Leaking inhibitor switch - Borg Warner type 35 gearbox

[Ghoulie]

After all the work on fitting a recon Borg Warner type 35 gearbox & recon Torque Converter with Misty Blue running like a dream - still noticed a leak from gearbox - directly under where the inhibitor switch is.
Got my mobile mechanics out to have a butchers - sure enough, the leak is from the inhibitor switch. The torque converter supplier did mention if the inhibitor switch was a cheap Chinese type - they tend to leak - through the internal body of the unit itself !
No markings on the inhibitor switch - so can assume it is a cheap aftermarket type.

One of my mobile guys - oldtimer - used to do banger racing & said they used to bypass these switches by just joining the wires - means it will start in gear as opposed to needing Park or Neutral selected before ignition will work. Tried this - works OK.

Used the shell of the inhibitor switch as a blank - drilled / cut thread in centre of body to take bolt with sealant to seal and filled electrical insert area with liquid metal epoxy putty. Leak cured permanently.

[1130cc]

My inhibitor switch has never worked. There are no pins

Only started it in gear (reverse) once, with a blip of the throttle

[Ghoulie]

Sounds like someones done same trick & sealed the internal orifice where the pin slides in & out to activate the start in gear P or N position.

[ratwing]

The cheapo copy inhibitors are all you can get nowadays (NOS excepted assuming you can even find one) and they leak.
A cautionary true story to bear in mind - a mate's Rover V8 trike had a BW35 with no inhibitor switch and one day we were all out when his throttle cable snapped at the twistgrip. Not having a spare, a repair was bodged and unfortunately he didn't notice how much the shortened inner had left the throttle open. It turned out it was open a lot. Standing next to it he pressed the starter and off it went because it was still in D. It knocked him over, hit a bike (wrote it off) and shot along the layby. It hit some concrete bollards at speed, took off and landed upside down. Completely wrecked but could have been much worse, he went over the back mudguard not under the back wheel and if it'd gone a little more to the right it would have hit another trike with a disabled passenger on board (she saw it coming but couldn't get off), a little bit further to the right and it would have left the layby straight onto a busy dual carriageway.
If your's doesn't work, wire the brake light switch into the starter circuit so at least you'll be on it with the brakes on if you do forget and start it in drive.

[Ghoulie]

Point taken - ta

[ratwing]

Having re-read my post I'm sorry I sounded so dramatic but that event left me a bit sensitive about non working inhibitors.

[Ghoulie]

No problem m8 - that was a rare occurrence and should never have happened in the first place if the person who ‘fixed’ the throttle cable really understood what they were doing. Clearly they didn’t appreciate the shortening effect.
When Marc Geraghty rebuilt my Misty Blue with the recon engine - as he dropped it off he said he’d disconnected the kickdown cable - adding - don’t reconnect it - it will kill you. I asked him what was the cause of his comment. Marc said - backend just spins round at the merest blip of the throttle. I left it as he said - disconnected.
I later learned when reading up on BW35s, the kickdown has to be connected for correct, efficient running of the gearbox. Disconnecting it will eventually cause the box to fail - the kickdown is not just for acceleration - but governs some aspects of how the box works. The gear changes were slow & clunky but worked - there is so much power in the V8s it is not really problematic as a ride.
I experienced a lot of gearbox leaks & was not convinced Marc had used the correct mineral ATF in the box. When I asked what grade he used he just said ATF - from this I deduced he’d used the modern grade - Dexron - disastrous for BW35s.
I decided to get a recon box - duly arrived. Came to fitting & looked at the cable connector fitting to the box & control levers to the carb - not exactly as intended & cobbled together with some kind of electrical connector fittings. The tension to the box is critical apparently & was clearly set up badly. No sign of the missing connector to the carb - so this is probably the missing ‘killer’ bodge too - wrongly set up.
Luckily the mobile mechanics I use are clued up, inventive and between us we fashioned a new swivel ended connecting rod with clevis pins from the new correct cable to the Edelbrock 4 barrel carb. All works exactly as it should. I know have a smooth acting, clunk free auto gearbox action.