5spdman's slow and cheap XLT build

[reapereviltwin]

Great trailing with you and your rig in Moab, Caleb, awesome build!

 

[5spdman]

Oh I had a blast Mike! Stay tuned for more to come before next year!

And if you need any help with the new truck, gimme a holler and I'll see if I can make it down there!

 

[NICE59FORDF100]

Oh I had a blast Mike! Stay tuned for more to come before next year!

And if you need any help with the new truck, gimme a holler and I'll see if I can make it down there!

You are welcome to austin anytime bud! Hopefully we can get started on it this summer

 

[5spdman]

Thanks Russell!

Well this post is less about the build as its to let you all know I made it back to Ohio...took about 36 hours on the road, but I made it!

Because I was unable to locate a small trailer, I was forced to pack the truck with as much as I possibly could...this lowered the rear considerably; my springs were shaped like n's instead of u's, and the shocks didn't have much room to move...

As a result, every bump was like the truck was on a trampoline; the back end was thrown into the air when I'd hit a bump. I ended up fixing the truck on the road....lost the driver side rear shock mount (just the bolt), but luckily still had the parts from fixing the passenger side on-trail in Moab still in the tool box. 1 hour later (brainstorming, having to dig to the tools, watch after the dog) I was back on the road.

From the pic, you can see the shocks were almost fully compressed, and in hindsight, I should have flipped the brackets while I was under the truck (two bolts each, power tools; it wouldn't have taken long), but I guess its a good thing I have brand new ProComp shocks waiting to be put on. I will be looking into making new shock mounts to prevent bottoming them out, and I'm going to need longer bump-stops too...

 

[5spdman]

Well, as mentioned in the last post, I'm gonna need to start some work on the suspension. Leaf springs will need replaced, shocks front and rear, and possibly new coils, and extended RAs later. It's all a slippery slope though...and again, I'd like to do it as cheap as possible.

As far as the rear springs, being SOA I was thinking of just going with Dorman replacement springs from Rockauto. They'll be cheap and will keep me around 6" in the rear.

New mounts will be fabed for the rear shocks (already in possesion.)

Next, after brand new rear springs are put in, the front will be lower (considering the coils have already started to sag)...I'd like to get the most out of my front travel. I'll start by doing an F250 tower conversion (parts already in possesion) and extended radius arms, but I'd like to get away from the 4" coils and 1" spacers.

To boil it down, I'm wondering if anyone has any opinions on springs. Looking for a brand new leaf spring pack, and a coil spring that will offer around 6" of lift.

ANY input is appreciated, and keep them coming for a while...with a wedding in less than 2 months, it'll be a while til I get to the front suspension, but I do want to get the rear springs replaced as soon as possible...

 

[madbutcher]

Superlift coil springs:

http://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/slf-133/overview/make/ford/model/explorer

 

[5spdman]

Superlift coil springs

Thank you for that...I knew Superlift had 5.5" lift coils, but I could not find them for the life of me...

Still not sure what I'm gonna do for leaf springs...thought about the Dorman replacements, but also thought of splurging a little and going with Old Man Emu or something similar. Want my leaf springs to be able to take the abuse and keep their shape; mine look like a lake on a windy day at the moment...

 

[madbutcher]

You can get the superlift leafs to
They give 4" of lift.. so soa will give you 9" hahaha..

 

[Maniak]

Thank you for that...I knew Superlift had 5.5" lift coils, but I could not find them for the life of me...

Still not sure what I'm gonna do for leaf springs...thought about the Dorman replacements, but also thought of splurging a little and going with Old Man Emu or something similar. Want my leaf springs to be able to take the abuse and keep their shape; mine look like a lake on a windy day at the moment...

I'm running low mileage, stock rear springs without the overload and while they worked well they were too short for me.. I had to use war-153 shackles with mine to get the height I wanted. The issue is now that after 1 wheeling season (only 3 trips) and maybe 5k of highway/city driving they are showing sights of becoming a big W.

My plan is to grab a set of OME springs and ditch the WAR-153 shackles. I ran Ricks old OME-36 springs (now CS042R I think) in SUA for almost 200k miles, but I did run them quite a while as a W and I even added extra leaves (f-150) for extra lift somewhere in that 200k.

