Abes maiden voyage....

[Guest DADDIO65]

Well, Sunday me, my son Connor and old Abe went out on our first long trek. We started in Omaha, NE. and toured some small towns with a bunch of other "muscle car" entheuists... We ended up racking up 200 miles on the old boy and it was a great joy having my 12 year old son seeing first hand what our hard work meant. Everywhere we stopped it was nice to see the attraction of the muscle cars and my old 39' Lincoln. Numerous questions and the smiles when I opened the hood brought a smile to both my face as well as my sons. We had a blast.

I did find a few things that need attention... 1st, my steering wheel needs some adjustment it seems to wander excessively even with new ends and joints etc... any input would be most helpful as to how to properly adjust my steering gearbox.

2nd... My 1st gear is awfully noisy... is this normal? the transmission seems to "pop" out of gear when I am driving... My detent's were in good shape when I had it apart, am I missing something???

I guess if those are the only problems, Old Abe is as solid as a rock!!! I was impressed with the temp at which it ran as well as the oil pressure that it sustained... 50 psi... Thanks to all of you that helped with this project.... Now I get to enjoy it!!! Thanks to this site and those of you that respond to my countless questions, without you all I'd still be in the shop wondering what the heck I got my self into!!!

Thanks,

Jeff "Daddio" Mabry

Blair, NE.

[Mssr. Bwatoe]

I had problem in 2nd, detents good, but a slight burr on brass prevented gear from full engagement..noise....on accel or decel?? could be spacers worn..did you have trans apart??

I use full sythetic 75-140 gear lube with great success..

Steering box will require opening it up, removing shims for end play..look at old ford service manual..google it... The screw on top should not be overtightened, it will cause wheel to bind, but not reduce slop (usually)

show us a picture..you did take pictures on maiden voyage??!!

Edited April 6, 2010 by Mssr. Bwatoe (see edit history)

[Guest DADDIO65]

noise on acceleration.....quiet on decel.... I did have it apart and all looked well no worn teeth or missing metal....I'll post pictures as soon as I get a chance to.. thanks a ton.

[CBoz]

Fantastic! It's not as fast as a 60s car, but fun in it's own way.

Even rebuilt by a professional, these trannies aren't the quiet things around. Here's a link that talks about a jumping second gear and possible causes: Jumping Out Of 2nd Gear

[Mssr. Bwatoe]

yes they are, just as quiet as any other ...Noisey trans will eventually need repair...These cars are not slow either....I remember stats for 0-60, a MKI was faster than a MKII..I dont

beat mine too much, but it does just fine from a stop light, unless you drive in od high gear all the time..I have a slight whine in 1st gear if on decel, I think a shim or spacer was missed..all other gears quiet..I had to sub the popular prewar gears for post war, which workjust fine..at 1/8 the cost!!..Id look for a good used pts trans...Play with it, take it apart..etc..so when you are ready.......

[peecher]

If the teeth on the low gear, either the slider or cluster are worn "tapered", this could be the cause of it popping out out of first gear and also the noisy gear whine. If it's popping out of gear in either 2nd or high suspect the synchro or perhaps the pilot bearing area of the main shaft? Like Jeff says these transmissions are among the quietest when in good shape.

[Guest DADDIO65]

sorry... 1st is noisy, 2nd is quiet and fine, third is quiet, but will pop out of gear especially upon decel..... I don't have the spring that goes from the shifter to the console.... would this be the problem??

[Mssr. Bwatoe]

Doubtful, the shifter is not the detent..it is most likely in the trans..

[abelincoln]

I've had good luck just replacing the synchro rings to solve popping our of second when decelerating. However, if the edges of the gears are worn, this won't solve the problem either. If you have to replace the cluster gear, might think about just living with the problem. Don't know why pre war gears would be better than post-war.

Abe

[DavidAU]

If you need gearbox parts or information have a talk with Mac Vanpelt

VanPelt Parts and Service home

David

[Mssr. Bwatoe]

Post war gears are not better...they are geared differently..26 tooth vs 25 tooth.

You lose a tooth on the cluster, gain a tooth on input shaft..away you go..I feel no difference..

.The v-8 guys love em for hot rods because it changes power band rpms for better acceleration....sooooooo, greedy sales men can charge 700 for them..but little demand for the others ..and much more reasonable....and plentiful...I do not have the unlimited budget many restorers seem to have, works great for my driver..

[peecher]

And it seems that Lincoln in the 40's tried to match gearing to power,weight and wheel diameter. The '40's and '41's had 26 tooth clusters with 4.44 rear axles; the '42's had 25 tooth clusters with 4.22 axles which was continued into '46 then they went back to the 26 tooth clusters and 4.44 axles in '47 and '48.