blandry23

i finally got my car running and in shape for me to actually take it out without dying (calipers were seized). i changed my MT gear oil like a month ago. Before i changed it, it wouldn't go into 4th. it would just grind and i'd be locked out. there was also a whining. now, that from me moving it back and forth in my driveway, the whining has gotten less, and when i took it out, it went into 4th but it was like 4th was non existent. i took it out of 4th and went to downshift but i was locked out of all gears until i slowed down again. the trans shifts fine into every gear until i get into 4th. i tried holding it into 4th but i felt a little bit of grinding so i stopped. Does anyone know what this is? Did i lose 4th or is there gonna be a trick to getting 4th back? i thought i made progress cuz i could actually shift into 4th now, but i guess not lol. help would definitely be appreciated.

blandry23

oh i should also make clear that i can shift up and down and do whatever if i don't use 4th gear. so i don't think its clutch issues. also, when i shifted into 4th and let go of the shifter, it rattled like a ****. idk if that helps with diagnosis.

thatpoorguy

I'm no expert on trans, but it really sounds like the teeth have been ground off the 4th gear side of the 3_4 sliding gear. If it was the synchro it would have difficulty with 3rd and 4th, not just 4th.

blandry23

ok, that makes sense. never tore apart a trans so i wouldn't know if some of the gears share synchros. wish i knew cuz i woulda dropped the price a couple hundred or not bought the car at all. i might just not be shifting it correctly, it might have its quirks like all cars do but what you said sounds like what happened. the guy said that it used to go into 4th and pop out so you would have to hold it in. the guy probably did destroy the gear. oh well. it wouldn't be too much stress on the trans if i shifted straight from 3rd to 5th would it? that seems like what i would have to do. would i be able to use 5th going 50 without it bogging down? i know i could hit 50 in 3rd and keep it there no problem but the secondaries dont open so it would be sorta hard. once again thanks for the input, its always good to know or have a good idea about what you have lol.

thatpoorguy

Yeah, 1-2, 3-4, and 5-R share a fork that moves the sliding gear and the synchro for that sliding gear. My fb had issues with the 5th-R gear synchro but I was able to overcome that by double clutching. Skipping 4th should be alright and if I remember right it should cruise at 50 in 5th but don't expect a lot of acceleration lol

blandry23

lol yea i wasn't expecting to get any decent power in low rpm in 5th, or to be able to take any hills at 50 lol. luckily, most of the drive is flat land so i won't have to do too much crazy downshifting. when i finally get my car on the road, im gonna take it to this road i know of that is flat, straight, and always empty and figure out for sure if my 4th is gone and to get down my 3rd to 5th shifts. I do think you're right though cuz dropping it into 4th was the same as dropping it into neutral. oh well, who needs 4th? haha. and thanks again man, i'll keep you posted if there are any breakthroughs with 4th.

thatpoorguy

lol I've heard of people using ford ranger 5 sp. transmissions to replace the fb's but I haven't seen one first hand so I don't know what all's involved other than having to change the bell housing.

blandry23

probably the tranny mounts too. my friend used to have a 5sp ranger which we used to mess around with on his land upstate. that trans was bullet proof. idk what it was but the car used to run in 1st standing still with the clutch. it was hit the gas and go. it even shifted 1-2 without the clutch haha.

thatpoorguy

Ford and mazda share a lot of parts so you'd be surprised what all direct swaps

blandry23

thats definitely a good thing. hell, i could probably find a ranger tranny and take the 4th gear out of it and put it in as long as it is 1:1.