Solved Ford Explorer 5 speed conversion - Going Full Manual

[IZwack]

Negative - dont use 5 bolts and call it good. The last thing you want is clutch shrapnels after exploding at 4,000 RPM.

 

[gmanpaint]

I was just mad talking.

I removed everything, and got the broken bolt out. It actually came out relatively easy. A punch and a small flat head and it backed out. Of course it was much easier to do when the flywheel was on a work bench.

Nothing like learning the hard way. I was able to remove and install it back in about 15 mins, once I knew what I was doing. I am afraid of things I haven't done before, and it takes me a bit to work up the gumption to do it. But this was cake walk really.

Torque for Flexplate: 55-64 ft lbs
Torque for Clutch plate: 15-24 ft lbs

The low torque for the clutch plate is really hard to accept at first. 20 lbs is so minor you can torque that with one finger with ease. After understanding that the fingers on the plate increase with pressure and make up for the low torque, it becomes acceptable in my head. If they are too tight, they will stretch and become loose, thus the lock washer on each bolt.

I managed to get the shifter holes covered with the rubber floor mat. I used a rear mat from the 94, (too bad 94..lol) and used 6 self tappers with washers for more area to cover holding it on. Cut out the trans shifter in triangles leaving all the material behind. Cut the t-case hole in small sideways rectangles after one long slice down the middle. This should work very well, as it covers both holes, and wraps the tunnel down the sides a bit.

 

[PopRichie77]

Been following your progress, with interest. Be sure to use the right grade bolts for the pressure plated, don't use regular soft bolts or they will brake later.

 

[IZwack]

I removed everything, and got the broken bolt out. It actually came out relatively easy. A punch and a small flat head and it backed out. Of course it was much easier to do when the flywheel was on a work bench. .

see - all you needed was a breather .

 

[gmanpaint]

Been following your progress, with interest. Be sure to use the right grade bolts for the pressure plated, don't use regular soft bolts or they will brake later.

Hey thanks for the info.

I am hoping this thread will contain some useful knowledge after it is all said and done, so any bit of helpful info is welcomed. Sometimes even the smallest bit of info can be valuable to someone else down the road.

 

[gmanpaint]

see - all you needed was a breather .

Yep. Too bad I didn't get the trans stabbed tho.

Going to have to wait till the end of the week, as I think I have Thur, Fri off, unless a job appears before then.

I did have to cut the trans cooler lines in half, as I would have had to remove the front skid plate to remove intact. Oh well.

The slave master has to be installed, radiator holes plugged, cooler removed, and the manual ECM, is all that's left for the conversion.

I did read about going to a 9 blade manual clutch fan. Does anyone think that is necessary?

 

[Foxracin]

Got a question for you. How many pins is the computer in your 95? Is it 60 or 104.

 

[IZwack]

I did read about going to a 9 blade manual clutch fan. Does anyone think that is necessary?

That might get out of hand..

 

[gmanpaint]

Got a question for you. How many pins is the computer in your 95? Is it 60 or 104.

60 pins on the pooter.

 

[gmanpaint]

Went to install the Slave master and found out it leaks like crazy
When the plunger is depressed it leaks at the fitting. I removed the push pin, and found no neoprene O-ring inside the opening.

Made a call to the dealer and they said, The tube fitting has the O-ring, but the entire unit has to be purchased for the tune of $90.00.........ack! I can see a tiny O-ring on the fitting after double checking it, I hope that it is just worn down from the brake fluids and a new will fix it.

So I called Orielly's and they have an assortment of O-rings to choose from. Heading up there now to see if a $.80 cent part will save the day or not. (crosses fingers)

Bleeding this thing is going to be a PITA.

 

[IZwack]

HF also has O-ring assortments - more expensive though: http://www.harborfreight.com/225-piece-nitrile-o-ring-assortment-67677.html

 

[gmanpaint]

Thanks Iz.

Well, after double checking my double checking........
There was no O-ring on the fitting, just a black mark that wiped off..lol whoops!
I have no idea as what happened to the original O-ring. My only guess is that it was taken apart to remove from donor rig and it got lost.

The smallest O-ring in the assortment at Oreilly's fit like a glove. I put it back together on the parts counter in the store, pushed the plunger in, and NO leaks! Woot!

$.42 cents later and all is good.

Time to hang this thing up on a post and bleed it with new DOT 3 brake fluids.

