Aerostar manual transmission installation.

[xlt4wd90]

Thanks Josh,
I must not have been looking at the right sources for transmissions. How did you find these?
I'll call them tomorrow to see if they also have the clutch pedals. It would be great if I didn't have to fab that.
I am told that the master cylinder from a Ranger will work, but MC for the Aerostar is still available. The slave cylinder on the other end will have to be for the Ranger. The MC/SC kits I saw that come with a reservoir and hydraulic lines are bent a certain way for the Ranger or Explorer. I hope they can be re-bent to fit the Aerostar. If not, it shouldn't be too difficult to custom bend some standard tubes.
Is the AX15 a strong transmission? I don't think the TC28 transfer case will fit. If I can get this M5OD-R1 to fit, I should be able to bolt on my transfer case and connect everything else back together.

 

[Josh P]

The Ranger MC fits and works. I didn't want to deal with trying to bend the aerostar clutch line so I found adapters and made my own line, worked great. Car-part.com is where I found those transmissions. When I did my swap, I found everything I needed without having to go to any junk yards. The ax15 is a lot stronger than the M5OD but it would be all custom fabrication to make it work. The TC28 is a great unit until the case cracks, when that happens you will wish for something else in its place. I'd use the NP242 with the AX15 so I could have fulltime, part time and low range 4 wheel drive. Would also have 2 wheel drive option. Any questions you have, feel free to ask. Probably a good idea to start your own build thread.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Josh, what do you think about having a solenoid control the clutch to avoid having an extra pedal, mounting hardware, bracket, etc? The solenoid used on starters to throw out the gear is pretty strong & reliable.

 

[Josh P]

Josh, what do you think about having a solenoid control the clutch to avoid having an extra pedal, mounting hardware, bracket, etc? The solenoid used on starters to throw out the gear is pretty strong & reliable.

The technology is already being used by some car manufacturers. I wouldn't trust off the shelf items cause when it fails you are without a clutch.

 

[xlt4wd90]

I got lucky a couple weeks ago when an Aerostar with manual transmission showed up in a salvage yard sort of near me. I got its clutch and brake pedal assembly, so I can minimize the fabrication I need to do. The stud on the pedal that the MC pushrod connects to is a little worn out, and I may need to convert that to a heim joint like some folks have done.

I'll be using the Ranger MC that came with the slave kit, and it has a semi-hard line already installed. I'm not sure yet if that will fit, so I'm interested in what kind of parts are needed to convert it to use AN lines. I can see the end that goes into the MC may be removed by removing the roll pin at the end of the MC body. But that about the other end that slides into the slave cylinder? Is there an off-the shelf fitting like that which can accept an AN fitting?

 

[Josh P]

I used a slave cylinder for a 05-10 mustang T5. The AN style quick connect fitting for a T56 fits. The hard line you are talking about maybe the wrong length and is formed for a different engine bay which is why I made my own line. Was the transmission already gone from that aerostar?

 

[xlt4wd90]

The transmission is still there, but the plastic "hard" line was kind of trashed.

I looked at the 2005 Mustang MC, and it does not look like it will easily fit an Aerostar without an adapter bracket of some sort. What is that connector on the MC called?

 

[Josh P]

I used the ranger master cylinder. I'm not sure what the technical name of the fittings are. I'll post a link to a clutch line that works, need to buy a old style ford clutch master cylinder to AN fitting for one side of the line.

https://www.cjponyparts.com/mcleod-clutch-fluid-line-braided-stainless-steel-with-elbow-bleeder-mustang-2005-2014/p/CFL6/?year=2005&gclid=CjwKCAiAzKqdBhAnEiwAePEjknmhtoej8d4m3A-HhLbpdhM73XX7FQ4OXa13bcKoTsOKFk7X63O15BoCDlIQAvD_BwE

 

[xlt4wd90]

Thanks Josh, I misunderstood and thought you used the Mustang cylinders on both ends. This makes more sense, although I didn't realize the Mustang slave would fit on the M5's mounting boss.

 

[xlt4wd90]

Another question: Did you use a crank spacer between the crank and flywheel? There is a spacer for the flex plate.

 

[Josh P]

Another question: Did you use a crank spacer between the crank and flywheel? There is a spacer for the flex plate.

No spacer needed with the flywheel. You will need different bolts, the ones for the flexplate are not long enough