The slider gear is the weak spot in that trans. Years ago we used to get the slider gear at the local parts house. I seem to remember some concern that the slider gear and the barrel it's on were a set. I worked for an ex-Chev Service Manager at the time and he didn't consider it a problem to replace just the slider.

The 3spd is an easy trans to work on. IIRC about the only thing you have to do is pull the main drive to replace the slider. The back of the main drive is an inverted cone with two sets of roller bearings. Just watch where all the rollers go when you pull the main drive. Then grease them up good and re-install.

Larry

I don't own a vehicle that isn't old enough to drink.