Ford 5 speed transmission - refurbishment steps

   / Ford 5 speed transmission - refurbishment steps #1  

john_bud

Super Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2000
Messages
6,596
Hi,
I bought a 5 speed transmission to replace a badly broken 4 speed in a tractor / loader / backhoe. That was the reason, I could afford it! The loader is (estimated by me) to be 2000 to 2500 pound lift and has about a 1 yard bucket. The backhoe is 14' depth capable. But the previous owner was stuck in the mud and rocked back and forth to get out and must not have meshed the gears real well. What a mess! At least 31 teeth from 5 gears were knocked off and more were chipped.

Well, I was told that the parts would be about $2200 by the local NH dealer and not available on the after market. So, I found a used 5 speed with live PTO and a double clutch. First stage (peddle going down) disengages the drive wheels, second stage disengages the PTO.

Well, it was in great mechanical condition, but greasy, dirty and painted poorly a couple times. So, it got pressure washed, scrubbed with a wire brush by hand, washed some more, scrubbed some more, degreased with simple green until it was down to bare metal and multicolored paint. Next was a chemical stripping to get it down to bare metal. I don' t know how, but even after all of that, it was still greasy and dirty in spots. So, more degreasing and scrubbing and rubbing with solvent to remove all trace of grease and oil.

To keep it looking new and rust free far into the future, I have gotten into the habit of using a rust protective coating before priming. It turns the metal black like gun blueing and leaves a hard protective finish, but is able to take paint well. Then it got two coats of ford blue enamel with high gloss hardener. All spraying done with automotive spray equipment to give it a nice lasting finish.

Of course, a 48 year old transmission is going to have some wear and tear, right? Well, yah, but the only place that had any wear was the shift plungers. What the heck are they? When you shift, the lever stops with either a crisp snap or a mushy feel. The shift rail has depressions machined into it that the shift plungers snap into under spring pressure. Well, if the rounded end of the plungers are worn down, you get that mushy feel. If they are new, you get a crisp snap as it holds it firmly in gear. The trans had worn plungers, so I replaced all 3 with new ones from New Holland. I think that this is a point that many people don't know about and for the small amount of money and less than 1/2 of time, it’s a no brainer.

The following posts have pictures from the operation. It came out pretty well if I do say so myself! Of course, now that I have the 5 speed looking great and ready for the next 48 years of service, I have found all the parts needed to repair the 4 speed. (Don’t you just love the dealers that stretch the truth a tad on parts availability?) So, the 4 speed is getting a complete overhaul next, and will be going back into it’s original home, but that’s a different story…

These pictures were here previously, but I inadvertently used some proscribed verbiage and the thread was removed to allow me to correct the error.

John_bud
 
Last edited:
   / Ford 5 speed transmission - refurbishment steps
  • Thread Starter
#2  
Well, you saw the finished outside, what do the guts look like?

Here is a picture of the gears inside a 5 speed transmission. You'll note how nice and clean everything is, with not a trace of visible wear. I guess the previous owner really did all of the maintenance! Some much newer transmissions don't look any where this good!
 
Last edited:
   / Ford 5 speed transmission - refurbishment steps
  • Thread Starter
#3  
I mentioned the shift plungers, well here are the old ones and the new ones. It's easy to see the wear on the old ones. I guess they used a softer metal for the plungers as I couldn't see any wear on the shift rail looking in the holes.
 
Last edited:
   / Ford 5 speed transmission - refurbishment steps
  • Thread Starter
#4  
Here is a picture of the transmission after stripping and rust protective coating has been applied. It makes the cast iron turn dark, almost black. One nice benefit of all the stripping and cleaning is that I know there are no cracks, welds or damage anywhere to the transmission. Something you don't know until you get it to this condition!
 
Last edited:
   / Ford 5 speed transmission - refurbishment steps
  • Thread Starter
#5  
So, if that is the transmission, what does the tractor look like? Well, it ain't done yet in fact it's barely started, but here is one picture of where the transmission was originally supposed to go.

The tractor by the way, is a 1963 Ford Heavy Duty Industrial Model 4140 0SD. It has the 172 CID Diesel engine, no 3 point, no lift, no PTO. But it has a Sherman stepup/stepdown transmission. If you are not familiar, that is an extra transmission that is either 50% underdrive, straight 1:1 or 50% overdrive. The result is the 4 speed has 12 useable gears. Having that extra low low and extra high high gear and the cost of adding the 3 point, hydraulic lift and stuff really led me to keep the 4 speed even after making the 5 speed ready to install. I guess I am just a glutton for punishment!

Hope you liked my little story!
John_Bud
 
Last edited:
   / Ford 5 speed transmission - refurbishment steps #6  
Nice little photo essay John, thanks. Is the five speed a direct bolt-in for the four? Got a picture of the entire tractor?

Thanks again, it's very interesting seeing what you've done /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
   / Ford 5 speed transmission - refurbishment steps #7  
Like you mentioned.. aftermarket parts ARE readilly available for most fords back to 1939. As well as salvage trannies complete.. etc.

glad you got your parts.. etc.

Soundguy
 
   / Ford 5 speed transmission - refurbishment steps
  • Thread Starter
#8  
Rob,
I'll post a picture of the tractor in a bit, but right now the rear end with tires is in the side of my shop, the 4 speed transmission is completely apart on the work bench, the engine is hanging from the cherry picker hook, the radiator is outside getting cleaned (probably replaced as it has more surface area of repair than not!) and the loader, frame and front axle are in the heated shop needing to be steam cleaned!

Soundguy, Ya parts are available, but not all of them and used 4 speed transmissions are darn hard to find. I have called over 20 bone yards and have not found any yet. This is a quote for SOME, not all of the parts to repair the trans from a "discount" NH dealer.

-----------John, B9NN7A381B gear, new is $181.03. 8n7100 gear, used is $89.99, 9n7134 retainer, used is $29.99, NDA7111C countershaft, new is $1319.71---ouch. The NDA7141 B gear bushing assy is $423.83 new. Shipping to be added to quote price. Thanks for part numbers.

Price Quote: $2,044.55

There were still some expensive parts that he couldn't get and the seal/bearing/gasket kit was not included. Sheesh, the tractor with loader and 14' backhoe was only $3000!!!

If you know of a good 4 speed laying around, please let me know!

John Bud
 
   / Ford 5 speed transmission - refurbishment steps #9  
JB, I have had several backhoes over the years, and have found that you can't go very fast on one even down the road, to much bouncing gets pretty hairy, and low gear is low enough do push/dig all that the tractor can stand, so higher or lower gears aren't worth to much. I do know the old up and down 5 sp is probably the best transmission for using I've ever used. Third and reverse are a straight line shift and are the most used gears. I have a 555B ford backhoe, with the shuttle shift and low gear is to slow for anything except digging or pushing, to slow for loading a truck, and second is to fast. I wish I had the up/down 5 sp, Later, Nat
 
   / Ford 5 speed transmission - refurbishment steps #10  
Those sound like rip off prices to me.

I've gotten older ford parts from www.just8ns.com. though they mainly do 9/28/n and NAA they do have some other parts, including used. www.8nford.com is the address to a guy that comes up with old ford parts all the time.

Also.. you might post on www.ytmag.com / ford N forum.. or even the regular ford forum.. lotsa experts over there.


did ya try wenger of PA?

Soundguy
 
 
Top