I know there is a tranny section of the forum, but they are mainly focused on the later units.

Right now I have two 3sp units and a 3sp overdrive out of a 62 Galaxy (or something). I don't plan on using the od because it has a 12v solonoid and i just don't feel like messing with that right now.

So I figure between these two 3speed units, I should be able to piece together a working tranny, right? One of the units tended to pop out of third gear. So my questions are...

Are these transmissions simple enough to work on at home or should I have it done by a pro?

Are there any pro's left? I don't mind shipping it if I have to.

Thanks in advance for any help.

--Jack

 

A good local transmission shop should be able to do the rebuild for you. I recommend calling and asking around. On the south side of Houston where I am located, there are two or three shops that do good work on manual transmissions.

That said, I was able to rebuild manual transmissions when I was a 16 year old knucklehead and they worked. Bearings can be tough to come by but they can be found from a bearing supply house. Look on the internet or local phone book for bearing suppliers and have your dimensions ready.

Gears and synchronisers are a different story. they can be a bit tougher to come by but a transmission shop may be able to help you locate any parts you may need if they want to be helpful. If you are goind to reuse anything, make certain that all bearing surfaces are smooth and not pitted at all. Make sure you don't have any chipped ger teeth and make certain that the gear surfaces are smooth and have no rough or pitted surfaces.

The rough and/or pitted surfaces are what will create that grinding or winding noise that sounds so unpleasant.

Good luck. I wouldn't be afraid to do it yourself if you have the time and inclination. If you are more comfortable having someone else do it (and this is what most people woiuld do) shop around for a good and reputable transmission shop (get references from folks you respect).

 

These trannys aren't bad to rebuild. Bearings can be bought thru NAPA or any good parts house. The synchro's were used up into the 70's and are easily found. I rebuilt the 3 speed in my 50 F-1 and I got most of what I needed at my Ford dealer. You'd be surprised at what's still available thru Ford.

Barry

50 F-1

 

texan2004, I thought exactly the same thing. When I was 16/17 I rebuilt the trans in my 40 Ford[39 trans] and it worked fine behind a mild flathead. I am not sure I would tackle it today, and I certainly have a much larger tool supply than I did then. Then it didn't matter if it didn't work, I had no choice. Now I want someone who knows what they are doing to insure trouble free driving. Crazy, ain't it? Joe

 

Joe,

My initial reaction is to agree you and have someone else do it. However, if I had a dollar for everytime I've tried to pay somebody to do something the right way and ended up disappointed, we could have a nice dinner at Morton's and then some. If he can find a "good and reputable" shop to tackle the job, he's probably ahead.

If he does it himself, he can screw it up just a well (and probably not as bad) as some twenty five year old who's done nothing but rebuild Honda and Toyota five speed transmissions. Probably equal odds for it to get screwed up but if he screws it up, he will know what he did wrong and gaon some knowledge and probably a couple of good tools all for far less money than paying the other guy to di ti. I probobly lean towards doing this myself for a couple of reasons:

1 - I've done them in the past (admittadly 25 years ago) as you have and I know that I managed to get it right with fewer tools and far lesss knowledge than I have today.

2 - I usually learn from my mistakes so I am pretty comfortable that if I have to do it a second time because I screwed up the first, it will be perfect the second time. And I'm reasonalby sure that I will get it right the first time but that's the arrogant mechanical engineer in me thinking that way.

3 - I am certain that I will take much more care to get it right the first time time than somebody who has four other tranny's in the que for rebuild and may not be familiar with what I need rebuilt.

You'd be surprised how easily this stuff comes back to you. I was ready to do one of my three speeds until I found thae case was cracked. I left it together until later when I get a good case. What frightened me most was my concern about finding parts but Barry doesn't seem to think it will be that big of a problem and I have a good deal of respect for his experience, hence I am now less fearful than I was this morning. Bottom line - if I want to ensure something gets done the right way and I have the ability, I will generally try to do it myself. But that's just me.

 

Well maybe I'll buy a book and see how bad it looks. If it requires new tools, well, then I'll definitely give it a shot!

Transmissions have always seemed like a black art to me. Probably because I just never tried to do it. I'm typically better at the larger projects like engine swaps and installing trannies. If they can explain it in a book, then I can probably do it.

Good thing I have two.

 

Certainly you are correct about who does it. If I am not confident in someone elses' ability, then I will give it my best. However, I am fortunate to live in the same place all my 60 years. I know the guys who are good at specific areas I might not be. I will let them do that job while I tackle something more appropriate for myself. Time is much more important now than it used to be. Joe

 

Gotcha Joe - I've moved around a bit and don't have that network in place that I'd like to have. Understand the time element as well. Sixty years in the same place - you Okies never move, do you???

Jack - nothing to be afraid of. Just make sure you have a clean work area and minimize the ability for things to fall off of the workbench. Parts most likely to get dropped or lost during disassembly are "C"-clips and needle bearings. If you get too worried about it, use a digital camera as you are taking it apart to help you remember where everything goes when you put it back together. Be patient and you will be fine. Remember, there's never enough time to do it right but there's always time to do it over. If you get it apart and get cold feet, just save all of the parts and you can still let someone else put it back togther. I'm sure that won't happen though. Good luck.

 

You mean another state might accept us?

 

Of course, we take everybody down here.

 

I just finished making 3 transmissions into 1 for my '53 F-100. I had the original 3 speed light duty, a '51 merc car 3 speed with O.D. and a '57 T-bird 3 speed with O.D. The merc 3 speed portion is perfect, but someone managed to get reverse and O.D. at the same time and the sun gear grenaded. The '53 and later trucks have the motor mounts as part of the bell housing and the trucks have the old style main drive gear, 1" longer and larger diameter than the car stuff. I could tell right away I needed to keep my bellhousing and side case because of how the clutch pedal shaft hooks up. So,,, I used the merc 3 speed, swapped the main drive gear from the truck tranny and used the best parts of both O.D. units and re assembled it. I have never done any transmission work before this so I followed the reprint Ford manual and other than taking some components into a recommended transmission shop for inspection, I did it all in an afternoon. I was able to reuse all the bearings as well. I bought a small parts kit from Job Lot in New York and installed the new needle bearings and thrust washers to be safe. If you have a 12V solinoid, I'm sure some 12V conversion folks would be happy to trade even and you could get a 6V for shipping costs. Most of our trucks have 4:11's or 32's or something for power not highway, so I think you should consider the O.D. Cut down a broom handle to fit inside the cluster gear, and you can remove/insert it as a unit with needle bearing intact.