Hey everyone,

Merry Christmas

I have had my 88 pickup for 14 years now, been through a lot and I love it to death. My question to you all is.. and I know how silly this might sound, but what should this 5 speed feel like to shift in good working order?? For a very long time now I have felt that it can be a minor pain to drive.
Here are some notes to help describe my R150F

• It can hard shift between all gears, some shifts are worse than others (read inconsistent)
• Feels a little 'notchy/rough' when engaging gears most of the time
• By habit I rev match/over rev and shift while RPM drops to reduce this
• I hate to downshift, feels to difficult to engage most of the time
• It does not grind
• I run Red Line MT-90 75W90 GL-4 like I'm supposed, this helps a lot compared to before I ran it
• I have changed fluid twice, both times, no signs of bad news
• I drove it for a year or two with clutch out of adjustment.. my fault (not disengaging all the way)
• Short Throw shift kit helped
• Marlins ball socket/seat helped

My issue is that.. well frankly its been so damn long since I have driven it from when I feel like it used to shift well 8 years ago, that I don't quite remember how its supposed to feel at this point!!

I have been really wanting to get it rebuilt, tossing around the idea of dropping it off at marlin, or doing it myself. My dad would be able to help if I get in over my head, and I am confident we could complete it, but fear it might not change anything. He insists the trans is 'fine' and if I send it out, it will come back shifting the same. Which would really be disappointing, so that is why I am here asking you guys this silly question. I am tired of going over this same circular conversation in my head.

To the best of my knowledge my clutch is adjusted properly and fully disengaging. Just last night I jacked up the rear end and tested this for a bit to see if there was any noticeable drag that was sending power to the wheels. Just a nice smooth engagement about 2 inches off the floor begins, with no power sent back to the wheels in any gear before that. No pulsing.

What do you think?

 

Well can anyone else take it for a ride .

Just what are you comparing it with??

Does it jump out of gear ??

Does it make noise all the time ??

Lots of play at the front shaft ??

You say it does not grind .

Hard shifting clutch pedal bracket cracked

Clutch release Fork starting to break.

I can`t say How it should feel most times I have no idea what gear I am in to I try to shift into a gear this transmission does not have.

Trying to shift to fast

Spring on the shifter just worn out even with the new shifter bushings .

wrong shifter boot putting pressure on the lever making it hard to shift??

 

First your oil is too thick and you will blow it. its rated for 75w-90 and no thicker. that said you can use 40wt motor oil in it without issue, in cold climates. it should shift like butter. Once your in gear and going it should shift up and down with a blip of the gas.

Now if your clutch is worn its harder to shift because its starts dragging.

That said, I have a w56 that broke parts & locked; That was a ride, thank god for the xfer case neutral, one good yank.

 

I have run 85w140 in these Transmissions Then it does not get real cold here

Not saying it is the right thing to do but a 55 gallon drum lasts quite a while.

 

Thanks for the responses, I updated the oil description to clarify, it is the Redline MT 90 75w90 oil I use that is so commonly recommended. Sorry for the confusion on that.

Wyoming, I can not answer on the Clutch release Fork starting to fail yet. I will have to update this when I finally drop out the transmission over the holidays and take a look.

The clutch has about 40k miles on it, and feels pretty great honestly. I have also checked the clutch pedal bracket, and there is no cracking yet, crossing my fingers it stays that way. As for the shifter boot, it is stock and while it was causing some problems with the body lift, that was fixed with the marlin short throw shift kit. Much better now.

I am going to have my cousin, who owned the truck before me give it a spin today and report back.

I guess a more simple question to ask would be, how smooth does this transmission shift on a good day? Can you downshift with out much effort?