We are harvesting the 351-W drive train for one of my '53's and I need to get the shift lever pulled.

HOW do you get the gear shift lever out of the top of the 4 speed tranny in a heavy duty '83 F-150 4WD??? In the old ones I used to push down the cup, turn left and lift, but that doesn't seem to work on this one. we want to pull the engine and tranny with the transfer case on it. We have the front stripped off so we can pull it all out straight forward.

Later Folks...

 

Dave, you are describing the method to remove the shift lever retainer cap from a New Process 435 4 speed.

The NP cap (B8T7220D) is notched, held on by 2 pins in the tower, the cap must be pressed down, then held down as it being turned.

If you try turning that puppy without pressing down, the notches tear out of the cap = which btw, is still available from Ford.
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If the trans is a Borg Warner T-18 or T-19, the cap (8MTH7220) is threaded, so it screws off/on.

The Warner cap is also still available from Ford.

It's prolly stuck on there, so if you damage it when trying to get it off, another can be bought at your local Ford dealer.

The same cap is also used on the Warner T-98 4 speed.

Note: The transmission must be in neutral to remove the shift lever.

 

Thanks Bill,
Yep, you were right about the New Process being the one I was familiar with. This one does have the two pins pressed into either side of the cup. That was what made me think it might work the same way. I have no idea which tranny this truck has. I guess we will have to go take a look and try to figure which tranny it is. It sure is a monster for a half ton though. I'm pretty sure everything is stock.

VIN is: 2FTEF14G0DCA1802 if that helps any Not sure iif those are "O's" or zeros in the VIN

Thanks...

 

Dave, the TRANS code is not listed in the VIN, it's listed separately on the Certification Label.

But...if the tower has 2 pins protruding from it, it's a New Process, as the Warners don't have pins.

What may be the problemo is...one of the notches may have been torn from the cap, which is spring loaded....so it's jammed in there...sitting at an angle.

If you ruin it getting it off...that's not really a problem, because...

B8T7220D .. New Process 435 4 Speed Shift Lever Retainer Cap / Available from Ford.

MSRP: $7.59 // FTEpartsguy.com price: $4.64 / If you local dealer doesn't have one, GREEN SALES CO. in Cincinnati has 31.

btw: Make SURE the trans in in neutral!
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B8T7220D is the very first part number I typed here on FTE. Everyone has a problem with these fracatta caps.

Ford compounded the problem by changing the part number in 1988, so all the 1979 and earlier parts catalog show a different number (B8T7220A).

Many partsguys today are clueless. They type that older part number into the system...it comes up obsolete.

Do they check to see if the number has been updated? Most do not.

Now the customer is searching for that older part number. Meanwhile the correct part (number) is prolly laying in the parts bin of the dealership the customer went to in the first place!

 

It turned out to be a New Process. It just was a whole lot tighter than I am used to. Mission accomplished, shift lever removed... What really coaught my attention is the size of this tranny. I had a two ton dump truck with a New Prosecc that was not any bigger than this one. What a bear...

Later Man...