Can't get my tranny to shift into any gears when I depress the clutch. I work the linkage from under the hood and it shifts into all gears with no problem. It grinds when I try to put it in reverse, but will not go into any of the other gears. I believe I need to replace the clutch. Any thoughts or adjustments to the linkage I could try?

 

I think your in the wrong place. But I have had this issue on an old f-150 before. I think I could still get it into 3rd and nuetral though. Anyways it's usually the pivot point in the steering column. A tab breaks off and your kinda stranded. When mine broke (probably 10-12 years ago) I could still get one at the parts store. Not to hard to fix but you gotta pull the steering wheel off

 

Definitely in the wrong place. My knowledge is very limited when it comes to 3 on the tree, but hey most young guys don't even know what it is! When my brothers truck started doing this, it was not the clutch. It was in the column linkage. Of course this was also in a Chebby. My is was not a show truck and the easiest/cheapest route was to delete the 3 on the tree and put it on the floor.

 

Can you get it into gear while the engine is off. I missed the part about the clutch. I was sidetracked by thinking about the three on the tree

 

Damn I had an early morning brain fart, if you have too much freeplay the clutch could just be out of adjustment. Tighten the adjusting nut on the linkage until you have an inch of play.

 

I forgot to ask, did this happen because it's been sitting for years??? if so the disc could be rusted to the flywheel. But not if you've been driving the truck.

 

Which part in this steering column pic are you calling a pivot point? I've never seen or heard of any such thing.

The pot metal shift collar (7228) contains an internal bridge that connects it to the shift tube. Over time the bridge begins to crack, eventually breaks off.

Now, the shift lever flops around because the collar is no longer connected to the shift tube.

D5TZ-7228-B 3 M/T shift collar (same 1961/77) obsolete, 100's available NOS from Ford dealers, obsolete parts vendors.
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Bottom of the steering column has two manual control selector levers (7302 - 7303) that the shift rods from the trans attach to. In each lever there's a 'snap-in' nylon bushing (7341).

The bushings crack apart, the shift lever binds up. EOSZ-7341-B bushings (same 1973/79) available from Ford.

The nuts that retain the shift rods to the trans levers work loose (see pic at right) causing the linkage to go out of adjustment, as the rods slide back/forth.
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This is the Ford type 3.03 3 speed manual all syncromesh transmission. Has one brass blocker ring on the 1st gear syncro, two brass blocker rings on the 2nd/3rd gear syncro.

The brass blocker rings wear down to a nub, causing the trans to pop out of gear and grind into gear.

 

I can Get it into gear when it is off, I can do it from in the engine compartment on the linkage off the column. In the cab it seems to go into gear when off. Only when running does it seem to give me issues. Not a lot of play in the linkage and not stuck, which is why I think it might be the clutch/pressure plate issue.

 

Guys I appreciate the posts and will look into a few other things. Numbers thanks for the column diagram. I too never heard of a pivot point the way moose explained, but believe he is talking about the shift tube in the column. Since I haven't inspected the column, I might take that apart first before replacing the clutch. The truck has sat for 12 years and I only started it for the first time last weekend. Runs like its brand new.

 

Funny with only 80K original miles I wouldn't expect the column to be too worn, but who knows.

 

When you started it last weekend, was it in neutral and didn't throw out the clutch?

In other words, if you put it in gear from inside the engine compartment, and try and start it, will it start without moving if you throw out the clutch? If yes, the clutch is free and might just need adjusting a bit. If the vehicle moves while trying to start, well, the clutch is froze, or, a better adjustment is needed. Two inches of pedal free play is good...go from there. If you have all that....a column check would be next.

Excuse me if this sounds too simplistic and you've tried it all before. Just trying to eliminate some things before you blindly rip into it.....haha.

 

I think I had a similar problem to you but not quite as severe. My truck started to have difficulty shifting into reverse, and so all I had to do was to adjust the clutch freeplay. The specs for freeplay per the Hanes manual are as follows: measure from the top of the clutch pedal to the bottom of the steering wheel. Now, press the clutch down until you start to feel more resistance. This is the clutch actually disengaging. Measure again from the top of the clutch pedal to the bottom of the steering wheel. The difference between the two measurements should be between 3/4" and 1.5". if not, you need to adjust the freeplay on your clutch. When I checked mine, there was about 3" of freeplay. It takes a little to get used to the clutch again after you adjust it