>
> Mike, the engine in your truck may have to work very
> hard. You may want to make sure the cores in your
> radiator are not clogged. That's easy to do. Just siphon
> off some coolant until you can see the tops of each core.
> Then, look in and see if they are crusted or wide open.
>
> If crusty, go to a radiator shop, tell them what you
> are planning and ask for an opinion or estimate.
>
> Stay sharp and think smart,
>
> Terry
>
> Websites useful for restoring Airstreams
> http://www.phrannie.org/phredex.html
> http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Cabana/4868/
> http://www.escapees.com
> http://www.tompatterson.com/Streamline/Airstreamlist/Spares7.html
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