My wife has an cool barn find f100 with a 223 / 3 speed bolt action. 3rd gear is pretty growly. I wanted to pull the transmission out and go through it this winter. Does anybody have a good source to find a 3rd gear for this thing? 1st and 2nd are nice and quiet. I've googled it to death and have not really found a source. I'm not even sure what the Trans model number is. I can't find it anywhere on it. Thanks guys.
There isn't any such thing as a third "gear" in that 3 speed when you are in 3rd gear, what happens, is that the input shaft, gets locked solid, to the mainshaft (also referred to as an output shaft). this is not typical to be so quiet in the other gears, but have high gear noise. Maybe we will get some opinions on where the noise could be coming from. Are you positive it is the trans, or maybe metal to metal contact on a bad motor or trans mount, or exhaust pipe rubbing on frame? In high gear, the motor can strain a bit more, so if something is hitting, it can show up then.
3d gear is direct drive - the input shaft locked to the output, both turning the same speed. In other words no gears involved. The noise is most likely bad bearings. Most times it's the synchros that wear out, leading to popping out of gear.
How can any bearing in that trans be growling "only" in high gear? All of the bearings are under loads in 1, 2, and R...... except the 1/R idler needles when in 1/2 in high gear, the same bearings are under load, except the input "pocket" bearing is now not turning Also, in high gear the cluster needles are not under a load So, if the 2 main case ball bearings are suspect, then they will growl in all gears I'm not sure we are getting the correct info on the noise
May be coming from rear axle, and only noticeable when speed is built up. I'd block the wheels, throw the "bolt" into neutral, grab the driveshaft, & rotate same back & forth. Any play ?? How much ?? Any gear lube it there ?? Pull the fill plug & stick your pinkie in the hole if it doesn't run out ... If it clunks a lot, get back with us ....
The 1953-62 F-100 pickups used the same basic light duty 3 speed trans....short stubby rear mount and the 9 bolt side shifter cover. There were 3 combos of gearsets used over those years so unless you were swapping an entire trans, you have to double check the tooth counts etc. A growl in 3rd gear without any noise in the other gears doesn't sound right. I suspect the ball bearings are shot and the noise is simply different due to the different loading when power is routed thru the cluster gear. The mainshaft (output shaft) is purt near impossible to find these days. I think we and other shops probably have everything else to rebuild one.
I sounds like a quick change with chipped teeth and no oil! If I could mock the sound in text I would. But it shifts very smooth into all gears and does not jump out of gear. But man it's pretty obvious something is out of mesh. Say at 50-55 under light load to almost no load it will just " ra ra ra ra ra" in a gear sound. Imagine it almost sounds like old school big lug 4x4 tires. In fact, that's very close to what it sounds like. It's probably more speed related than gear related. I'll see if the iphone mic is good enough to take an audio clip and post.
You can have that trans' on the ground in 30 minutes, open it up & look. ,,,,and check U joints while you're at it,,,,,,,,
I agree with others, Your problem is probably the front/input shaft bearing. Letting the tranny get low on fluid will rob the bearing of oil. That is the first in line to go dry as thee tranny is slanted slightly backwards. These are very durable transmission. If you want an overdrive, go looking for a ~79 or 80 Ford F150 3+1 overdrive. It is the exact same tranny except you get another gear. I have had many of these transmissions and they will last the life of the truck or 50 years whichever is less. Just make sure you don't let them get low on oil. .
No kidding? 79-80 only for that trans? That's wild. Will the column move far enough to "get another gear"?
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