Ya it original besides a few clutches but my mechanic seems to think its nothing to worry about so im kinda iffy:humm:

the only sound that is normal is a growling sound between idle and 1200 ish RPM. i would take it to a tranny shop.

will do:tu: im just thinking about rebuilding it for the hell of it

when you put it in gear, how much play is there?

there is some play in it

there is going to be a little. my old boss had a SD with the 6 speed. in any gear, you could make a basketball size circle with the shifter lol

Oh wow:s: no mine is maybe a baseball size circle or less

that's not bad then. the ball on the tower might be getting a little worn.

I just had it apart yesterday. Is the ball at the very bottom of the shifter were is comes out of the tranny? The little rubber boot on the shifter under the big rubber boot looks like it needs to replaced.

---AutoMerged DoublePost---

let me add when i put the new fluid in i noticed that it shifts way smoother and 4th dosnt spit out like it was doing before

Not to butt into what's already going on here, but my roommate is have the same exact problem with his zf5 in his 97' f250. He replaced the transmission because the syncro's were shot, the clutch gave out, and there was A LOT of slack (too much backlash). but it didnt whine like described here.
We pulled the tranny out, found the bell housing was cracked all the way around :s:, previous owner beat the hell out of her:argh:. So we bought a brand new zf5, and replaced the clutch, pressure plate, pilot and throwout bearing. slid her together and filled her full of the "new" synthetic 75w95 gear oil that's "supposed" to be better than the ATF they say to use. Ever since we threw this new tranny in, it whines just like described here. full of fluid, and a whole new transmission.

My opinion is; too much pressure/stress on the input shaft bearing (preload). for what reason, i dont know. but my roommate has been running it regardless, shifts great, no issues. go figure :s: