812 trans lubrication mods

To All. Early trans cases had a rectangular hole in the front wall in line with the intake passage way in the oil pump (approx. 3/4" wide x 1/2" high). Josh Malks makes a basket from ordinary bronze window screen wire to those dimensions x about 3/4" deep & inserts it into this hole with the bottom of the basket facing to the rear until flush with the back of the trans front wall. If your finger is small enough you can reach through the front drain hole & clean the screen or use a magnet . Later trans cases were made with the hole in the front wall moved up 1" & a vertical passageway recessed into the front of the wall to get back down to the intake of the pump. For these cases I modify the oil pump by counterboring the back face of the pump about .100 deep for a 3/8 flat washer to which I solder a piece of bronze screen wire. This will keep the big junk out of the pump. I believe that when the factory added the trans filter & until they had the new cross shift housings without the hole that Jim referred too ; they plugged the upper hole in the case with a steel plug staked in place so that the oil could not by-pass the filter.The cross shift housing pictured at the start of this appears to be a late one & might not be able to supply oil to the main shaft from the electric pump as it is plumbed! 31631F henry

Hi Austin,

Thanks for the sketch on the electric pump.

You can remove the transmission oil pump without moving the transmission providing the back of the channel (right in front of the pump) has not been reinforced with a plate. Just remove the 4 bolts that hold the pump on the transmission (easier said then done) and pull the pump off. You may have to twist the pump around some to get it out.

I have seen screens inside the transmission case, the only way to do this is to remove the transmission from the car and completely disassemle it.

To give you (and everyone else) some food for though I'll see if I can't get Bill H. to add a photo here of a trans oil pump I recently pulled apart. It has a "large chunk catcher" built into the pump. There is a stiff wire at an angle across the suction oil passage that will stop any balls or gear teeth from getting to the pump gears. There is also a nook machined out to allow the ball to gear tooth to fall into out of the way so the pump can still function. THe problem would be the second ball or tooth that has no where to go so it will be stuck in the oil passage.

CORDially,
Jim

My thanks to Jim O'Brien for explaining the trans lube flow and other issues. I will insert a filter in the lube hose pictured originally. Here is a diagram of the electric pump lube system. Flow directions were determined by inspection - I have not verified any of this. When powered up, the pump hums, but no pressure is indicated on the gauge. As the gauge is a 0-150 psi unit, and I understand the lube pressure to normally be in the 10-20 psi range, the failure to indicate may be a scaling issue. I will replace the gauge with a 0-25 psi unit and see what happens. I also will take Jim's advice and disconnect the (presumed) pump output to verify flow.



How difficult would it be to introduce a filter screen on the inlet side of the mechanical lube pump? Can the front of the engine be raised enough to remove the pump without opening the transmission? Or would such a filter screen have to be located inside the transmission case? If the latter, can it be done by removing the transmission top cover only, or would it be necessary to remove some transmission components to gain access?

Hi Austin,

You have a most intersting set-up there, someone obviously put some thought into it. To try and answer your questions...

The line you have pictured is tapped into the discharge side of the transmission grease pump so the flow would be out of the pump and into the cross shift housing, thereby suppling oil to the upper shaft just like the original set-up (minus the filter).

How well the rest of it works is going to take some figuring out on your part. It sounds like the electric pump is set up to pump into the fitting that Cord originally had coming out of the transmission and going to the filter. If this is the case the flow from your electric pump will be into that fitting, thru the passage in the trans case and into the outlet side of the trans pump which will allow the oil to flow thru the line shown in your photo to the upper shaft. Like you say this is probably for when the car is not in motion.

I would have some concerns around the electric pump, the type of pump, the filter, etc.

The one question I would have is how well the electric pump (and the filter) works with the heavy transmission oil. I'd try pulling the oil line, from the electric pump, where it goes into the transmission housing (the front lower left of the transmission) and turning on the electric pump to see how much oil you get out. This will tell you if the electric pump even works. (if the electric pump and filter are for gasoline they may not work on the heavy oil in the transmission)

The second question is does the electric pump have a check valve (one way) in it and does the check valve still work? The mechanical pump on the front of the transmission is a gear pump so it's going to put out oil. The oil will take the easiest way back to the tranmission case. If the electric pump is off and there is no chack vavle in the pump, the oil may flow backwards thru the filter and the electric pump into the transmission instead of thru the upper shaft.

There is one other question I just thought of...is the cross shift housing an early or late one? I'm sure Henry or someone will correct me here, but I think the cars were originally not set up to have an external filter. The oil from the pump went into an internal passage way in the front of the transmission case and up into the cross shift housing and then into the upper shaft. It's difficult to explain here but if you pull the transmission oil pump and the cross shift off the transmission you will see the hole where the oil from the oil pump goes into the trans case. That passageway goes down to the little fitting on the bottom left of the front of the transmission case where is goes out thru the funny little elbow to the oil filter. That passageway also goes upward and comes out to the cross shift housing.

The early cross shift housing had a hole in the face that mouonts to the transmission to let the oil into a chamber that feeds the upper shaft. The later cross shift housing were solid and there is an external fitting on the front bottom of the chamber for the oil from the filter to enter (the way you see it on almost all the Cords. If you have one of the early cross shift housing the only thing that holds the oil from bypassing the filter is the gasket between the cross shift housing and the transmission. If you have one of the early cross shift housing plug the top hole in the case. I can send you some instructions and photos to help you out.

I've gone on long enough. I think we would all be interested to find out more on the electric pump and filter and how you make out.

Jim

Is the mechanical pump still working, intact with pump gears? It seems like a good idea if there is constant 6v electrical. The idling lubrication advantage would be overcome by chances of failure of the extra joints and no pressure gauge.

"The most expensive vehicle to operate per mile is the shopping cart."

My 812 - 2152S, FB2605 has the transmission lubrication system modified in a most interesting manner. A fitting has been tapped into the bulge of the lube passage which runs between the lube pump housing and the front of the transmission case on the driver's side. A hose connects this fitting to the fitting on the upper front center of the transmission. The attached picture will clarify. Note the lube filter is not present in this line. What will be the direction of lube flow in this line?



An electric pump has been installed, drawing from a fitting tapped into the front drain plug, feeding through a filter, and continuing to the fitting on the lower front (driver's left) of the transmission. I am not sure this installation is working and, in any event, the pump has its own on/off switch. I am concerned to verify that the transmission bearings are being lubricated if the electric pump is not working. I don't care to drive the car without lube filtering. If I install a second filter in the line shown in the attached picture, will that provide the same lube filtering as the factory installation? The electric pump installation apparently is intended to be switched on in order to provide bearing lubrication when the car is not moving. I don't know if it should be run when the car is moving and the mechanical lube pump is also operating. Unfortunately, the installer is dead and no further information is available.