78 Ford 4-Spd problems.

Husker44A · Jan 12, 2015

Need some advice for a Ford 2 wd 4-spd. Owner (not me) has to hold the shifter in gear ONLY in FIRST GEAR. He cant fix it due to his wifes heath and time. Plus works 40 hr job a week. So, WHAT can I do to help him out with the tranny ? Im thinking its the detents in the shift tower ?? Am I right ?

old · Jan 12, 2015

Could be a detent or it could be a bearing going bad or a gear that is going bad. But if a true truck 4 speed 1st is only needed for starting out wit ha heavy load as in 1st should be a granny gear

Husker44A · Jan 12, 2015

Old, its in a Pickup. Not, in a farm truck. Sorry for the confusion.

Tom in TN · Jan 12, 2015

husker,

I can't speak to that particular truck, but what Old said about not using 1st gear was very true of my 1969 Ford F-250 with a four speed manual transmission.

It was my daily driver, plus my farm truck when I needed it to be. I never used 1st gear when I was commuting to work and stuff like that.

I only used first gear when I was pulling a heavy load. The bed was a long bed. I once filled it to the brim with loose soy beans and took them to the elevator. The front end of the truck was barely touching the ground. My "granny gear" worked beautifully to get the load moving, but that was the only way it was needed.

Tom in TN

old · Jan 12, 2015

Any pickup with a 4 speed should have a granny gear then the 3 normal gears. Been that way in a pick up since who knows when

old · Jan 12, 2015

Yep never have I seen a truck with a 4 speed that 1st was nit a granny gear

ShadetreeRet · Jan 12, 2015

Sounds like what you refer to would be the T170F or RUG transmission, which was produced from 1978 to 1984, which is a light duty transmission produced for both light trucks and automobiles, This is a four speed with the fourth gear being overdrive, instead of first being "granny gear". All suggestions could be possible causes as well as a bad synchronizer.

Lou from Wi. · Jan 13, 2015

We had problems like you describe with our 1992 F150, it wouldn't hold in first gear. We found out on our that the shifter fork was worn badly. We replaced the shifter fork, and now it works like a new transmission, even our gas mileage improved. The newer forks on ours are 1/4 " thicker, the older ones were about 1/8" where it engaged the gear slot. It was a world of difference. Might check it out.
Not much trouble to change. Instruction booklet came with the parts on how to change .
LOU

C.R. · Jan 13, 2015

I had a 1985 dodge half ton it had a small v8 and a 4 speed well it was a 3 speed with overdrive I guess, I hardly ever used 4th gear unless i was on the highway and you couldnt skip 1st gear because of how she was geared I think they were trying to get better gas milage out of them with the "overdrive" and tall rearend gears

Jon Hagen · Jan 13, 2015

Lots of 1/2 ton Ford , GM and Dodge sold with 4 spd overdrive transmissions in the late 70's- early 80's for fuel economy.

These transmissions did not have a granny 1st gear, 1st gear ratio was 2.5 - 3/1, so you needed to use 1st gear to get them moving.

The things were a lash up made from a car 4 spd transmission, with a special gear set so you actually shifted 1-2-4, then back to 3 which was an overdrive ratio. To make them shift 1-2-4-3 they had the shift lever on the 3-4 fork turned upside down, so a normal 4 spd shifter would shift 1-2-4-3. I still have one in a 79 Dodge van that I ordered with the 4 spd overdrive manual. They worked, but tend to wear out the input shaft bearing and pilot bearing if you drive much in overdrive.

Jon Hagen · Jan 13, 2015

My Dodge van with the 4spd overdrive manual had a 3.25 ratio rear axle, so with only a 2.5-3 reduction in the tranny first gear and that tall 3.25 rear gear, getting even a medium size trailer moving on soft ground was a real chore. I had the clutch stinking more times than I care to remember.

Sprint 6 · Jan 13, 2015

Probably has worn syncros. The cheapest thing to do would be learn to hold it in first. BG used to make a manual trans additive in a tube that might crutch it along, MOA was the name I think.

Lazy WP · Jan 13, 2015

Not all of them had granny low. Ford put out some 3 speeds with overdrive. Low gear on them will run about 30.
I too am guessing that the syncros are out. They are a bugger to change.

Ron-MO · Jan 13, 2015

There were some lighter duty 5 speeds without a "granny" gear as well in half tons in late 80's and early 90's at least in GM trucks. I had one in a 92 Chevrolet 4x4. Liked the truck, but hated that transmission. It always seemed like it was always in the wrong gear. 1st was geared such that I had to shift in middle of an intersection, but second was geared too high to start from a standstill unless you were either on a downhill slope, or very level ground with no load. Reason I bought the truck was that at the time they offered a $1000 discount for manual transmission, and the auto was a $1,000 option, which meant you could purchase a new truck with 5 speed for $2,000 less money. Coupled with rebate at the time, etc, I ended up buying a new 4x4 truck for a little over $12,000 in 1992, and it was a loaded Silverado but had the light duty 5 speed in it. Transmission was noisy from day one, but never caused a problem, but I would not want another if I could avoid it.

steve wi · Jan 13, 2015

not true had 75 dodge 250 with np235 4 spd with no granny in low gear.

old · Jan 13, 2015

If that is so I have NEVER seen one yet and I also would not own one. I want a truck to be a truck

old · Jan 13, 2015

In 1973 I tried to order a Dodge van with a 4 speed and the dealer said they could not do that since the shift would have to be placed so far back. Then in 1976 or so they had a 4 speed as an option

Jon Hagen · Jan 13, 2015

Somewhere in the early to mid 70's, Dodge added the "nose " to what was previously a flat face van.
Do you suppose the "nose" vans had the motor and trans moved forward to allow the manual trans ??

Mine has the shift lever leaning forward and still has the knob near the middle of the bucket seats.
You hd to reach to the rear and side to shift gears.

old · Jan 13, 2015

The van I ordered was the one with a nose on it so nope that did not do it. I think they just found a way to move it forward or maybe on the column

87nassaublue · Jan 14, 2015

Husker, Shadetreeret is right about the light duty 4 speeds. In the 70's and 80's I know Ford built a light duty 4 speed where 4th was overdrive. I helped rebuild one and it was a PITA. It wasn't nearly as easy to work on as the the granny gear transmissions like the New Process 435 or the Borg Warner T18. I doubt you have a synchronizer issue because it's slipping out of 1st. It might be a worn fork, bearing or even a worn out gear. You might want to pull the top off and inspect it for worn parts. Unless you find something easy to fix, it would probably be easier and cheaper to find a good used transmission for about $200.

Chris(WA) · Jan 14, 2015

He is not trying to sell it to you Old, he just wants to fix this one! LOL! Lots on 1/2 tons were built with a 4 speed that was 1-2-3-OD. You have to use 1st to get started with these.

Bob · Jan 14, 2015

"even our gas mileage improved" (when we replaced the shift fork)

Heck, you might as well go all the way and install high speed bumper bolts... bet that would put the gas mileage right through the roof!

old · Jan 14, 2015

Well as I said never seen one and sure the heck would not want to own one. Now a 5 speed that I can understand best of both worlds. That is why my 1980 Chev has 307 gears in it

78 Ford 4-Spd problems.

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