 

[Burns]

Im not sure if you will have this problem but you may want to bleed that before you put it on the truck. Its a pain on the truck. We had to unblot mine from the firewall and turn it upside down to get the air out. Crazy mess

 

[gmanpaint]

Im not sure if you will have this problem but you may want to bleed that before you put it on the truck. Its a pain on the truck. We had to unblot mine from the firewall and turn it upside down to get the air out. Crazy mess

Oh heck yeah. I fastened the reservoir on to a post, stretched it out as much as I could, held the bottom of it by the coupler with bailing wire to the post. I then bled it just like in the video posted a few pages back. Worked like a charm in about 5 mins. It is installed now, and ready to hook up to the trans once it's installed, then a bleeding with the bleeder valve on the slave and a helper on the clutch pedal will be done to finish.

 

[Burns]

Oh my bad i didnt see the video...


oh and your going to love this when it is done. You may not now but you will.

 

[gmanpaint]

Its all good Burns Lots of pages and not much done yet...LOL

Here is the way I did the slave master bleeding. Took a couple of wood screws, and held the reservoir on a post. Streched it as tight as it would go and bailed the coupler to the post.

Drained all the old fluids when it was apart at the fitting. Put it back together, & Filled the reservoir, leaving the cap off. Tapped the line from the bottom up. Then started to bleed by pushing the the plunger slowly back and forth until it would barely move anymore.

Once that is done, installing it was sort of a pain, because of all the stuff in the way. Drop the tube down first towards the trans area. Then feed the reservoir under the brake lines, and under the PDB. There are stock mounting holes already there for the reservoir. I used 10mm bolts with washers that I got off of something else on the truck from a previous mod, they tightened right up.

Here you can see the stock holes already in place from the factory. This is to the dr side of the power distribution box and mounts to the inner fender.

Once it is bolted up to the fender, slip the plunger rod into the large opening on the firewall. Inside the vehicle, grab the rod, and pull it threw. Connect the end of the rod to the clutch pedal. This will aid in getting it installed on the assembly. Lift up on the clutch pedal, (line up the cylinder so the square plastic will pass threw the square opening on the pedal assembly), pulling the master cylinder tight enough so it can pass far enough to turn it 1/8 to lock in place. I used a pair of channel locks to grasp it to turn. Once it is locked into place, position the rubber boot to seal the opening in the firewall.

Finished with this step. onto the trans install

 

[gmanpaint]

The Trans is stabbed! Woot!

What I learned here today is:

Not all the auto trans housing bolts work for the manual housing. The very top 2 bolts have to be replaced with a 10x1.5x50 shoulder bolt. I got 2 10.9 grade bolts to use from my local hardware store.

There has to be at least 5/8" of thread to use in the engine block. The housing on the manual trans is thicker on the top than the auto housing. The auto bolts wont work because they are at least 1" too short, & they have a long thick shoulder before the threads, that will not fit into the housing holes.

I also learned that the manual spacer plate can be slid into place after the trans is stabbed and almost flush to the block. It is made just a tad different than the auto. The top of the spacer is a straight edge that goes to the outside of the upper bolts. The auto plate has "Hooks" that goes "Around" 3/4 of the upper bolts. The manual has slots instead of holes for the block pins. Because of those 2 different things, I was able to Slide it straight up from the bottom of the trans, until the hooks on the pins stopped it. Simply stab the bolts after that.

The 3" body lift made this very easy to reach the upper & middle bolts from the wheel wells.

The temps are upper 90's, and I am calling it for the day. In the morning, I will get the Clutch gravity bled, and the t-case installed. Then the shifters installed, the Redline shifter boot for a full size console mod installed.

 

[gmanpaint]

Another day, another post.

Trans is all done except filling with new fluids.
1354 manual T-case is installed.

Both shifters are installed.

The trans shifter with the new rebuild kit installed.

Starter is hooked up & installed. That thing is a royal pita!

The manual ECM, t-case skid plate, Fan & shroud, intake tube, radiator holes plugged, Redline shifter boot mod, is all that is left.

What I learned today is:
The VSS pigtail off the 95 ranger trans harness was too short to reach the VSS on the t-case. The 95 ranger must have the VSS in the tail housing of the trans or this harness is from another year. I had to splice into it and make it longer. I did make a water tight harness for it using heat shrink tubing, plastic tube conduit, and electrical tape.

 

[Foxracin]

Coming along nicely. Bet you cant wait to try it out. You will love the manual/manual combo. Next you will want a doubler. lol

 

[90ranajo]

What I learned today is:
The VSS pigtail off the 95 ranger trans harness was too short to reach the VSS on the t-case. The 95 ranger must have the VSS in the tail housing of the trans or this harness is from another year. I had to splice into it and make it longer. I did make a water tight harness for it using heat shrink tubing, plastic tube conduit, and electrical tape.

VSS on a '95 Ranger 4x4 is on the transfer case. You could have a harness from a 2wd Ranger.