Who likes the 4 speeds and who does not like the 4 speeds and why

 

Which 4 speed are you asking about?

I have the crash box and I like it. I also dislike it. Love/hate relationship...

I like it because it's original and I learned how to work on it when I replaced the reverse idler gear in it.

I dislike it only because I still occasionally grind the gears. But that just means I need to drive it more... so I like it.

I can't imagine anyone not liking the synchro silent 4 speed...

 

Heck Joe I grind in my Civic

 

You got that right, Joe. No excuse now.

 

I feel the same about my crashbox. I usually have to drive a few miles before I get the shifting to go smoothly. I haven't figured out if it needs time to warm up, or if I'm the one who needs time to warm up.

I wouldn't trade it though. I feel like it's part of the experience of the truck, and changing it out would be cheating.

 

1953 and up to early 60s style

 

The T98? Personally my favorite 4 speed truck type trans. I've had a bunch of them......smoother shifting than a T18 or NP to me anyway. Ratios are fairly wide, probably not real practical for stop and go....

 

Going to jump on here, with more questions than answers. I have a 4-Speed, and I like the idea of leaving it in, but I'm not sure I like driving it.

PO refers to it as "square gears" but essentially, it requires a two or three second pause, after engaging the clutch, to avoid grinding gears. I think he actually did a little "double pump" thing with the clutch.

This normal? Its in a 55 F100, but the tranny is not original. It went in, along with a 292/312 heads (out of a 63ish f100), in 1973. I don't think the motor and tranny came out of the same donor truck, but I really don't know.

The picture below shows the only id numbers that I've found so far:

 

The T98 does not have square cut gears except for first and reverse. It should shift really smoothly. Likely it has been used and abused and needs some new parts like synchros, etc. Also is your clutch adjusted and in good condition?

 

Scott,
Thanks! Honestly, until starting this research (over the weekend) I thought it was just supposed to be pretty tough.

I'm assuming the clutch adjustment is something I may even be able to figure out how to do (will have to look into that ... never done it before), but I doubt I'll be cracking open the 4-speed myself. How tough is it to find folks qualified to diagnose/repair a T98 (I'm in the Dallas, TX area)? Would it need to be pulled out to do that kind of work?

 

You gotta keep it ! That 4 spd is part of the charm! Me shifting usually goes hand and hand with me cursing!!!!

 

I loved the T-98 in my Dad's 55 F-100, except the time I drove across Houston in rush hour towing a trailer to retrieve an F-2... then that heavy clutch was miserable!

I vote to keep the T98, just get everything into good shape.

 

Yes, it would have to be pulled for any internal repairs. As for shops, ask around for someone familiar with that trans, but it could be difficult to find someone. Another approach would be to find another trans......Ford used millions of them from 53-64.

 

Here is an interesting development (it's always something new). I was having lots of trouble shifting my '50 F2 V8 with non-synchro 4-speed without grinding the gears. I checked the clutch and I appeared to be getting good travel in the linkage so I assumed that it was just me. I have driven many non-synchro trans vehicles of all sizes over the years but I figured maybe my double clutching was not want it used to be and that all the many synchro transmissions that I have driven since the late 60s had made me soft.

This week I got down to cleaning up the linkage in the parts washer and the pictures show the damage hidden under all the grease and dirt deposits to the clutch cross shaft that I found. Somewhere in it's life the cross shaft bushings were damaged allowing the shaft to move on the pivot damaging the ball socket and also causing the clutch linkage to not give full travel even though the upper linkage looked like it was working properly. It is hard to check this properly by yourself. The damage probably occurred at the same time that the tie rod was bent, oil pan damaged, etc.

I have seen several posts on FTE by people having 4-speed shifting problems. This is just one more thing to check but it really takes two people. I suppose if I had been more thorough the right way to check this would have been to remove the floor trans cover in the cab and then remove the inspection top cover to see if the clutch was releasing from the pressure plate far enough. One person could probably have done that check process.

I have looked at the various parts suppliers and cannot find this type of cast, one piece shaft listed anywhere. Does anybody know where I can get one of these? I can't even find a drawing of it.

 

It's a forging, Pete, so weld away and machine back to shape. Easier to find a good used one, I'm sure.