1999 Mounty 5.0 aka My Great Bad Idea

[CDW6212R]

Thanks, I subscribed to get it this month, and then every six months.

 

[97Sandbox]

So you can't just thread the piece from a 4.0 stalk into an early 5.0 stalk? I've never taken apart a 4.0 oil stalk before, but I figure at least part of it has the right threads. I wish I had thought to check when I was at the salvage yard last weekend.

 

[allmyEXes]

It's not the piece that would screw into the block like in a pick-up truck configuration. The adapter piece can be sourced several places.
@Josh P may have taken apart a 4.0 one.
Here is one Filter adapter for FL1A 3/4"-16 thread
Link to FL-299 filter. I bought 3 online somewhere for about $35 to $40.
Here are a few pictures of the SUPERSIZE! filter. CD jewel case for size reference.

 

[97Sandbox]

Oof, I was towing a heavy wood storage cabinet (big guy, about 2'x5'x7') down the interstate in the Mounty today and it's really windy... started smelling burned trans fluid while climbing a hill. I slowed down and made it home fine, but after I parked, the trans was too hot to touch -- way hotter than the diff. I knew the input shaft bearing was on its way out, but I think it may really be cooked now.

I haven't been able to find a 4x4 M5R2 in the salvage yard lately, so I may just have to pull the one I have now to rebuild. It's going to be a bummer to have the farm beater/tow rig down for a while though.

 

[97Sandbox]

After unloading the trailer tonight, I pulled the fill plug of the trans and let a little fluid drip out. It's dark grey and smells quite burnt. Much stronger burned smell than even what came out of my old '97 5R55E when I cooked the overdrive band. I imagine some bearing inside the trans had to get pretty darn hot in order to cook ATF. I haven't really heard of a manual trans getting that hot before.

Needless to say, I'll be doing some work before I do any more towing. And the Mounty won't be venturing out of town until the trans is rebuilt.

I do appreciate the durability of a manual transmission though: I still made it home and it still drives fine. But I know something (probably that clunky input shaft bearing) got way too hot and it needs to be replaced.

 

[410Fortune]

Ouch

Can find them on eBay!! Not cheap though but they are on there

Mine grinds into third
I’ve changed the fluid twice since putting it into my sport trax. I have no idea how many miles are on the m5od-r2

The fluid always comes out a little grayish and stinky I figure better keep changing it each year
I run dex/metcon in mine not Mercon v

 

[97Sandbox]

My trans had 118k on it when I pulled it out of a '97 f150. But I knew the input shaft had a little too much play and I sent it anyway. I'm really not too surprised, and frankly I'm glad the bearing didn't seize or anything.

I'm going to hop on car-part and see if I can find a semi-local core. The last time I bought one already pulled, it was only $50 more than the u-pull yard.

I run dex/merc too -- I've read that's what the Mazda units prefer. I've even seen some guys say they like type F, but dex/merc seems like the majority preference so I run that. I have a mix of dex/merc and Mercon V right now though because I ran out of dex/merc and I had a lot of Mercon V on the shelf haha.

 

[410Fortune]

No Mercon v in 5 Speeds
I won’t do it
I’ve lost a 1354m t case due to merc v
Ford said merc v too slick for old t cases and then they came out with motorcraft transfer case fluid which is expensive dex/merc

I won’t put merc v in t cases or manual trans no sir. I made that mistake, I was running v in everything was told not too, kept doing it and my t case which was good for many years all of sudden went south after just one trip w v in it. Lesson learned

Some Mazda m5od Builders swear by 10-30

Good w me cuz dex/merc far cheaper then v or t case fluid, or power steering fluid….

 

[97Sandbox]

Interesting. I recall just topping off with merc v, maybe a quart or so. But it could be that it didn't do me any favors. I'll stick with straight dex/merc going forward. I may even change out the burned, mixed fluid for fresh dex/merc till I can get another trans and rebuild it.

 

[97Sandbox]

Man, I paid $150 for my rwd M5R2 in 2022 and $250 for my 4x4 trans including the 4406M in 2023. Now everyone wants $550+ for a trans with almost 200k on it! I may just pull and rebuild mine after all. It sucks having the farm rig down for repairs right at the start of planting season though.

