Has anyone encountered a problem where it is very hard shifting their 4spd. manual trannys on their F-150's There is no grinding (well except for Reverse) but it is really hard to get it in gear...you really have to be an animal with it to get it in gear.

Any ideas are what to do to make it shift more smoothly and easily? I can manage it but boy is it difficult. It doesn't seem to matter whether it is cold or hot. Any suggestions would be great! Thanks!

 

Mine does that occasionally. I have a 3spd with OD. I just roll it forward or backward a little bit and it shifts in just fine. I never have any problems with it when I'm driving though. Maybe your clutch needs to be adjusted out a bit more?

 

It should have no resistance into 2, 3, or 4.
Has the fluid level been checked?
Proper 80-90 weight oil?
Fluid ever changed?

 

Why would there be resistance in 1st or reverse, but not in 2nd, 3rd, or 4th?

 

Typically, 1st and reverse are non-synchronized while 2nd, 3rd, and 4th are fully synchronized. If you have resistance when your'e shifting into those gears, that may be a sign of a bad synchronizer in that gear which means you need to tear into the tranny to fix it.

 

Well that makes damn good sense. Why not synchronize those gears though? I don't mean to be a pain, I'm just trying to learn.

 

First is used for getting going, and in many large trucks, only used for getting a load going. Second is the "normal" starting gear for many of these trucks. Even in vehicles where first is a normally used gear (such as my Ranger), it's only used to get going, not for downshifting around corners, etc. In a non-synchronized first gear, you can downshift going a few miles an hour or so, or at a dead stop (though you may have to roll slightly to get the cogs to fully engage), but since you won't typically try and downshift going at any real speed, there's no reason to synchro first gear. First gear synchros also tend to wear out quite fast.

All other gears are definetly fully synchrod except reverse and should be smooth shifting into and out of.

 

Another possibility on hard shifting - check your firewall around the brake booster. They break from flexing. It's a design flaw. Mine cracked and allowed the firewall to flex open 1/4" which was enough to keep the clutch from disengaging.

I welded it back up, but had to watch carefully for fires under the dash

 

Good replys guys. Its really just 1st and Reverse that seem to be a pain to shift into. I'll definitely look into the other ideas that were posted. Thanks!