Okay, I am out of my comfort zone on this one....

MTboatguy

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On my plow truck, got the plow all rebuilt, got the chains on it, fixed an air leak in the fuel system, so almost all systems go. Yesterday I had to move it for a few minutes and when I tried to move it back in place, it was extremely hard to get into gear! I thought I was going to have to beat on the shift lever with a hammer to bang it into gear, and it was all 4 gears. I believe this is the Borg-Warner T-19 4 speed manual transmission, but I can say, I didn't think I would get it in gear! I was pushing the clutch all the way to the firewall and pushing the shift lever with both hands before it finally dropped into gear!

I am not familier with manual transmissions and have never experienced anything like this on a regular pick up truck. I am wondering what process I should follow to track this problem down before the snow flys.

Any of you guys have experience with this type of transmission? If so, I could sure use some insight.

Thanks.
 

Boomyal

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Sounds like it is a subject for a pro, before you bend or snap something?
 

Grub54891

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Take a look at all the linkages first. Had an old chevy,had to pull the column,it was gummed up. After cleaning and lubing with a light lubraplate it functiond like new.
 

Grub54891

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Of course if yours in where the shifter is directly in the top of the tranny,you should be able to remove the upper shift housing and see if it got rusty from sitting or gummed up.
 

GA_Boater

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Does the truck have a hydraulic clutch, MT? If if it does, maybe low on juice or need bleeding - best case. Next worst case is the master cylinder, worst case is the slave cylinder, it's inside the bell housing.
 

rbh

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This is your 1990+- ford with the 7.3?? naturally aspirated, no turbo?

ZF transmission, hydraulic clutch?

On the clutch lever/linkage above the pedal is a little itty bitty white round nylon bushing, when they wear out its a $%%^% to get the truck into gear or shift.

$5+- at ford dealer, do'nt get the cheap knock off, they wear out to fast.

(or check the fluid in tranny, ATF I believe)
 

MTboatguy

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rbh, this is a 1984 dually 4x4 6.9 naturally aspirated diesel, it is a 4 speed and it is a hydraulic clutch, I have read that the T-19's can be a bear to deal with as they are very heavy duty transmission, but this was terrible, it is a Centurion conversion model, which is why it is a dually truck, 4:11 locker rear end and 4:11 Dana 50 front end.
 

rbh

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T-19, square cut gears no syncros?
If the idle is to high it can be a bear to get into gear.
Clutch pads could be worn, check if it can be adjusted, I think there should be 2 inches of pedal float before the clutch starts to disengage??
 

MTboatguy

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Actually the T-19 is the syncro version, the T-18 is the non snycro model, the idle is dead on, so I don't think that is the problem, I am going to try and adjust a couple of things on Sunday to see what I can change for the better.
 

rbh

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I just remembered an issue I had heard of (and double checked it on a 4x4 site) and that is the mounting point for clutch master cylinder on the firewall may have cracks around it, so every time you engage the clutch the master cylinder gets pushed out and you do not get a full application to the clutch master cylinder.

Get some one to push the clutch in and out and look for cracks on the firewall.
 

Tim Frank

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I have opened up and repaired a number of manual trannies over the years, probably nothing as big as what you have there, but the principals are the same.
Hopefully you do not have to open it.

Is it equally difficult to shift when the engine is not running?
If so, as someone suggested, there may be condensation if your humidity level is up and down like a yoyo, or even water has leaked in to the gearcase. If it has sat for a while....rust...resistence....difficult operation.
Same idea as an outboard gearcase.
Had one like this on an MGB that had sat in a field for 3 years.

Drain the gear oil and see what you have.
If there is water in any quantity....with rust in suspension, refill with a couple of grades-lighter oil....and a can of Sea-foam.... and run it GENTLY for a mile or two, drain and refill with the spec'd oil.
You might get lucky.

That's all I've got. Hope it helps. :)
 

MTboatguy

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Well won't be checking anything today! Yikes, woke up to a couple of inches of wet slushy snow and it is still coming down pretty good, I like to call it "conditioning" snow, it gets everything ready for the mess to come!

I did a lot of reading on this particular set up last night, including the Ford Technical Service stuff about the firewall flex problem and am starting to lean that way, so when the weather clears up some, I will be checking that out. Hope it is not that, because it is a pain to fix.
 
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MTboatguy

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Well things cleared up a bit, have ruled out the flexing firewall issue, I am starting to think, low on fluid, but can't get the darn reservoir cap off to check it!
 

Tim Frank

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Does it shift OK with the engine not running? = clutch issue.
If not = trannie problem.
 

MTboatguy

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Tim actually, when I went out to check it today, I noticed the clutch pedal was sitting lower than the brake pedal, so I pulled it up by hand to the correct level, slipped right into gear both not running as well as while running, so I believe it is low on fluid, if I can get the darn cap off the reservoir I will be able to confirm. It is actually shifting again, I just have to remember to pull the pedal all the way up with my toe, so it is definitely some type of problem with the clutch not releasing properly.
 

K-2

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2 things:

rbh good call on the cracked firewall, very common, if the master cylinder moves at all when you depress clutch pedal you have problems.

The slave cylinder can be very stubborn to bleed. T-19's are fairly bullet proof, the gear box itself would not be the first thing I looked at .
I have owned two 6.9 diesels .
 

Boomyal

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Tim actually, when I went out to check it today, I noticed the clutch pedal was sitting lower than the brake pedal, so I pulled it up by hand to the correct level, slipped right into gear both not running as well as while running, so I believe it is low on fluid, if I can get the darn cap off the reservoir I will be able to confirm. It is actually shifting again, I just have to remember to pull the pedal all the way up with my toe, so it is definitely some type of problem with the clutch not releasing properly.

Glad you got to the bottom of it without needing to tear things apart. That would have been a real PITA!
 

MTboatguy

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Well, I think I might have found another problem, in looking at the clutch master cylinder, when the clutch pedal is pushed, the lower side of the cylinder moves about a quarter or an inch, no flex in the firewall, it is solid, so besides fluid, I an suspecting that perhaps a bolt is loose or broken on the cylinder, have to crawl under the dash and see if I can fix it.
 
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