 

[410Fortune]

Can you drive the new one for a bit?

 

[97Sandbox]

The '98 runs fine, but it doesn't have a hitch and the ball joints are bad enough to make me nervous about driving on the highway. I also don't plan to get insurance or register it since it's going to get parted out (hopefully relatively quickly). I'll keep it intact until I get the '99 back in action, but it's not quite capable of doing the same work.

I'm just going to baby the '99 while I get some lingering chores done. Then I'll try to get through the trans rebuild as quickly as possible. I plan on going all out for the rebuild though: getting the full kit with all new synchros, not just bearings and seals. I'll see when I get in there, but I bet there's a good chance I'll replace the input shaft too -- if the input bearing got hot enough to cook the fluid, it probably un-heat-treated the shaft. Putting $500 into a $250 transmission seems silly, but not after you see they want $1600 for a reman...that's more than I paid for both Mountaineers combined!

 

[410Fortune]

I’ll watch along and then copy you! I’m spoiled I have one more spare m5od I picked up a few years back

She (99) will keep going so you can get all that done they are so strong

Keep your eyes peeled for another one you never know when they will hit the Craigslist or Facebook marketplace
We scored a trans and t case a couple weeks ago, mechanic had it in his shop or years and all of sudden was doing spring cleaning posted it up

 

[97Sandbox]

I will keep looking! I stay hunting on Marketplace, but what I usually see is double what I'd pay in the u-pull yard. Now that I've done it a couple times, I'm not scared to pull them. I keep seeing one or two rwd M5R2 units every time I'm at the local yard, but I haven't seen a 4x4 for a while. I actually saw one behind a 4.6 recently, but of course that's not the sbf bell housing.

I've seen some videos on rebuilding these and they look pretty straightforward. I already have a press and a bearing separator -- I believe those are the only special tools needed.

 

[97Sandbox]

I'm in a different city for a wedding this weekend, so naturally I hit as many local salvage yards today as I could. I saw like 10 4x4 M5R2 transmissions in 10th gen f150s but all but one was behind a 4.6. What are the odds. Of course the one I actually need (for a 4.2) was on a truck that was set down partially in a pit so there wasn't going to be any way to get the trans out from underneath the truck after pulling it. So close, and yet so far. I may just pull the one from the Mounty to rebuild without having a backup on hand.

I did get some other good odds and ends, but struck out on the main bits I really need for my Sport V8 swap. I'll find them eventually. Ironically, I saw three SOHC+M5R1HD trucks including one that was an '01 Sport 2wd. That would've been the perfect SOHC swap donor I was looking for before I decided to go V8. Oh well, V8s are easier to get parts for anyway.

 

[410Fortune]

V8 easier to work on under the hood too and last twice as long plus they don’t make strange noises on cold start hahahahaha
Hard to pass up that 4.2 m5 they are pricey!!

 

[97Sandbox]

Yeah, I was sad to leave the transmission behind after finally finding one, but there wasn't going to be a way to get it out from underneath and I didn't bring tools too pull the engine and trans out the top. The yard doesn't have anyone running the loaders Friday-Sunday and I'm heading home today.

Once I get some more brush carted away, I'll just pull and rebuild the one I have. I'm really hoping the case isn't damaged from the input shaft bearing overheating. We'll see!

It is interesting how hard it's getting to find these transmissions in the U-pull yards. I saw a couple trucks yesterday that had had them but were already pulled out. Maybe the Ranger 5.0/M5R2 swaps are really getting that common. As much as these transmissions are climbing in price, they're still cheaper than all the alternatives I'm aware of.

 

[Josh P]

Seems like everyone wants new prices for used stuff.

 

[97Sandbox]

Yeah, when I could scoop them for $150 a year or two ago and rebuild them with a $350 kit, they seemed like a great deal at $500 all in. Now a lot of folks want that much (or more) for what I'd consider a rebuildable core.

 

[Josh P]

A grand or so out the door, rebuilt is still cheaper than new. When the price spread shrinks, I start to think about new.