Hi guys it's been awhile but I recently picked up a 1957 ford custom with a bad vibration. I'm not a tranny guy but ,The vibration is coming from the tranny tail bushing. I have unbolted the tailshaft, speedo cable, driveshaft and crossmember but cannot seperate the tail housing. I'm assuming the shaft itself is connected ? What do I need to do to seperate it? Anyone have an idea? Thnx for your time.
Is it this transmission? looks like the rear bearing rides in the tail housing? If you can get hold of the shop manual for your car, it will show you how it all works....but maybe you'll get lucky, and someone will know just what to do
The 57 manual may be different but the following is for the 56. The 56 overhaul manual lists the following tools made by FOMOCO T55P-7657-A for the trans extension housing oil seal and FOMOCO T52L-7000-GAE remover trans extension housing rear bearing and FOMOCO T52L-7000-HAE Replacer trans extension housing rear bearing. I would remover the trans and replace all the bearings and bushings. Good luck.
I have replaced the bushing without taking anything apart except removing the drive shaft and seal. Just use the new bushing to push the old one further inside. I had to make a driver being the tailshaft extends out past the end of housing but no big deal. There is a Snap ring holding the bearing in the tail housing so you aren't going to remove the housing with the gear box still in the car. The Wizzard
If your goal is to replace the tail housing bushing, Pist-n-Broke has a workable suggestion. If your transmission needs additional repairs, you have to remove it completely and tear it down per normal instructions for an overdrive. The stock OD trans for 1957 was the T-86 toploader type if equipped with the 223 Six or the 272/292 V8 engine. The 312 V8 got the heavy duty T-85 sideloader with the R-11 overdrive unit. Of course, it's always possible that some previous owner could have installed an earlier sideloader R-10 overdrive in the car. BTW.....your Custom looks a lot like mine, even the color. Nice car!
Snap ring 7030 in the picture Jim posted holds the tailshaft in the tailshaft housing. You cannot remove the housing with the transmission in the car. If you continue to try and you get it to move the needle bearings will drop out of the input shaft and the blocking ring for third gear will fall off of the synchronizer. This is how I remember it from the late 60's. I could have forgotten a few things in 50 years.
BJR has a point. Make sure the joint isn't tight or worn out. For the tailshaft bushing I would go to your local Ford dealer and talk to a trans repair guy and see if you could rent, beg or borrow the tools to remove and replace the bushing. I have a t5 in my 57 that needed a tailshaft bushing and used those tools to fix it. At the time I worked at a Ford dealer so all I had to do was walk across the shop to get them.
Don't worry about , fixing it , I'll buy the car and take care of it ! Super nice lookin car , the bushing car be replaced without removing the trans or tailshaft . Just use a screwdriver with a notch ground into it ,hook the bushing and yank it out . Use a piece of correct sized PVC pipe to install the new one . If you need more repairs , replace it with a modern 5 speed Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
i recently went through a '50 ford overdrive trans. i took the housing and bushing to an aamco and they r&r'd it for $20. if that is an overdrive (don't think you said) i think there's a large snap ring that needs to come off in the tailhousing.
I had a 3 speed 57 Ford, its hard to believe that the bushing could be bad enough to cause a vibration like you're talking about, are you sure it isnt a u-joint ?
If the bushing is badly worn the driveshaft yoke will also be worn. Ive driven the bad bushing foreward like piston broke stated.
A 57 could have the trans that Jim showed or one that had a top cover Does the vibration only show up at highway speed when decelerating? If so you mite replace the trans mount first.
Sorry I didn't reply sooner, thank you everyone but after reading all your suggestions I decided to remove the whole tranny, especially after draining the fluid and seeing globs of crap coming out of it ! It is not an overdrive ......t85? The vibration was at about 35 mph and above. I will replace the u- joint too. My plan is to eventually put a V8 in with a top loader 3 or 4 speed. Since I have this trans out, do you know is there a top loader that will bolt right up? Will I need a different driveshaft? The V8 will come later, money is tight. I just want to drive this damn car right now. Thanx guys!
If you can find one, a '64 toploader will bolt to the engine/bellhousing. Depending on what car it's out of, you may need to mod/move the trans mount, and the same thing goes for the driveshaft. You can also use the later '65-up trans, but you may have to drill it to fit the bell if it isn't drilled for both patterns. You will have to turn the later input bearing retainer OD down slightly to fit your bell.
Thanx Crazy Steve, a little about the car, a friend lost storage and had too many projects so I bought it. Engine appears original tranny is not. Needs some minor patching on floor ,trunk,and rockers but over all solid. Doors, body mounts, frame all good! Interior redone recently...too much brown for me, I will be changing some of that. Just a cool car that I can drive while I'm restoring my 40. The car was originally baby blue. The car must have went to a state highway dept. because they painted it Snowplow orange (snowbirds know what color that is) finally it was painted brown. I've been told these things have 9 inches rear ends? Looking forward to going to back to the 50s here in Mn.
Abort the project and I will come and take it off your hands, I do like 57 Fords. Good luck and enjoy Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I really like that particular Model 57 Ford, and I'm a Chevrolet guy (who appreciates all cars). Nice color too. T-85 3 speed with overdrive would be on my shopping list. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
Just now found this thread and the one poster who worked for a time in a Ford dealership offered the correct and easy way to fix that bushing, but your post #18 makes it sound as if you have pulled the trans and at least partially disassembled it. Driving another bushing in behind the original will often work if you have the proper drive tool, but beware, if it goes in too far and the original bushing gets past the machined bore it fits in and winds up floating" on the output shaft, you could begin wondering why your speedometer gear keeps getting chewed up Many shops that have been around since the days that car was built have a puller, often made by Snap On, that requires only pulling the driveshaft, then it slides into the rear of trans, going in far enough that barbed fingers will expand in front of the bushing when you slide in the expander sleeve. Then simply screw in the puller bolt that pushes against the output shaft and it pulls the bushing out safely and easily. Then you use the companion tool to drive in a bushing, then put in new seal and the job is done I have one of those tools for each size of Ford trans of 50s-60's years, but you're way up there in Mn and I'm down here in GA Plus that tool won't work on a disassembled trans. T85 Heavy Duty trans can be distinguished from the light duty trans, IIRC labeled T86, by a quick look at the side cover T85 has a deeply curved side cover while the light duty has a straight bottom radiused on the bottom corners. The T85, especially with OD is scarce as hen's teeth, and incidentally is the trans used as a base when Borg Warner developed the T10 4 speed. Don't know much about adapting the later, top loader 3 speeds to your engine or car, but they are nice trans, with a synchronized first gear, allowing shifting into first gear at very slow sppeds without double cluching or gear grinding
a 3/4" dowel cut to proper size can be used as a "dummy" shaft to hold those needle bearings in place. when you install the steel shaft, the dummy will slide right out.
Not quite. 9" only came under wagons and rancheros in 57/58 as far as I know. 1/2 ton trucks did have the 9"
Sorry, everything got the 9" in '57. The wagons, Rancheros, and 1/2T trucks did get the 'big bearing' axles and had a bit stouter housing which is why those are desirable. But the 9" was standard across the car lines.
I stand corrected sir! Checked in my Hollinder's and you are absolutely correct. I always heard the one you wanted was sw & Ranchero 9" since it's narrow enough for an early car, I guess I assumed the others were the same as 56. Funny, I've owned several 57/58 Fords but every one has been either a wagon or Ranchero so they always had the "good" 9".
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