I tore down my ford np435 becuase the synchro's were getting pretty bad. 1st to second ground if you tried shifting to fast and fourth was so bad it didn't matter how slow you went it would always make noise.
The fourth gear synchro was noticeably bad but the second gear looks fine. I am going to put a new one in, but I was wondering if these tranny's are able to shift quickly from first to second with new synchros.

i've never had any problems shifting fast from 1st to 2nd with my 435 and is has 200,000 miles on it.

You also need to look at the drive teeth on those gears. You can put new synchro rings in all day long, but if the teeth on the gear itself are not sharp(they should look like little houses with gable roofs), it will still shift like shit, and possibly pop out of gear.

What about learning to shift the fucking thing? It's got going to shift like a honda.

I had one in my truck for many years. It shifted just fine but I did put in new synchros. I had the issue of it popping our of reverse. It did it one too many times and killed itself. I had the second gear synchro come apart and it locked itself in 1st.

As mentioned earlier, learn to shift it, and you'll be fine

It's promising that you guys don't have any shifting problems. Like I said I am planning on putting in new synchros, but I was just suprised that the 2nd gear synchro looked as good as it did for how bad it shifted. I have never had a problem with it popping out of gear. I originally got the tranny form a salvage yard and I have no clue how many miles are on it.

Make sure the second gear and its counter gear float freely on their main and intermediate shafts. If they are binding, the synchro will not be strong enough to slow them down or speed them up to proper timing.

It's a truck trans (used in up to F600 Fords), never used in a car and if you think it shifts fast, your wading in the molases (sp). Someone should suggest you pay attention to the shift fork inserts, shimming the input correctly, shimming 3rd gr synchro cup properly, shift stick locator pins and the stick groves they ride in. But all in all it's a good trans, strong, reasonably cheap to rebuild, easy to find, and long lifed if assembled and driven correctly. Downshift just once going too fast into 3rd or 2nd and you will learn quickly about the strength of alum. synchros. It's not just me, it's research and observations.

Why are you starting in first anyway? Unless you are starting out with a big load I dont see it necessary, and if you are on a trail I also dont see why you need a super fast shift into second

Why are you starting in first anyway? Unless you are starting out with a big load I dont see it necessary, and if you are on a trail I also dont see why you need a super fast shift into second

Foh da supa deep mud hoals mang!!

Anemic motor trying to do a burnout maybe?

If its a second gear synchro problem, he must have problems starting out in second also. I would think shifting from first to second would be easier to engage than from a stand still if the synchro is the problem. That is of course, if you have become well-versed at grabbing that sucker out of first while moving to start with. Quick and precise it is, for sure.

Perhaps I shouldn't have used the word fast when describing my shifts from first to second. If I try shifting from first to second at a normal speed it grinds. And as I stated earlier, after pulling the tranny apart I could obviuosly see why 3rd to 4th shifts were bad becuase that synchro was totally shot. I just thought it was odd that I was having bad first to 2nd shifts becuase the synchro looked good (visually anyway, I don't know what diameter they start at).
I see in the rebuild manual how it talks about shimming the clearance for the 3rd/4th synchro assembly. Is there any adjustment for the 2nd gear synchro?
As for why I would need to shift from first to second: Some tight trails that require you to crawl in low one might have some open areas that require a shift to second to get to the next major obstacle.

No but you need to make sure that the alu synchro ring is not bottoming out inside 1st gear. Just put a little assembly grease on the edge of the synchro and install it by hand inside the gear. It should not bottom out. As far as using 1st gear--it really depends on how you are geared/tired/ and where you are going. Every setup is a little different

How does it shift from a stand still into 2nd gear? The first to second shift should be no different than this, and it seems unlikely you could get it going fast enough in first to be too fast for a good second sync.

If you have trouble getting it into second from a start, then the teeth on the second gear clutch must be bad, not letting the shift collar engage them smoothly. Another possibility, like I mentioned earlier, is bad needle bearings between the gears and the shafts causing too much binding or misalignment on the input side, which can be more than the slip-type friction synchronizer can overcome. This would also effect 3rd and 4th gear, but because there ratios are much more evenly matched to start with, it may hardly be evident as the synchros don't need to do much there to start with.

Did you replace the needle bearings under the gears, or do you know for a fact they are good?

my np435 used to shift ruff from 1st to 2nd (1st being granny gear) buit i didnt think nothing of it, but then again it had almost 400k on it

If in good condition, it should shift smoothly; remembering that 1st is non-synchro. 2nd-3rd is a long, awkward throw, but other than that it should be pretty clean.

If in good condition, it should shift smoothly; remembering that 1st is non-synchro.


I forgot to mention that.