Why does nobody talk about shift cable stretch on older trucks?

Been messing with a 1987 F-150 for a buddy in Reno. New clutch, new master cylinder, still grinds third gear. Everyone blames synchros or the trans itself. But the shift cable had stretched maybe 3/4 of an inch over 30 years. Adjusted the cable end and it shifts clean now. Seen this on three older trucks in the last two years. Shop guys always jump to a rebuild first. That's a $1,500 mistake. Anyone else check cables before tearing into the gearbox?

1 comments

1 Comment

pat_murray535h ago

Read a thread on a Ford forum a while back about this exact thing. Same story, cable stretch and all. It's like shops forgot those old trucks even have cables. Cheap fix beats a rebuild every time.