Solved Ford Explorer 5 speed conversion - Going Full Manual

[gmanpaint]

The main thing stopping me from wanting to do it is removing the plenum and everything surrounding it...lol

Weather is suppose to be nice for the next couple days, so I will try it then. We are about to get hit with another monsoon here any minute. 10" of rain yesterday made for a swamp today. Water was up to mid door height on cars a couple blocks over. Was a sight to see.

 

[gmanpaint]

I ended up having to take the shifter into a machine shop anyways.

The shifter hits the console ring just enough that it makes it a pita to get in reverse, even with the 3" extension on it.

The shifter handle is made of 2 pieces of steel. There is a rubber sleeve that acts as a damper for vibrations, it is then covered with an thin metal outer shell. Heat wont work on it because of the rubber.

The machine shop is going to use a hydraulic press to bend it a couple inches above the base, giving the handle at least a good 1 inch bend upwards from where it hits. Any marks made will be covered by the boot. Hopefully they get it back to me at the end of the day, otherwise I have to wait till mid week. Monday is a holiday.

Edit: Machine shop just called. They can't bend it (press) either because of the rubber. Looks like I will try it myself by cutting a V-notch in it, then bend with a bench vice and a cheater bar on the end of it.

 

[gmanpaint]

I hated to have to do this but, it just didn't work 100% in the full console.

Green arrow is where it was V-notched with the saw. Cut halfway through outer shell, rubber, & rod.

Green arrow is also where it was flux welded (6013) once the angle was set.

Red arrows is where the heat was applied with the torch. This had to be done with care where the rubber part was on the bottom. Once it was hot enough the gap on the notch was closed off by bending it with a steel pipe fixed to the end, and the other 2 places were just a little at a time until it was right.

After it had cooled, the weld was ground and the entire handle cleaned with a wire brush on the grinder. Then some adhesion promoter, and a couple coats of gloss black enamel paint.

The bottom bend was needed to stop it from hitting the column in the lower positions. The upper bends was needed to get it away from the dash in the upper positions. Looks odd, but it clears everything now.

Installed and looking goofy.

Cost......$0.00

 

[IZwack]

Its all bent up! You sure showed that shifter who's the boss!

 

[Glen4X4]

I thought the extension would have done the trick, at least you found someone to get it to exactly work.

 

[gmanpaint]

I thought the extension would have done the trick, at least you found someone to get it to exactly work.

Yup. That someone was me.

Sawzall, tombstone stick welder, torch, 4.5" grinder, paint, and some "Oh screw it, just do it" attitude.

 

[Glen4X4]

That's the way to get'er done.

 

[gmanpaint]

Went after swapping out the engine harness today.

After studying the 2 they are different in a few ways. Connectors are not the same, and some have more wires in them. So I said screw it. Most be some kind of difference in a loaded XLT and whatever the manual EX was it came out of.

I will concentrate on figuring out how to get the VSS wires connected with the set up that is in there. I can't continue to keep throwing money at this. I have to draw the line somewhere.

I also have no reverse lights. The only thing going for the trans harness is the dr side O2 sensor. Here is a wiring diagram showing the reverse light connections. Auto trans uses the TRS, and Manual uses a back up lamp switch. I have it plugged into the trans but does not work still. Another crossed wire at the ECM, I imagine.

The brakes are fairly new and a complete E-brake kit was installed. They were never fully adjusted proper, just left loose to where the wheels free spun. I adjusted them today to where there was some drag to the wheels. Rig was lifted for this to spin the tires as they were adjusted. I still can't get the E-brakes to work real good. The pedal goes the entire way down to the last click, and they only grab half ass. Always something I tell ya.

 

[gmanpaint]

The rig went for its 1st real shake down run.

There is still some fine tuning to do

CEL is on. Have to check codes still.

Clutch don't work worth a crap. Pedal has to be practically touching the floor to get in gears. This slave has a rubber sleeve over the bleeder nut, it wont come off. It also is so far recessed into the housing, I can't get to it. To be able to shift, I have to do it by feel, ie...wait for the sweet spot, then shift.

Feeling pretty discouraged here.

 

[Foxracin]

Does it have the matching slave for the master cylinder? There are a few different ones.

 

[gmanpaint]

Does it have the matching slave for the master cylinder? There are a few different ones.

All I know is that everything came out of the same vehicle.

I was told the slave has 3k on it. The master is stock out of the same rig. I even drove in the rig everything came out of before it was parted. This leads me to believe it has air in it. I have not been able to get to the slave bleeder after the install.

Had a couple questions for the person I got it from, called, but no answer.

So................if your following(posted in it already) this thread (you know who you are ) call me back please.

 

[gmanpaint]

Question for those that have a manual set up.

At what point does your pedal allow you to shift in & out of gears easily?

I fear that if I can't get to the bleeder on the slave, I will have to remove the trans to get to the bleeder.

 

[Glen4X4]

With my past 2 sports that were 5spd I use to only have to press the pedal in 1/4-1/2 way and it would allow easy shifting.

 

[gmanpaint]

Alright......was able to tap a 1/4" drive deep well socket onto the bleeder to push the hard rubber back to expose the bleeder nut & be able to turn it. Went thru the drivers side wheel well with the wheel removed. Body lift helped here once again

Gravity bled the slave with 3 reservoirs of DOT3 brake fluid. Pedal feels a bit stiffer.

Another thing that was hindering the pedal was these stupid aftermarket pedal covers. The screws that held them on were so long they put holes in my floor mat. Removed them, and was able to depress the pedal farther. Really feel stupid myself for not noticing this earlier. But I will sacrifice my embarrassment for the sake of resolving this.

Now I don't know which helped more, but it shifts easier. Pedal still goes down too far for my liking.

Another thing to deal with now is the t-case shifter linkage. The heims on this home made linkage have to be dialed in just right for it to be able to go into all ranges. Right now I have no low range. Sheesh, this thread wont let me stop working on it. LOL!

 

[IZwack]

Can you attach a vacuum bleeder to the port? Cauz that might make it easier.

 

[gmanpaint]

Can you attach a vacuum bleeder to the port? Cauz that might make it easier.

Wish I could but, the bleeder is so far back into the housing I can't get a wrench on it. A deep well socket is the only way to turn it. Had to let the fluids drain thru the socket as it is. So a vacuum would work but no way to tighten the bleeder with it on.

 

[IZwack]

Hey I know who put that t-case shifter, I know!! And I think he's blind. But I think you just need to extend the arm on the bracket side by maybe 1/4 of an inch (I'm guessing). So I would cut it with a grinder a splice in a 1/4" square stock of steel.
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[gmanpaint]

Thats alright IZ. I managed to get it working well again.

Lost the small bolt for the t-case shifter to trans. I ended up using a stud (off a t-case weight) to replace it. The larger 9/16" bolt had to be spaced with a couple of washers.

It shifts into all ranges now, woot!

Now to take it for a ride and see if I can get that pesky CEL to come back on so I can read the codes.

 

[gmanpaint]

Codes:

KOEO
59...........Idle issue
176.........O2 lean bank 2
452.........VSS,signal to small

KOER
412.........RPM issue
136.........O2 bank 2
538.........RPM issue

All these have got to be due to the Manual ECM & auto engine harness. Wires must not reaching the pins on the ECM correctly. I need an engine harness off an XLT model, but highly doubt there is an XLT manual. Going to have to re do the pins in the harness to get them to mate up correctly.

If anybody that knows what they are doing with Electrical, I am going to need help here with this part.

 

[gmanpaint]

Just for future reference:

The 4R55E