94 4x4 Explorer Transmission Swap

[IBW0TRR]

Ok, I hope that I am posting this in the correct category since everything will be stock when finished, just not as it was when it came from the factory.

I searched for what I am looking for, but could not find something to specifically fit my problem and answer my questions.

1994 Explorer, 4.0L

I am in the process of swapping the A4LD out of my 94, since I don't really like autos anyway and since it went out, I decided if I have to take it out to fix it, then I am going to have the truck that I want when I get done.

What I want to know is whether or not the M5OD is the same for 2wd or 4wd? I was looking at "The Ranger Station" and there are 2 pictures of the M5OD show the starter on passenger side and on the drivers side. Will this matter or am I not looking at the pictures correctly?http://therangerstation.com/tech_library/ManualTransmission.html

Assuming that either starter location will work, if I were to get a 2wd M5OD would the extension housing from my A4LD work, or would I have to find a 4wd M5OD?

EDIT: extension housings are DIFFERENT. A4LD is open to the transmission, M5OD is not,

The starter location on my Explorer up until now has been on the drivers side. Is it possible to change to the passenger side if the transmission I got had the starter location on the passenger vs driver?

I have prospects for another donor vehicle but want to know some more information before I decide to purchase it. (1990 Ranger 5 speed 2.9L) From my research, this vehicle could have 1 of 4 different transmissions. The 4x4 M5OD or FM146, or the 4x2 M5OD or FM132. I know that if it has the FM132 it will not work.

EDIT: Added this question. Would the M5R1 or M5R2 from a 6 Cylinder F-150 work?

More information:
I bought a 1987 Ranger 2.9L with the FM145 in it in hopes to do the swap since all of the information that I recieved doesn't say that it is impossible, so I figured I would try it even if it took a few modifications. The only modification that I had the chance to do so far was to install the pedals, which required some cutting, and a little bit of welding. The problem with the FM145 now is that whoever owned it before me tore it up. Two ears are busted off of the bell housing, and while dis-assembling the tranny today, I found out that part of where the shifter mounts is busted on the inside of the tranny, which is why I am looking for another replacement.

I hope that I have included all of the information without giving too much.

Thank you for reading, and thank you for your response.

Matt

 

[dansnyder22]

from what i know you will have to get a m5od r1 from a 4X4 because although internally the same the 4x4 trans has a longer output shaft than the 4X2 trans

as for the beefier m5od r2 out of an f150 it will not work the bell housings are different

 

[IBW0TRR]

So if I am understanding this correctly, I could get the M5R1 out of a V6 F-150, and it would work. I could not get the M5R2 from a V8, because it is completely different?

Another question.

Is the bolt pattern different for the 4cyl models? For instance If I found a 4cyl ranger M5OD, would that bolt on to my 4.0?

 

[dansnyder22]

f-150's of that time did not come with a V6 they came with a inline six but those are rare. the bolt pattern i believe is completely different and it didn't even use a Mazda trans.

and yes the bolt pattern is the same for the 4 cyl models if it is an m50d R1 it will bolt up

 

[dansnyder22]

edit: oops double post, lol

 

[IBW0TRR]

Thanks, I found a M5OD on Ebay today that needs to be rebuilt, hopefully I will not have any major problems with it, and the rebuild will go smoothly after it gets here.

 

[dansnyder22]

good, that was another thing I was going to suggest. Rebuild it before you put it in. also, don't skimp out on the syncros. even if the ones that are in there are good the new ones you get with the rebuild kit are upgraded and redesigned for better shifting.

 

[IBW0TRR]

I had planned on getting a rebuild kit for it off of ebay as well, after I get it and make sure that the ad wasn't incorrect. (He said it was off of a 4.0 Ranger) What I do want to know is where is a reputable place to get any replacement gears in case some of them are work and or broken? Would it be a good idea to get one of the replacement input and cluster shafts and just replace them while I am in there. Or assuming that they are still true, just use the old ones?

Thanks again for the info and the help!

 

[dansnyder22]

assuming that they are still good it will be ok to use them. but if you do have any broken parts that need replacing(other than what comes in the rebuild kit) you can go here to drivetrain.comhttp://www.drivetrain.com/parts_catalog/manual_transmission_overhaul_kits/ford_m5r1_overhaul_kit.html

 

[IBW0TRR]

Ok, I will do that. I will let you know how things progress. Thanks.

 

[IBW0TRR]

Ok, so the transmission should be here tomorrow, and flywheel, pressure plate, and slave cylinder within the next week.

I have a question about the flywheel. According to Autozone.com, the weight of the oem flywheel for a 94 ex 4.0L is around 23 lbs. The one that I ordered off of ebay shows the UPS shipping weight at 19 lbs (which is the weight of the 2.9L flywheel according to autozone). Is the 4 lb discrepency going to cause problems?

I have read that the lighter the flywheel is, the faster an engine accelerates and decelerates. That does not seem like too bad a thing, but will it possibly make the motor run less reliably, or make it harder to take off due to the decreased inertia? Or is the variation acceptable?

Thanks for the response!

 

[dansnyder22]

Ok, so the transmission should be here tomorrow, and flywheel, pressure plate, and slave cylinder within the next week.

I have a question about the flywheel. According to Autozone.com, the weight of the oem flywheel for a 94 ex 4.0L is around 23 lbs. The one that I ordered off of ebay shows the UPS shipping weight at 19 lbs (which is the weight of the 2.9L flywheel according to autozone). Is the 4 lb discrepency going to cause problems?

