Sounds like the T19 will be a very good transmission upgrade for my old ****** wagon (apologies for not planning to put it in my '76 F250).

F834.... don't throw yours away! There'll be plenty of people interested in it. If you ever happen to come to the Pacific Northwest, I would be more than happy to drive down from the north to relieve you of it - perhaps in Seattle or Portland!
You are the second person to mention that the T19 has superior shifting characteristics compared to the T18.

There is an amazing guy on the west coast (Washington State?) who wants to put T19 guts into a T98 box and thinks he can do it! I suspect there would be some impressive surgery required on the reverse mechanism or the bulge on the side of the casing - and the top cover too. A brave project for sure. In my case, I will get different positioning of the 4 bell-housing flanges welded on to the front of the T19 - not ideal, but i've been reassured it has been done successfully many times before. If it all works out, I'll report back so everyone can have a good laugh!

Thanks to all for the advice.

 

Not all diesel T19's are 4.02:1 first, my 86 6.9 truck, and one of my 85 parts trucks have/had the 5.11 gearset, which is a nice in between gearset, at times the 4.02 can be a bit tall, but I suspect the vehicle you are swapping it into is nice and light compared to a diesel F-Truck.
I have examples of all three gearsets, but shipping would be a killer.

 

Yes, shipping costs have 'kiboshed' a number of items I've wanted to buy over the years. Greyhound shipping is pretty good but they have a weight limit of 100 lbs...
A T19 with the deeper first gear is pretty rare and in some demand by the "off-road" crowd, but for my needs, the 4:1 first will be fine.

82F100SWB, what about a nice little drive out to BC just after the Christmas rush - the transmission in the bed would give extra rear traction! In Vancouver, the weather is mild (bring an umbrella) and the Sushi delicious... you could donate one of your T19s to a worthy cause (me)!

Cheers and all the best for Christmas,

Pavel

 

I havent been out that way since 94, have relatives on the island and in New Westminster.
Im afraid I won be parting with my close ratio units though; its what I run in my off road truck... Lol
It was actually more difficult to find the 4.02 transmissons than the 5.11 ones.

 

I'll throw in an extra bit of positive feedback for the T-19; it is probably the smoothest shifting truck transmission I've ever had my hands on.

It feels solid & stout like a truck transmission should, but it's notably easy to shift and find the gear you're after, never even a hint of gear grinding. I think you'll appreciate the synchronized first gear in the non-granny gear version where 1st is actually a useful forward gear.

There's hardly any NVH (noise / vibration / harshness) that can be discerned above what the engine puts out. It's just smooth as silk, I don't know how else to put it.

It's by no means a sporty transmission, however. When downshifting, the synchros have some lag (1-2 seconds) in getting things up to speed before it'll make the gear change to a lower gear (if you force it, you can make quicker gear changes, at the expense of worn synchros). Much of this is probably due to the huge gap in ratios that my wide-ratio T19 has (which effectively has only 3 useful forward gears). I find it easier at times (and certainly with less wear) to double clutch when downshifting into third or second using the following procedure: disengage clutch, shift to neutral. Then engage clutch, rev the engine to attempt to match RPM to gear ratio, then make shift and disengage clutch. Sounds like a pain, but it's a breeze after a little practice and feels like it's much better on the synchros-- but maybe it's just a little obsessive-compulsive on my part.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the appropriate oil type for this transmission. I've heard that SAE 50 motor oil, or 80w-90 gear oil should be used. Straight 50 weight is proving impossible to find, and 80w-90 gear oil is almost always of the GL-5 type which I've heard/read is corrosive to the yellow metals used in the synchros. Based on my experience trying different oils, I think oil weight should be carefully considered if you live in a cold climate.

When I first bought the truck, I used Pennzoil Synchromesh, whose viscosity is on the thin side; probably closer to ATF than 80w-90 gear oil. This oil was GREAT in cold weather, but I was unsure of compatibility with this tranny, so I drained it and tried SAE 90 GL-4 manual transmission lube. The 90 weight is miserable in cold-- if it's below 15F in the morning, I can hear the bearings in the tranny, and the engine RPM of a cold idle (high idle during warmup) drops about 200 RPM just turning the tranny internals until the fluid begins to circulate / warm up sufficiently.

If I had to do it over again (in fact I'll do this when I have the time / money for another fluid change), I would have gone with Amsoil 75w-90 GL-4 synthetic MTF fluid. I find that it's near impossible to find a GL-4 manual transmission fluid on store shelves-- it's almost always GL-5 fluids suited for hypoid differentials that's available locally.

All-in-all a great transmission. I still scratch my head thinking why Ford found it necessary to put such a low 1st gear in the thing-- I've used it only a handful of times, and even then I could have lived without it. 1st is WAY too low, and 2nd is a tad too high to take off 100% comfortably, even unloaded.

