LCAM-01XA
Full Access Member
So we all know the ZF5 behind a diesel with a SMF can be one noisy thing. Here's the twist tho, how loud are they behind a gas engine? Gas clutch is by default a SMF... This particular transmission growls/whines at idle, noise is coming from the middle of its body, pretty much right in front of the bulge on the driver side for the reverse gear idler. It is not a very loud growl/whine and cannot be heard from inside the cab, but it is quite pronounced when you're under the truck. Periodically there is a quick rattle from there as well, like a something is loose and free to sway back and forth and bang against other things, this noise now seems to come right from the reverse idler area - this also cannot be heard from inside cab, but standing outside next to the truck it is noticeable.
It pretty much goes like 10-15 seconds of growl/whine followed by a few quick bangs, and that is repeated for as long as the truck is idling in neutral. Oil temperature doesn't seem to affect this behavior, it is present both when she's cold and after a long drive. Warmed up temp hovers around 130F measured at the reverse idler gear section btw, so I doubt she's friction-overheating from a failing bearing. Functionally the transmission performs a it it should, shifts fine in all gears and engaging reverse is not a problem.
So I need some ideas as to *** is going on here. This is a junkyard transmission out of a 5.0 F250, with about 3 weeks left on its warranty. Zero play in the input shaft so I do not suspect worn main shaft bearings, she rolls over nice and smooth by hand. However, for some reason its factory shifter was bent to the right at the neck between the pivots and the rubber insulator (which I found out after trans was in its new home and shifter sat straight up instead of pointing at the driver) - running a non-damaged shifter now and I see no need for applying to it the excessive force that would result in the old shifter bending like that, maybe it was an accident with someone unintentionally leaning against it with their weight?
Any ideas? And yeah I know this is the IDI section, but I need a quick answer, and lots of you here seem to run ZF5s in everything you own so you may have run into this before...
It pretty much goes like 10-15 seconds of growl/whine followed by a few quick bangs, and that is repeated for as long as the truck is idling in neutral. Oil temperature doesn't seem to affect this behavior, it is present both when she's cold and after a long drive. Warmed up temp hovers around 130F measured at the reverse idler gear section btw, so I doubt she's friction-overheating from a failing bearing. Functionally the transmission performs a it it should, shifts fine in all gears and engaging reverse is not a problem.
So I need some ideas as to *** is going on here. This is a junkyard transmission out of a 5.0 F250, with about 3 weeks left on its warranty. Zero play in the input shaft so I do not suspect worn main shaft bearings, she rolls over nice and smooth by hand. However, for some reason its factory shifter was bent to the right at the neck between the pivots and the rubber insulator (which I found out after trans was in its new home and shifter sat straight up instead of pointing at the driver) - running a non-damaged shifter now and I see no need for applying to it the excessive force that would result in the old shifter bending like that, maybe it was an accident with someone unintentionally leaning against it with their weight?
Any ideas? And yeah I know this is the IDI section, but I need a quick answer, and lots of you here seem to run ZF5s in everything you own so you may have run into this before...