mhc365
New Member
- Joined
- May 19, 2023
- Messages
- 2
- Reaction score
- 2
- City, State
- Texas
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1991 Ford Explorer XLT
Hey all. First post! Thanks to everyone for all the information about auto to manual transmission swaps. I finished mine this weekend and have a few notes I want to share. Please read this original and extremely helpful post that guided me through the process. There are a couple more things I can add to it.
- Just go ahead and remove the front seats and roll the carpet back to the rear seat. This gives you a ton of room to work in the drivers footwell, gives a great view of the transmission from above, and helps when you install the shifter components.
- I did not have to remove any exhaust component. It’s difficult to remove the transmission without removing the exhaust header pipe, but save yourself the trouble and put your Tetris skills to work. After removing the transfer case, I was able to swing the rear of the automatic transmission as far to the driver's side as possible. This will help you get passed the exhaust pipe. The same was true, in reverse, during the installation.
- Change the rear main seal on the engine while you're here. This is a no-brainer.
- I had a significant amount of trouble getting the new transmission mated to the engine. Even though the dowels were aligned they just wouldn’t seat together. After messing around I tried slightly lifting the engine and everything seated together instantly.
- The manual 4.0 spacer/starter locater/block plate is almost impossible to find these days. If you’re getting a junkyard M5R you can probably grab that one. I simply modified the automatic 4.0 spacer/starter locater/block plate and it’s working just fine. I almost welded the two pieces together at the new angle, but considering there’s no gap in the new configuration anyway I didn’t see the advantage. Hopefully this solves a few people’s problems in the future.
- The automatic starter I took out of the Explorer has a male spade terminal that goes to the starter solenoid. The replacement Motorcraft manual transmission starter has a stud/nut for the solenoid. You'll have to cut the spade terminal off and replace it with a ring terminal. If you miss this step and don't get this wire connected you won't be able to start the vehicle.
- I was able to access the top four transmission bolts from inside the vehicle by removing the transmission tunnel cover and using an 18 inch 3/8 extension. This seems much easier than lowering the rear of the transmission and using a mile of extensions that I’ve seen others attempt.
- I was able to replace the automatic pedals with the manual brake pedal and clutch without removing or loosening the pedal box. It’s a tight fit but just follow the steps in the original post. Yes, you do have to separate the main harness at the fire wall and detach the emergency brake mechanism. Grease all components, it will help.
- I did not have to remove or loosen the brake booster to install the new clutch master cylinder or reservoir. Once you have the clutch master cylinder installed, go inside the vehicle and install the clutch switch. This is the large spring loaded switch that the rod goes through. Look around the driver footwell and find the capped connector that fits into the clutch switch. If you switched out your automatic ECU to a manual ECU (which you should), your vehicle will now start with the clutch pedal pushed in. You can bypass this switch, but it's easier to just connect it.
- Even if you buy a pre-filled clutch master/slave kit, you’ll still have to bleed the clutch system since there is air in the concentric throw out bearing. Save yourself the hassle and get a vacuum bleeder. These Explorers/Rangers have weird bends in the line and you may not get them out with the typical bleeding method. Place the vacuum hose in the reservoir and draw the air out to the top. Four quick cycles (ten minutes of work) turned my zero resistance clutch pedal into a perfectly operational one.
- If you’re installing a brand new transmission like me, make sure you purchase the reverse light switch that mounts on the left side of the transmission top cover. It also requires a pin that activate the switch. Since these are typically swapped over from the previous transmission, they aren’t included when purchasing a new one. The pin and the switch can be found for purchase at the following links:
- Under the truck, find the main electrical connector that used to be hooked up to the automatic transmission. Cross the pink and red/light blue wires. This will bypass the neutral safety switch in the automatic wiring harness and allow you to start the vehicle.
- Totally unrelated to the transmission swap, it seems like a lot of people (including me) have trouble with the tachometer acting lazy. For those people, the tach signal wire is easily accessible for testing at the passenger kick panel ECU. The tach signal is the tan/yellow wire.
- My M5R1 swap parts list:
- M5OD-R1 transmission (AKA M5R1 for search engine purposes. I got mine from a great shop on eBay called Superior Auto Parts. Built and shipped in ten days, great customer service, awesome reviews.)
- New transmission mount
- M5R1 starter (manual is different from auto)
- 2 M10x1.5x60 bolts for manual bellhousing
- 2 M10x1.5x70 bolts for manual bellhousing
- M5R1 clutch kit (clutch and pressure plate)
- Clutch pressure plate bolts
- Clutch master/slave/line/throwout bearing kit
- Clutch switch
- Flywheel (reuse bolts from flexplate)
- Used hifter assembly
- Used clutch/Brake pedal assembly
- M5R1 shifter stub kit
- Manual transmission tunnel cover
- M5r1 reverse light switch
- M5r1 reverse light switch actuator pin
- Manual transmission ECU
- Dexron III/Mercon ATF for tranmission - 3.4 QTS
- Dexron III/Mercon ATF for transfer case - 2.5 pints
- Liquimoly LM47 grease - for everything
- I got all my new hard parts from RockAuto.com (total cost and part numbers below) and the other used components and new transmission through eBay. I did not need the flywheel bolts or the Dorman Clutch Pedal Position Switch Connector.
- I bought my 1991 Explorer with 54,000 miles last year. This swap is SO WORTH IT! The highway RPMS are much, much better. It took me two days to complete; it is almost entirely mechanical, obviously. I did everything with no help except the few minutes during the actually lowering and raising of the transmissions. I will try to help with any questions!