I am currently running superlift coils up front with f-250 mounts, 32" shocks, c&t beams and extended arms. You are going to love the flex, but hate it when the steering binds.. I did just recently find out (last Truckhaven trip) that My steering stabilizer body is actually getting shoved into a tie rod at extreme flex.

~Mark

 

[5spdman]

Well, suspension, steering, lighting....it's all getting put on hold.

The transmission has been making some slightly funny sounds and felt a little strange as well...played sand volleyball with some friends last night and put it in first after I backed out of my spot and BAM!!! Trans made a ticking sound when letting out the clutch, and even when put in neutral, we couldn't push it anywhere....transmission is done....

Finding a new transmission (so I can go to work this week) is proving harder than it was out west....

 

[5spdman]

Well it started as the transfer case originally (guessing the chain broke and wadded up inside) which locked up and when I put it in 1st, it snapped the output shaft from the transmission...

A lot of phone calls today revealed that there seem to be no M5OD transmissions anywhere around NW Ohio, so a rebuild (thanks to a thread on this site) will be in the works...

 

[WormsExplorer]

UM Ouch sir...

 

[5spdman]

No kidding...don't really have the money to fix it, but I have a good job now, and I have a vehicle I can borrow to get there at the moment...

Made the decision to just replace the shaft and overhaul it myself...got all the gears out last night and gave everything a good once-over to see what all I needed to get, and it looks like two bearings and the output shaft is all I absolutely need. I'm going to go ahead and get a shaft and complete bearing kit...will get it ordered after I get my check Friday.

Also had my dad take the housing pieces to his work and run then through their big washer...cleans up alright!

 

[mr cribb]

The last time I looked into a rebuild kit for a ford manual transmission it was just over $250. Granted this was about 18 years ago, so I expect an increase in price.

 

[5spdman]

Getting all my parts on eBay...couldn't find what I was looking for on RockAuto...

New output shaft - $170
Overhaul kit (bearings, no synchros) - $130
Input shim kit - $20

It would be cheaper (at several yards) to get another trans, but I can't find one locally, I need my vehicle running again ASAP, and I'm always looking for ways to increase my mechanical abilities and experiences...

 

[natenkiki2004]

Even another trans being cheaper, at least now you'll know exactly what's in yours. What's been done, new parts, maintenance since rebuild. To me, that's more valuable than saving a few bucks. Plus, like you said, you gain knowledge along the way.

Take plenty of pics of the rebuild, keep us up to date (I've been a long time lurker)

 

[5spdman]

Here's an up-to-date...

Just ordered what I need plus some...got a bearing kit, main-shaft, main and counter shaft nuts and a spring clip that I may have messed up for just around $250 from AllstateGear.com...much cheaper than eBay!

I'll get plenty of pics as progress swings along once the parts come in!

 

[Rick]

If you do a good step by step on the reassembly in a separate thread and either attach the photos to the thread, or link to them from our photo gallery, I'll set you up with a 1 year extension to your Elite membership.

 

[5spdman]

If you do a good step by step on the reassembly in a separate thread and either attach the photos to the thread, or link to them from our photo gallery, I'll set you up with a 1 year extension to your Elite membership.

I'd hate to add another thread as a repeat (I'm only thinking I can do this from a thread I already saw), but I'll see what I can do...I'll cover everything from pulling the transmission out to putting it back in. Gonna be busy with all this wedding stuff going on (only have 3 weeks left), but I'll get it together when I can!

To add to that thread (and to help myself), does anyone have torque specs for everything on the M5OD-R1 transmission?

 

[5spdman]

It's been a little while since I updated, but it's been a busy last week.

First company sent me the wrong shaft and a week later (and a new company), I got the correct shaft for the trans. Got it all together and in the truck in an afternoon and been driving it for a week now...

However, I probably won't be doing much with it for quite a while...I may have done something crazy over the weekend...

Meet Mr and Mrs Caleb Waidelich!! Chances are you'll see us on the trails during the Moab trips! Time now will be busy moving her to my area and getting the house set up and settled into, so posts here about new updates to the truck will be few and far between for a while.