I just had some work done on my clutch and transmission(97 F150), and I have a few questions!
First had the clutch done, but when I picked it up, although the clutch worked fine, I swear I can hear more transmission and/or road noise from the shifter boot. Is it possible something is missing in there that was helping reduce noise. If not, has anyone ever put anything in the boot to help reduce noise?
Second question. Soon after, unfortunately, had the transmission rebuilt by a local shop. The transmission now shifts great, but does anyone have an opinion on what a newly rebuilt unit should sound like. I have never had a new manual transmission, so I am unsure. While driving, I hear some gear noise, and a little "rattle" like sound when I am slightly over geared and being to lazy to down shift. Is any of this normal in what I feel like should be a "like new" transmission? Any replies would be greatly appreciated! Oh, and what, if any synthetic fluid does anyone recommend, and can this help with gear noise? Thanks! Jim

 

There is inherant slack in a manual tranny that will casue the sound that you describe when you lug the engine. The cure is to down shift. It is after all a truck tranny and you will always hear some gear noise.
There are two shifter boots. You could remove the top one and check that the lower one is properly installed.

Regards

Jean Marc Chartier

 

Thanks! Now that I have driven it a week or so, I have gotten used to the noise, no biggy. One other question though! Although is shifts great into all gears up and down, I have noticed that when I shift into third and accelerate, there is a very evident "shake" in the transmission, easily felt in the stick shift, when you back off of the gas, the gear is kinda "cluncky" and "jerky". Does that make any sense? I am only concerned because none of the other gears act like this, they are all smooth and consistent regardless of speed or RPM. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance! Jim

 

Anybody have any thoughts on this? The truck does not shake, just the stick shift. It is very noticeable, especially when you keep you hand on the stick. All of the other gears are smooth and do not cause a shake in the tranny or stick. It is not unbearable, just seems kinda wierd that only one gear is like that. Jim

 

Jim,

Do you knowwhat they did when they rebuilt your tranny? Any Idea what parts they changed? Any 3rd gear parts? Syncros etc.?

JMC

 

I was told that they replaced synchros and bearings, and the only "hard" part that needed to be replaced was the input shaft. This was done through the car dealer(not ford) that I bought the truck from (as part of the deal) so I don't have the best first hand knowledge of the rebuild from the tranny shop. Thanks. Jim

 

Does the problem go away if you push further on the lever or pull it back, without actually pulling it out of gear?

JMC

 

I don't think moving the lever within the gear eliminates the problem, I think it sorta dampens it, but does not correct it. What is your thinking? What would that mean either way, just curious!! Thanks. Jim

 

Jim,

I was thinking that if the gears are not meshing properly they will be llose and vibrate. Moving the lever will force them into correct alignment and eliminate the problem. It coulld have been a shift fork not ligned up properly.

JMC

 

Thanks again. On the way home from work last night I played with the transmission again. After I shift into third and release the clutch, the stick does vibrate and shake. If I pull back on it hard, but not hard enough to pull it out of gear, the shaking does decrease and there is about 50% less vibration in the stick. What do you think would be the cure for this. Sounds like they missed something on the rebuild! Jim

 

I talked to a friend at a tranny shop about my tranny problems and he told me that there were two kinds of replacement parts. Those that were made in the US and those that were made cheap. They may have used the "cheap" parts or they skimped on replacing only those parts that were realy bad. Or they may have completely missed something in the third gesar set. I would take it back and have them look at it.

JMC