I've noticed a noise slowly developing in my roadster with a 39 ford ******. Under "drive" in 3rd gear there is a sound not so much like grinding but more like a rotating clicking sound. It doesn't happen in "float" condition or in "coast" condition, only in "drive" condition, and only in third gear. I drained the ****** oil , it was full, and put in new oil and a can of power point moly lube. There was the usual metal in the oil, very fine particles that rubbed between your fingers would make your fingers black. No big chunks. However...there were 2 ball bearings in the drain oil. They weren't galled up , but were in good shape. About one and a half times the size of a BB. I'm wondering if they are part of the ****** or did they get dropped in there when the ****** was worked on?? Are there any bearings in this ****** that uses ball bearings this size? Thanks
Sounds like the 3 bearing balls that were used in the 01A-7124 type synchro that was common in those trannies. You could also have the early style synchro (81A-7124) which had six of those little bearing balls. This link shows the various types: http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/flathead_transID_3speed-synchros.htm Not terribly unusual for one to be misplaced from a previous rebuild. Based on your general description, I'd be looking into getting the trans gone thru so that it shifts nicely without a bunch of noise.
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