Transmission Kicking out of Third Gear....

[Guest M R Simpers]

I need some technical help on a manual tranmission. I have a 1959 Ford Thunderbird (352 V-8) with a 3 speed column mounted manual shift. Yes, it is a rare factory option.

Yesterday it started kicking out of high gear. No problem in 1st or 2nd gear. I found that if I held the gear shift down it prevented it from jumping out of gear. I thought at the time that I had a linkage adjustment problem; however, 30 miles later on my crippled run home, no amount of pressure on the gear shift lever would keep her in third.

By the way for what it is worth, this transmission has an electric overdrive that appeared to not be working either. It is a unit that kicks in after you hit 40 mph and let off on the gas briefly.

• Any idea what I could expect when this gear box is opened?
  
• Any idea of what type of gear box that Ford used on this Thunderbird? Was it the same as they used in other Ford cars and trucks?
  

What say???

M. R. Simpers

Cocoa, FL

[Guest Bob Call]

I would guess that the problem is worn or broken shift detent spring or excessively worn syncronizers.

[61polara]

I would bet on worn syncro's.

[D Yaros]

I would bet on worn syncro's.

I was wondering when someone would suggest a synchronizer problem. When I had this problem, repeatedly, "back in the day" it was due to bad synchronizer. It would pop out of gear only when severely stressed, which was most of the time, the way I drove!

[Ron Green]

My 72 Corvette popped out of 3<SUP>rd</SUP> gear when under load and after tearing it apart I discovered that the 3<SUP>rd</SUP> gear had a few teeth missing. Replaced the gear and that solved the problem.

[jbbuick22]

Check the bolts that hold the trans to the bellhousing. Loose bolts can cause the jump

out of third.

JB

Buick 22-6-55

[keiser31]

I am not sure that your transmission has a "thrust washer" setup in it, bit if it is'nt the synchros and the synchros keep getting chewed up, the worn thrust washer could be the culprit. My fiend Scott in Michigan and I were working of assembling a 1942 Ford GPW (Jeep). The trans kept popping out of gear and we must have gone through three sets of sychros before we discovered there was a thrust washer missing from the trans. The end play was just enough to saw the teeth off of the brass synchros. A lesson learned.