I have a f150 I think it's a 303 with a 3 gear manual colum shift I have heard it reffered to as "3 ON A TREE". I am honestly clueless about this, but the engine runs great and it has a new clutch the gear selection is extreamly sloppy. It can be very hard to select 1st gear and to get reverse I have to shift into first then reverse. Is it possible to have this fixed without replacing the whole box or having it rebuilt. If I can what parts do I need . Please remember I am a complete novice.

 

You need to get someone in the truck to shift from reverse to 1st, while you are under the hood and under the truck(with the engine off). It will become apaarent right away whats wrong if you see slop in the linkage.

If the linkage just doesn't seem to line up, you might have the old chevy truck syndrome. The old chevies where famous for the body mounts rusting and the cab would drop down toward the frame. Of course this would also pull the steering column down, and this would throw the gear linkage off.

 

The three on a tree were also known to wear at the "shifting tube/sleve" and some times the tip on the shift lever will ware. If you can not find any thing wrong after checking what Franklin2 told you to check it may be in the tube or lever. I would advise you to get some one to lend you a helping hand, some one who has driven a lot of the 3-speeds and let them "feel" it out a bit for you, IE: an old guy like me who was proably driving before you were born, we arnt all bad and a few of us still have a good memory{ I am not one with the good memory}. If worse comes to worse you can change to a floor shifter or even a 4-speed trans, unless you are trying to stay original. These are great trucks and not that bad to work on, give your self a little time and keep asking questions. Best wishes

 

Ah, yes......three on a tree!

 

I always thought that was how they shifted!
Never really found one that did not do that.
Just proves that you learn something new everyday!!

 

You know you brought that point up, and reminded me something also to check is the clutch. If you let the clutch out in neutral with the engine running, some of the "guts" of the tranny are turning. You should be able to push in on the clutch pedal after this, count to 3, and pull it back into reverse. It may grind just a little bit, but go in. If it grinds and grinds and you can't get it in, then that would point to the clutch not releasing completely.