Hello again FEF-
so, the saga continues....today I'm going to give you a little background first, to go with the update.
I own a Chevy, short box, 4x4 with 150k miles. I have used it for landscaping for three years with little or no incident, but, as you use these things, like all others, they wear out, break down, etc. Long story short, transmission went out. As a result, I bought my '81 F100 2wd, with the before mentioned I6 and a 1988 M5R2 manual transmission. This old farm gasser had been modified far more than the seller had let on, and I have been unraveling this mess ever since, starting with the starter, selenoid, battery, all of the grounding straps and replacement of the badly worn shocks. En route to buy my new transmission for the little Chevy pickup, the clutch went out in my Ford. Thinking that I needed to start with the clutch and hydraulics system, I dove in head first, bearing in mind that the reverse would not engage and hold in place after releasing the clutch even when it was going good.
Today- clutch, rear seal, pressure plate, bearings and a new clutch line, slave cylinder and replaced the u-joints.
I removed the transmission, obviously, and reported here that the fluid looked clean and the shifting forks moved everything without any hassles....BUT, the transmission is off, so, let's take a look, right? So, I did. Drained, hat off, slave, speedo, etc removed and into the garage. Inspecting it a little more thoroughly, let's just say that the first thing I noticed, appeared to be the shroud for some needle bearings attached to the magnet. Removing the rear housing, I see that this baby's been torn into before, and, before putting it back into this pickup, they FAILED to replace any components that were damaged or worn, but, DID tear it apart; meaning lock nuts removed and idler removed, gears removed, and put right back in!!
Since this discovery, I have decided to rebuild the old cow. New synchros, bearings, seals and, the most difficult part to find, LOCK NUTS? But, I found them. Heating the bearings helped them slip on like a dream. I did have one of the shifters ball bearing and spring come all the way off the rod, but found a simple method to put it back on, also, had the springs AND the slider pins inside the shifter assembly (forget the actual name) under the fork go to pieces on me, and it took a few tries to put em back together. All in all, without the proper presses and tools, this is not a test for the faint of heart, but, in the end, I am happy to say, she slid back together, has new RTV at all places required, and I am allowing it to cure for 24 hours before filling it up again. She is sitting happily, inches from installation awaiting my next day off.
I know now some things I could not have known before digging into this...one, Frankenstein's Ford or any other make, comes with having to reinvent someone elses nightmare. Two, I really LIKE digging into this best, WHEN IT'S OVER.
Thanks to all who have helped out on here. I'm about $600 into it now, with a whole new starting system, battery, shocks, transmission, clutch, and hydraulics. The savings alone, DOES leave a very satisfied sense of accomplishment AND, I will get more out of her than I have put into it, since I bought the truck for $950 to begin with.
Thanks again FEF.


PS- I didn't sell it for parts, because I needed both trucks (Chevy's done too, and with a brand new trans) to sell, so I can purchase a Duramax with the 6 speed allison.....I need longevity and while the gassers have helped me do my job for the first few years, it's time to graduate and join the fleets of HD's out playing the Mower-head game of landscaping.