[mike16]

my origonal equipped 3 on the tree '72 shifted smoothly when I got it 6 years ago with only 71 k miles on it. and when I sold it 6 years late with 136K miles on it it still shifted like new.

As a rule I replaced the bushings and the clips, I lubed the moving parts in the column and the linkage. And I made sure the tranny was filled up proper with Mobile 1.

I could shift into and out of any gear without even using the clutch and only my finger tip on the end of the column.

so I can confirm that that level of smooth opperating efficiency is easily achievable

If its hard to shift or pops out of second on a turn then I would check for bad mounts or a loose cross member or even a damaged frame. Its the linkage that is worn ... right? and not the tranny.

if your cab is rusty the resulting flex may change the shifter linkage geometry between the cab and the tranny enough to pop it out of gear