Hey all-

I'll try to make this short. Here are the symptoms:

-Truck is generally tough to shift into almost any gear but OD and R

-When downshifting from higher speeds into 1st or 2nd, the tranny makes a loud (but short) grinding noise occassionally

-The truck has almost always made a wierd spinning noise coming from the tranny when shifting into 1st or 2nd while moving (quiet, but obvious)

-Occassionally, I get a grinding noise going into 1st at a stop if I shift very quickly


I took it to a shop and had it looked at today. I left it for a few hours (had to work). When I came back he said that they had checked it out and that I have some definite bearing noises and the synchros would have to be done as well. Parts+labor=$1050 for 3-5 days. Truth be told, I don't think they ever put it on a rack, but instead just went for a 5 minute joyride. Of course, the problems are pretty bad so that might have been all they needed. Does this sound like my problem? Is this a fair price? He said that if he opened it up and any hard parts were shot, I could be looking at a lot more. Someone else told me it could very well be only the clutch or at most the slave cylinder. Possible? I'm planning on getting a second opinion ASAP, but would like to here your guys' thoughts.

PLEASE HELP!!


Mike


1990 F150 Custom
4.9L I6, Mazda 5-speed
K&N FIPK, Magnaflow exhaust

 

I canned the Mazda tranny and put in an AOD. End of problems!

 

yeah, but how much did the whole replacment job cost? Myself, I'd love to swap it out for the ZF, but money and time are not on my side.

 

I had an AOD out of another truck that was given to me. I had to do the junkyard thing for the column shifter and linkages and I spent less than $100.00 on it. I done the work myself so that saved a bunch of money.

 

Depends on the shop I guess. I paid $1900.00 for a rebuild with a new clutch, Pressure plate and throwout bearing. This price included resurfacing the flywheel and all labor. If you have the time, do the ZF. I didn't have the time.

 

Keep shopping. An independent trans shop rebuilt one, including a new third gear, for under $400. The clutch had already been done recently, so no clutch work was needed.

Jim

 

OK-

Here's what I came up with:

-Reman Mazda costs $695+$250 core from Phoenix Hard Parts. Comes with a 6 mo. or 6K mile warranty with a 1 yr. 12K mile option for $150 more. $85 shipping each way. (once for the new one and once to get the core back)

-Already bought the clutch kit (plate disc, throwout, and alignment tool). It's a Beck Arnley unit that cost about $150 and comes with a lifetime warranty.

-Picked up a new pilot bearing

-Haven't picked up a new slave. Hopefully, the old one isn't dead. (I'll check that later this week)


After reading the Haynes manual, it doesn't seem like the whole job should take more than a weekend, depending on how long it takes to get the flywheel resurfaced. I can always rent out some shop time on base, and with one more person it should be snap. Anybody beg to differ?

Mike

BTW- I found Phoenix Hard Parts to be the cheapest around by far. If anyone has any experience with these guys, let me know. I found them on ebay.

 

If you don't mind the work and possibly having to re-pull the tranny, I think you are on the right track. Change the clutch and see how it works, but I would get a new slave just because of the hassle of changing it later and the new slave is supposed to be updated with a boot to keep dirt out which can cause binding. Don't forget to check the master cylinder and line for leaks too.

My mechanic took my truck for a ride last year and said both clutch and tranny were bad, but when pulled from the truck could find nothing wrong with tranny and a new clutch did the trick. Old clutch was warped, worn, bent, and seared and did make a noise after pressing clutch pedal as if still rotating (warp was still grabbing enough to rotate gearbox and grind gears). If I waited a few seconds noise would quit and it would shift in fine.



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