Hey guys, I picked up a really nasty looking '82 F-100 last week. It's a 300 I6 with a 3-on-the-tree transmission. Got her for $100

The kid I bought it from said he thought the tranny had lost it's synchros because it was hard to put into gear and shift. Driving it home I could tell that the synchros are fine. The clutch is out of adjustment and mashing it to the floor hard resulted in being able to shift it just fine. What really caught my attention was the horrible bearing noises coming from the transmission. The noise is only present when the input shaft is turning (when you press the clutch in and put it in gear, the noise stops) so I'm guessing the input shaft bearing is fubar.

Through research, I found that this thing is a Tremec RAB/RAN/RAT? Does anyone have any info on these trannys? I've changed clutches on these things before but never dove any deeper into one. Judging by how small it is, I'm not intimidated by it at all, but would like to have some info on it before I dive in. Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

 

If it's a 3 on the tree, it should be Ford's 3.03 standard 3 speed manual transmission.

Sounds like the throw out bearing, or the clutch linkage is so out of adjustment it's fried the bearing.

If I'm right a new clutch and throw out bearing should fix that, with the proper adjustment of the pedal linkages.

As for information, what specifically do you want to know?

Gear ratios with the 300-6: 1st: 3.26 / 2nd: 1.91 / Rev: 3.46

Refil Capacity: 3.5 pints using part number D0AZ-19C547-A lubricant or equivenlant.

End Play - Reverse idler and Countershaft Gear: .004-.018"

Torque specs:

Input shaft gear bearing to transmission case: 30-36ft-lbs
Transmission to flywheel housing: 42-50ft-lbs
Transmission cover to case: 20-25ft-lbs
Speedometer cable to transmission extention: 3-4.5ft-lbs
extention housing to case: 42-50ft-lbs
Flywheel housing to engine: 40-50ft-lbs
gear shift lever to cam and shaft assembly lock nuts: 18-23ft-lbs
u-joint flange to output shaft: 60-80ft-lbs
filler plug: 10-20ft-lbs
shifter fork set screw: 10-18ft-lbs
rear support or mount to frame: 48-65ft-lbs

 

If it's a 3 on the tree, it should be a Ford 3.03 toploader.

The Tremec was a 4 speed overdrive on the floor if I remember right.

Being that your truck is an 82', your mechanical clutch linkage is probably about worn out. They wear primarily where the clutch rod coming through the floor joins the metal plate that bolts to the pedal bracket. It also wears on the end of the clutch rod down by the Z-bar. The rod that actuates the clutch fork will also wear where it slips onto the clutch linkage.

To fix this, you either get parts from a junkyard donor vehicle that has these parts in good condition (you'll want to look for the 80 to 83 vehicles, 84 to 86 had a hydro-clutch), you'll find them NOS if you can find somebody who has them, or you'll do like I did or like Gary Lewis did and weld the holes shut where the wear is and re-drill and grind them back to new condition. Gary re-worked his so he could have bushings.

You can adjust the pedal feel with the clutch linkage by laying up under the vehicle and using a 9/16'' wrench on the plunger that rests against the clutch fork. It should have two nuts, one that sets the pedal feel, and another that keeps that from backing off. Adjust it a bit, get in it and feel where it starts to engage/disengage the clutch, and adjust it some more if you want it to feel different. Once it's right, take it for a drive and see if this helps.

Either way, you're going to have to do something about the worn out clutch linkage. If you don't, it'll break and then you won't be able to work the clutch.

 

Hmmm I dunno where the Tremec reference came form then. Drivetrain.com seems to call every tranny a Tremec lol.

It's the top loading tranny with a 9 bolt tin cover. As soon as it gets warmer out I'll yank it out, since it looks like it'll take all of 15 minutes to remove it. Definitely needs a clutch kit and what sounds like an input bearing. Don't really want to spend too much money on this thing since it's a royal POS. If it needs too much I'll be pulling the engine and taking the rest to the scrapper lol

 

Did you ever get a chance to pull your transmission?
If so, what did you find.
rtc

 

OP was last here in 2016. It does not appear he ever mentioned this truck again.