The spacing of the 3 usable gears is HUGE. Up here at 6,000+ elevation where vehicles have a good deal less power, it's sometimes a serious chore finding the right gear in hilly terrain, especially loaded. I often find myself in third having to go too slow for the conditions (because RPM is too high), but can't shift into fourth gear because that ratio is just a tad too high for the speed I'm trying to drive at. 40-45 mph going up a hill while towing is a good example of this.

Then the lack of overdrive explains itself-- 3,200 RPM to do 70 mph on the highway makes for quite the gas guzzler with a 460.

 

quakerj,

That Amsoil 75w-90 GL-4 synthetic MTF fluid is expensive stuff (over $15 per quart) and doesn't seem to come in a 1 gallon size) - I think I can buy some nice "Christmas Cheer" cheaper!
In my application (not Ford) the transmission will be mated to a Spicer 18 T-case (ancient design but remarkably strong) which can accept a bolt-on overdrive. On the other hand I rarely drive on the highway for long and when I do, I limit my speed to about 50-55 mph. So 4th gear and my 4.10 final gearing is reasonable.

Thanks for the oil information, I'll find out if Amsoil is available here at the end of the world. If not, it's another good reason to drive down to Seattle or Portland (in the thrifty Volvo wagon) for a nice short vacation.

All the best for Christmas approaching.

 

Historically this was true with sulphurised gear oils (that distinct gear oil smell), but I've spoken to a couple of oil company tech advisers who both said that good quality gear oils today, don't cause any problem to bronzes.

 

Ford834,

Have you managed to replace your T19 with the ZF-5 speed yet? If that transmission is like the one in my wife's '96 land Rover Discovery, you will probably be pleased. Very smooth, but you can beat the synchros if you shift too fast, especially in really cold weather.

 

nearer fork-ends show wear & have no plastic covers - correct?




Here's what I found under the lid


Ken,

Voice from the past here... I finally found a T19 (not from a Ford but from a 1980 Scout 2) complete with Dana 300 t-case. The condition isn't bad but one shift collar had a slight amount of surface rust due to internal condensation - all cleaned up now.

The real question is about the shift forks.... are both forks supposed to have the plastic covers? On this transmission, the bigger fork's ends have the plastic covers, but the smaller fork's ends do not. There's quite a bit of wear on one of the unprotected ends. I can't help but wonder if this fork is a replacement - not from a T19...

I've tried for an hour to upload pictures but gave up in the end. This is not a simple process compared to other forums I use. Oh well, perhaps I can get my daughter to explain it to me some time!

Cheers,

Pavel

 

Hi Pavel, congratulations on finding a transmission.

The worn 3rd/4th shifter fork originally did have the plastic coating too, but it has worn away; mine was the same.
T18's had replaceable plastic tips but not T19's (as late as ours anyway); I couldn't find any suitable process to renew the coating except to use bronze, so I bought a new fork.

Novak have new forks which now are hardened instead of having the plastic coating, otherwise a direct swap. I forget what mine cost exactly, I think around $70 U.S.

Novak Jeep Conversions - Home

 

Concerning the worn 3/4 shift fork, when you look at the "wear pattern" as you can see on the upper fork in the photo, it looks machined not really a wear pattern. Is it possible the fork came from the factory like this? There's no evidence of a plastic ever being on the fork ends.... Hmm... just thinking out loud.

drivetrain.com has a replacement (TR5376843) for USD $140.68 .........ouch! That's close to $200 delivered here.

So my MO will be, install the transmission, thoroughly cleaned but as is, and see how it works - if there's trouble, then consider your idea of casting some bronze around the fork ends and machining or adapting the nylon covers from T18 transmissions with aluminum forks. Or adapting an aluminum fork from a T18?

Cheers, Pavel

PS: thought of visiting NZ but would need assurance all the Orcs have been eradicated or jailed first.

 

I wouldn't drive it for too long like that, Pavel......each shift between 3rd & 4th will wear the fork more, now that the coating is gone, & the material will float through the oil.
It looks like a machined surface because of the hardened collar revolving against it at fairly high rpm; the remains of the plastic were still on my fork.

When I replaced it, Novak's price was the lowest I found.

Orks are all in submission

 

There's a place in town called "Slick Coatings" that can apply various 'plastics' to surfaces... they can apply Teflon. I'll take the transmission cover over to them next week and ask if they can coat the worn fork ends.... at a good price.

Will report back.

Cheers, Pavel

 

That sounds good.

I tried to find someone locally to re-coat mine, but didn't have much success.....& I needed the truck back on the road.

 

The Slick Coatings guy said it would be too expensive to have the fork ends recoated. He said there were hundreds of different Teflon formulations and to do 'one off' re-coatings is too expensive. He implied it would cost hundreds without actually saying it. Just buy new he said.

I've noticed that most people/shops I've contacted (3D scanning, printing, various machining jobs, stucco, dry walling etc. etc.) are not interested in small jobs anymore. This town has got too big unfortunately...

I've found a source for new forks but I'm not sure they know the difference between T18 and T19 transmissions. Must contact Novak.