I have read that the lighter the flywheel is, the faster an engine accelerates and decelerates. That does not seem like too bad a thing, but will it possibly make the motor run less reliably, or make it harder to take off due to the decreased inertia? Or is the variation acceptable?

Thanks for the response!

the shipping weight is an estimation they are probably the same flywheel.

if there is a difference in weight lighter is the way to go. it frees up horsepower.

 

[IBW0TRR]

So everything has arrived minus the pressure plate and slave, flywheel is on.

I have a question about the end play on the input shaft. It seems that it is very loose, maybe .03" between compressed, and stretched (measurement was taken with a tape measure since I do not have any calipers, so not too accurate, though should be on the loose side). If the play is unacceptable, where do I adjust it? Shims? If shims, who carries them?

Will the pilot bearing take care of supporting the shaft for vertical movement?

I have done a quick look around of the tranny, and it appears to be ok. No evident wear on the synchros, gears all look good, and everything turns freely, all gears engage smoothly.

The transmission was rebuilt before the guy I got it from got it. He sold it because it was popping out of 5th. (which from what I understand could be worn synchros, or possibly low fluid... both being the two easiest fixes, and as stated before, the synchros looked fine, though I only looked at them from the top cover, and did not pull the extension housing off to look closer look)

Once again, thank you for your responses and for helping this newbie get through this.

EDIT: Just searched for the shims on ebay, they are $17 with $12 shipping.

 

[nitro71]

I pulled one from a explorer in a junkyard. The input shaft had noticeable play. I've heard one other poster mention it on here also. Suspect it might be normal.

 

[IBW0TRR]

How many miles have you put on it since install? Any problems to speak of?

 

[nitro71]

I ended up selling it, decided my tranny is alright for the most part. You could put up a post about input shaft tightness, see what people say.

 

[IBW0TRR]

5th/revese adjustment

The guy that I bought the tranny said that he tried adjusting the 5th/reverse nut. I would like to know how to do this just in case he messed it up. I looked online and I couldn't find any procedure to do this.

Thanks guys it is all very much appreciated.

 

[IBW0TRR]

Neutral and Reverse Switches

So I got the transmission in today and I thought that I would add some information here since it discusses the swap for anyone that is thinking about doing this.

The wires that were on the A4LD transmission were a 3 wire connector (purple/yellow, orange/yellow, and red) and a 5 wire connector (pink, black/pink, purple/orange, red/white, and red/light blue)

Since I am a perfectionist I wanted the reverse lights to work when I put the ex in reverse. I do not have the proper wiring harness, so the way to do this is make your own connector or cut on off of a donor. The wires for reverse are black/pink, and purple/orange. (the sensor on the M5R1 tranny is on the drivers side.)

Other wires: pink (12v in?) red/white - 4low, and red/blue-neutral. I read on another thread to just solder these wires together, but I would like to make sure that I will be in neutral before shifting into 4L, so in order to do this, I will splice the pink and red/blue, to one side of the neutral switch, and the red/white to the other side. (red/blue, pink and one side of the switch so that I can start in gear, and red/white so that I have to be in neutral in order to engage 4L.)

Just thought that I would add this information.

As for the 3 wire plug, information on that can be found here

BTW, I am beginning to think that it was a bad idea to get the 87 as a donor vehicle since the only things that I have used out of it are the pedals (with modification) and the master cylinder (which is looking like the line to the slave will not work) I'll let you know how that goes.

 

[IBW0TRR]

Prices on things that I needed for swap and questions...

For anyones information what was required to do this,

Clutch, Slave, and pressure plate - new - $130 - ebay
Flywheel - new - $65 - ebay -
Master Cylinder with Clutch line - new - $115 - ebay (this is the only clutch line I could find, kinda expensive to get, but if you need it. BTW 87 ranger master cylinder will NOT work without pedal mod due to angle)
Transmission - used - $40 - ebay (great price, but 5th gear pops out as soon as clutch is released... might eventually fix it, but will just drive it in 4th for now)
Pedal assembly - $250 - Craigslist (1987 ranger 4x4 5 speed... was going to be the donor vehicle, but everything else was messed up, which is why I had to get the above items... some modification was required but I was able to use the auto pedal bracket)
Shim plate/dust shield - new - $37 - local Ford dealer
Shifter - will fabricate myself.. currently using a piece of 3/4 pvc

For information about part numbers, click here

Everything else was no modification required.

Total with my blunder of the 87 ranger not including shipping for parts - $637

Shipping totaled around $250 est. biggest priced item to ship was the tranny, fedex said around 109 lbs with pallet for anyone interested in what the m5r1 weighs.

Does anyone know of any reason that the tranmission will not fully engage into 5th?
Is there a shim behind the gear to bring it closer to the 5/R slider?
Any ideas?


INFO: Pops out any time, (driving or setting still) if you put the tranny into 5th, then release the clutch it pops out. If you hold it in 5th, it will grind, then pop out. I was able to get it to kill the engine by holding very firmly all the way as far as the stick would go into 5th. (It acts like just a little bit of the dog teeth are catching, which since they are triangular, pushes the slider back and, out of gear.

I have approx 2.8-2.9 quarts mercon in the tranny, poured in through shifter hole.

Will too much tranny fluid cause this problem of popping out of gear?
(the service book says 2.6 which I found out after putting what I did in there due to someone elses post on here somewhere)