transmission?
transmission?
Senior User
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 233
Likes: 0
From: centeral Ohio
I beleive it's in the faq's but, i may be wrong although i beleive all of the ford 4 spd trans i know of are rock solid. Does it have a syncro 1st gear or reverse? If not it's probably the t-18. If it has a aluminum top cover on it's probably the np435 i think. then again this is here say and i'm talking out of my a## here so take it with a grain of salt. Although this is what i remember.
Postmaster
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 3,439
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From: Spokane WA
Originally Posted by Gerry Lutz Jr.
I beleive it's in the faq's but, i may be wrong although i beleive all of the ford 4 spd trans i know of are rock solid. Does it have a syncro 1st gear or reverse? If not it's probably the t-18. If it has a aluminum top cover on it's probably the np435 i think. then again this is here say and i'm talking out of my a## here so take it with a grain of salt. Although this is what i remember.
smooth iron case, aluminum top cover, non-sychro creeper, PTO cover on passenger side = NP435
ribbed iron case, iron top cover, non-sychro creeper, PTO cover on passenger side = T18
ribbed iron case, iron top cover, sychro creeper, PTO cover on both sides = T19
iron case, steel top cover, no pto cover, 2 external shift rods = 303 3 speed
iron case, steel top cover, no pto cover, 3 external shift rods, long cast iron tailshaft = Clark 4 speed overdrive
Mountain Pass
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 123
Likes: 1
From: Maryland
and, of course, i'm going to speak up for my tranny, since it's one of my few areas of expertise...if you have an aluminum case and reverse is to the left and up, its a single-rail overdrive (SROD), which isn't quite as bulletproof as the others, but i'd take it over the clark SMOD! the SROD also has a sister transmission called the top-mount overdrive (TOD)...reverse is down and to the right. both of these are made by tremec. what year is your truck?
Elder User
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 530
Likes: 1
From: Harrisonburg, VA
You have the same truck as my dad, 87 f150 300 and 3 speed w/ od. On the sticker in the door jamb there is a code for trans that should say "b" I know his is a srod tod as savage has said. If I'm not mistaken it's a weak transmission if you try to get serious with it.
Postmaster
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 3,439
Likes: 6
From: Spokane WA
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Senior User
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 233
Likes: 0
From: centeral Ohio
Any1 know what mine is while we are at it. I'm pretty sure it's all cast. It's a granny 4 spd with first and reverse non synchro. The reverse gear is down and to the right. I know it held up nice tonight i power braked my truck all the way across a friends field in 2nd with 12 in tires and ls tore the hell outa the feild . Truck did fine no gear whine or nothing lots of rear end hop though. I only did it because, they made fun of my truck for being a ford but, i outspun his 350 easily.
. Truck did fine no gear whine or nothing lots of rear end hop though. I only did it because, they made fun of my truck for being a ford but, i outspun his 350 easily.
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 123
Likes: 1
From: Maryland
Originally Posted by oldhalftons
why do you say that?
The SROD really isn't as bad as people make it out to be. i'll be the first to admit that it's not a T-18 or a 435, but it holds up well. mine has lasted 220,000 miles, and i just replaced the input/output shaft bearings, so i'm sure it'll last a while longer. i'm no little old lady when it comes to driving, either, so it can't be all bad. i've even managed to pull a stuck suburban out without any trouble. 
Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 24,418
Likes: 3
From: San Francisco, Ca.
I know my 81 Ford F-150 has a body label on the drivers side lock pillar post that has the transmission code, along with other codes. That code will tell you what transmission you have. In my case it's a code F which is a Borg Warner T-18. Hope that helps.
Junior User
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 55
Likes: 0
From: sanford,nc
jwilson0265
i drive a 81 f100 with 2.73 and o/d . yes you will need to be at 55 then put in o/d,it's a great truck,i get 19 and 20 mpg around town,about 26 to 28 on hwy. so i think it is a good set up.
Senior User
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 103
Likes: 0
jwilson:
I wonder what is the reason(s) behind you rather high MPG? Is your I6-engine fuel injected? The highest MPG values reported in this forum for 300 ci (4.9L) engines usually do not exceed the low 20's (20-22 MPG), and are usually limited to highway mileage in FI engines. My carburated, stock, '78 F100 custom (117K original miles), with a 4 spd clark SMOD, 2.73 rear gears, 235/75-15 tires and and well-tuned I6 (new cables, spark plugs, cap & rotor, well-timed) averages 14-15 MPG in city driving and 17-19 MPG in highway. I drive conservatively (shifting at around 2200-2500 rpm, and maintaning about 1800-2000 rpm when cruising; the tachometer addition to my dashboard was a great mod!).
Raul
I wonder what is the reason(s) behind you rather high MPG? Is your I6-engine fuel injected? The highest MPG values reported in this forum for 300 ci (4.9L) engines usually do not exceed the low 20's (20-22 MPG), and are usually limited to highway mileage in FI engines. My carburated, stock, '78 F100 custom (117K original miles), with a 4 spd clark SMOD, 2.73 rear gears, 235/75-15 tires and and well-tuned I6 (new cables, spark plugs, cap & rotor, well-timed) averages 14-15 MPG in city driving and 17-19 MPG in highway. I drive conservatively (shifting at around 2200-2500 rpm, and maintaning about 1800-2000 rpm when cruising; the tachometer addition to my dashboard was a great mod!).
Raul
Last edited by superbepro; May 9, 2005 at 10:28 AM.