I am flying down to Charlotte NC to pick up a '97 XLT, it crunches going into 3rd and I was thinking about getting a remanufactured one put in on the drive back to New England. Anyone have a source of a shop along the Eastern seaboard who sells and installs?

 

Crunches going into 3rd meaning ?? Is it an auto or manual? Are you talking about getting a remanned tranny? Need more info please. You could probably google or yelp and find many shops that would be reputable to throw a remanned whatever it is you are looking for.

 

Sorry, yes a manual that grinds going into 3rd.
I thought someone might know of a reputable shop that sells and installs well done remannned trannys in the North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania corridor on the way up to Vermont.

 

Something to consider is that if the new transmission ends up having an issue under warranty, it would be much easier if the shop was local to you so it could be fixed. If third is the only gear with an issue then just don't use it. Even with my 3.55 gears I can go from 2nd to 4th without trouble.
When are you going to get it?

 

Someone reported that he changed the fluid in the tranny using full synthetic Dextron, and the grinding into 3rd gear went away. I tried with my 96 C&C with no change, but I am still driving it. Other than annoying shifts, the tranny will run a long time that way. I would at least try changing out the fluid, putting in full synthetic oil. Four quarts is all it takes, and it might be a fairly cheap fix.

 

[QUOTE=97-psd;15653587 it would be much easier if the shop was local to you so it could be fixed.... I can go from 2nd to 4th without trouble.
When are you going to get it?[/QUOTE]

All excellent points, It was mostly the annoyance factor and my general "all in" attitude that wanted the full fix. But point's well taken, I'll drive it and see how it all feels and if the full synthetic will help.

 

Check out What Ever It Takes In Charlotte - 1238 AMBLE DRIVE.
(704) 716-7272. They have Transmissions and parts and if you need warranty service they should have one near you. They have parts at pretty good prices.

 

If third grinds you can put whatever you want in it and it will not solve the issue. It grinds because your synchros are toast. I gave it a shot a long time ago, all it was was an expensive fluid change with not result. Almost every ZF5 will end up grinding in third before any other gear. Unless rebuilt, I really have not driven a OBS that doesn't have an issue between 2 to 3 or 3 to 4. You can speed match to avoid this when possibe, but when your towing this isn't an option, or 2 to 4. hell the difference between 3 to 4 is hard enough to tow heavy with....

Rebuilt mine and I am overfilled at 6 qts of synchromesh fro RP. I will see how long it goes before 3rd starts pissing me off again.

 

So I came back with this last week, '97 with with now 112,000 miles.
The transmission issue is intermittent and worse on down shift, up shift not a problem. I filled it with Royal Purple today, and though it made gear engagement much smoother and softer, it didn't appear to help the "chunking" when downshifting to 3rd.
It lost about 4 quarts of oil over the 1000 miles I drove, a steady 70-75 for 14 hours. Oil galley plugs on the passenger side need to be replaced.
Also, it appears I will be getting new glow plugs as it is not taking kndly to the cooler temps here in Vermont (plug in the block heater for 20 minutes and it starts right up).. Original owner said he replaced two burnt ones (I found Autolight 1111 in the glove box) I hope he didn't only replace 2 because he couldn't get the others out. I'll be ordering the Motorcraft ones and likely new valve cover gaskets and pig tails while I'm at it.
Overall, very happy with the purchase, steering is super tight, no interior rattles, and as I said it loved the high speed cruising. The body has a few dings but not one speck of rust on it, sheetmetal on the bottom is clean and like factory.

 

Nice truck!

 

Glad it made the trip ok! Have fun with the new truck. Looks like you got a nice one

 

Any insights into the best/fastest way to get the air out of the oil lines when replacing the galley plugs? I drive a lot and the idea of 500 miles of crappy performance/hard starting while waiting for things to bubble out is less than appealing.