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Hi guys, I have a chance to buy a 4 speed manual transmission supposedly out of a 1980 Ford pickup behind a 300 6. I am wondering if it is a overdrive unit? How can I find out? The **** is gone. I think I could ask the seller for the number on it he could get it. I don't want the old granny gear 4 speed. Thanks for your help, Greg.
I will have to check my parts truck as it has a SROD (4sp OD) in it and thought the bell housing was part of the trans body?
The granny low trans have the shifter that goes into the top of the trans and the "stick is kind of skinny and has 3 bends. The body is cast iron. Shifter sits forward on hump.
The SROD shifter goes on the side like the picture above and moves a rod inside the trans. The "stick" is thicker and think has 1 bends The trans is alum. Shifter sits back on hump closer to seat. Dave ----
edit: to remove bad information (bell housing), to correct other information (bends on sticks) and to add pictures of the 2 tranys
I have an '86 with the 4 speed OD and would not recommend that transmission. I was unfamiliar with it when I bought it. Research shows nobody has anything good to say about it. They tend to wear out prematurely--I had to have mine rebuilt at about 90,000 miles. The shop could only find another one in a junkyard 1,500 miles away. Another common complaint is the gearing--in town they sometimes lug in 3rd, but the RPMs seem high in 2nd; this happens around 25-30 mph. I would much rather have a 4 speed with granny low if it were me. If the tranny you're considering is from a 1980, maybe they're a little different, I don't know.
I have an '86 with the 4 speed OD and would not recommend that transmission. I was unfamiliar with it when I bought it. Research shows nobody has anything good to say about it. They tend to wear out prematurely--I had to have mine rebuilt at about 90,000 miles. The shop could only find another one in a junkyard 1,500 miles away. Another common complaint is the gearing--in town they sometimes lug in 3rd, but the RPMs seem high in 2nd; this happens around 25-30 mph. I would much rather have a 4 speed with granny low if it were me. If the tranny you're considering is from a 1980, maybe they're a little different, I don't know.
The rug and the srod are really modified 4 speed toploaders. The old 4 speed top loader shifted 1-2-3-4, with 4th being 1 to 1 straight through the tranny. What they did with the rug and the srod is swap the shifting pattern around so you are really shifting 1-2-4-3. Then they changed 3rd gear to be a overdrive gear. So you can see going from 1st to a overdrive gear with only 4 speeds would need to make some big rpm changes to do it. A little bit more work, but much better to go with a later 5 speed overdrive tranny.
Not only are the rpm gaps atrocious, Ford put those things in front of 2.47 and 2.75 gears. My 82 had no third gear, 235/75's and 2.75's when I got it, it came with 215's. It was not pleasant to drive. With the np435 and 31's, the 300 was very happy with the 2.75's.
84 and later there was also a top shifted version, easily distinguished as it is still aluminium. It is more reliable, but still has a very poor gear spread. Most issues with the SROD tend to be shifting mechanism related and is probably the reason the TOD exists.
The TOD and SROD both came in 4x4 versions as well.
The thing I see with going with the later 5sp is you do get a better gear spread and OD but you have to switch over to hyd clutch if you have an older truck.
The swaps I have seen posted seam to be 4x4 so did they use them in 4x2 trucks and if so how hard is it to find a 4x2 5sp? I also have seen they need a rebuild before you swap them in. So you buy a used trany, the kit to rebuild it and pay someone to rebuild it if you cant and what are you up to $$ wise?
My plan is to use the 4x2 T18 with granny low and run a Gear Venders OD unit where I can split all the gears if need be. I may also go to a lower rear gear when I do the GV OD unit but that is way down the road.
The 4x4 guys can run I think it is a Ranger OD unit that fits between bell & your trany. Dave ----
4x2 transmissions are no harder to find than 4x4 ones, and you can procure and rebuild a M5OD for much less than the $3000 of a gear vendors Or the 1700 of a ranger.
The ranger you can use in all gears, the gear vendors won't split first and maybe not second if you have deep enough gears, have to be going around I think 20 for it to engage.
As for getting a 2wd 5speed, the odds of needing to go through it before installing it are greatly lowered if you can go the donor truck route or otherwise test drive the thing.
Franklin, I loved that picture you posted in the first post of this thread. It looks like
it should go behind a 427 dual quad engine from the mid 1960s. Love the trans. and
the engine. Thanks for posting the pic.
if you go the m5od route, make sure you get a '91 or newer trans. the older ones had really fine teeth on the 5/r syncro, and they tended to have trouble shifting into reverse after awhile. in my experience, thats the biggest problem with the m5od, otherwise it's a pretty reliable transmission.
the tod is a much better trans than the srod. the tod could also be found in e series vans and granada/monarch cars. aside from the shifting issues,the input shaft brg was very prone to failure on the srod, i wouldn't put one in if it was my truck.
The thing I see with going with the later 5sp is you do get a better gear spread and OD but you have to switch over to hyd clutch if you have an older truck....
... or you can use an NV transmission. The NV3550 is a lighter duty trans, similar to the Mazda M5OD-R2, and the NV4500 is heavier duty like the ZF5. They don't have integral bellhousings, so you need to adapt them to a Ford bellhousing, but Advance Adapters helps you with that. And if you use a bell with a mechanical clutch linkage you've still got a mechanical clutch.
Connecting to a transfer case is an issue, because the Ford cases won't just bolt on. But I think there are adapters, or you can go with a different transfer case (I used an NV3550 with an Atlas in my Bronco, but an Atlas is an expensive way to go if you weren't going to get one anyway).
And if you want a response to the Ford purists, point out that Mazda, ZF, Borg-Warner and New Process aren't Ford either, so you're just swapping one non-Ford part for another!
Which motor was it with? And did you switch to a different transmission? I've got a 351w with the same tranny and have the same issues you have or had. Any help from anyone would be awesome. I'm looking for something a little more efficient and dependable.
