oops wrong fluid

[Larue]

Finally got back from a buisness trip. I tried a pick up tool in the drain hole and didn't get anything. To ease my mind I dropped the transmission and took a look inside. Besides a few shavings of metal (I assume this is what was left of the washer). The only wear I could find was on the gear that is just under the shifter. It had a smoother wear pattern than the other gears. Not sure if this is normal.

Now I have another question. I've read on other threads that the input shaft will have some play to it. is there a way to measure this to make sure it is within spec. I can see part of the bearing from the inside of the case and they look good visually. When I rotate the shaft there is no grinding. The play in the shaft is the only thing that worries me. I'm just new to transmissions and would prefer not to have to drop it again.

On top of everything else, what I thought was the top bushing was actually what was left of the inner boot. So she's down until I can get a bushing kit. I found a new inner boot at the dealership ($40). He didn't have any of the other parts and said he would have to order them. He quoted another 40 bucks for the rest of the parts ($8 per wavy washer). Is this about right for prices or should I find another place to buy.

 

[rboyer]

Screw the dealership. You can find the whole "kit" WAY cheaper on eBay. Actually I might as well search for one quick and post the link, so here you go:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford...009QQitemZ190225757700QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW


That guy has them at a relatively cheap price. If you're going to have to wait for them from the dealership you might as well wait for them at a cheaper price instead. And your input shaft should have some play to it, if you really wanted to you could remove the cover on the front of the transmission and wiggle the race out of there to check things out from that standpoint, but make sure you take a mental note of how things came apart. Also you should check for blue colored chunks of your shifter bushing clogged in the oil port that shoots oil out over the gears, that little metal or plastic thing underneath your top cover against the front is where the oil comes through and it is detachable by a single bolt on the side of the transmission if you want to take the whole thing out to clean it that way. If you want to be a little more thorough since you already have the transmission already out you could take off your output shaft housing and have a look in there mostly because it's simple to pull off and it wouldn't hurt at all to have a look incase some pieces floated back there.

 

[Larue]

Wow, it's amazing what you'll find on ebay. It didn't even cross my mind to check there. I appreciate all the good advice I've gotten from everyone. I should have her together soon and back on the road. Thanks again for everything.

 

[rboyer]

Yeah you should be able to get everything together up to the point where you just have to wait for the shifter bushings to come in the mail. Not that it matters because you're most likely not in a big hurry, but I have already carved several homemade shifter bushings out of chunks of nylon from the hardware store and it's not really that hard if you have a drill press and a dremel tool.