itsmine
Member
- Joined
- September 4, 2007
- Messages
- 14
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Sykesville, Maryland
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1994 Sport Trac
Hello all. The purpose of this thread is for educational purposes. I have a 1994 explorer 4.0 with the M50D-R1 manual trans. Now, this donor Explorer has 266,000 miles on it. When I got this vehicle, it was running just fine. Now, obviously, it didn't run fine for long. That M50D-R1 trans is junk. The transmissions are built by Mazda, and have a couple features that lead to early failure.The most prominent feature is those rubber plugs that seal the shift rails on top at the selector cover. The plugs dry out, and fall out
or leak. Oil gets out, dirt gets in, and the trans is toast. Basically, the bearings on the upper shaft "weld" (or melt) to the upper shaft and you are always going to be stuck in a gear. It is pointless to rebuild these transmissions, as it would cost upwards of $1,000.00 after labor and parts. And, a new trans for it is going to run you about $800-1700 smackers depending on where you go. The $800.00 ones are from the dealers that you don't know and probably don't trust on the internet. The one's for $1,700.00+ are from well known parts stores (Advance, Pep Boys, Car Quest, etc. etc. etc.). Now, I figured that it would be a good learning experience for the newbies on this site (like myself...but I got 25 years of turning wrenches on cars under my belt) and the motor heads in general to have a thread on this site with step by step instructions on how to remove the 4.0 and trans from a stock explorer and drop a 351W with a c4 transmission in it. This thread will be updated every day that I am working on it. Currently, the engine (4.0) is still in the Explorer. I am waiting for the 5.8 to arrive. I already have a donor 75 Mustang with a c4 thats got less than 20,000 miles on it, that I am going to be putting in this Explorer. Now, obviously, it will no longer be 4x4 and a longer drive shaft is going to have to be make to compensate for the difference. And don't think that the 351 thats going in it is going to be stock. I will update this thread with in depth descriptions and pictures (as well as prices for parts) that are going to be needed to modify the Windsor and the explorer. The thread will hopefully be started tomorrow with me removing the 4.0 and trans. Thank you and enjoy the thread!
or leak. Oil gets out, dirt gets in, and the trans is toast. Basically, the bearings on the upper shaft "weld" (or melt) to the upper shaft and you are always going to be stuck in a gear. It is pointless to rebuild these transmissions, as it would cost upwards of $1,000.00 after labor and parts. And, a new trans for it is going to run you about $800-1700 smackers depending on where you go. The $800.00 ones are from the dealers that you don't know and probably don't trust on the internet. The one's for $1,700.00+ are from well known parts stores (Advance, Pep Boys, Car Quest, etc. etc. etc.). Now, I figured that it would be a good learning experience for the newbies on this site (like myself...but I got 25 years of turning wrenches on cars under my belt) and the motor heads in general to have a thread on this site with step by step instructions on how to remove the 4.0 and trans from a stock explorer and drop a 351W with a c4 transmission in it. This thread will be updated every day that I am working on it. Currently, the engine (4.0) is still in the Explorer. I am waiting for the 5.8 to arrive. I already have a donor 75 Mustang with a c4 thats got less than 20,000 miles on it, that I am going to be putting in this Explorer. Now, obviously, it will no longer be 4x4 and a longer drive shaft is going to have to be make to compensate for the difference. And don't think that the 351 thats going in it is going to be stock. I will update this thread with in depth descriptions and pictures (as well as prices for parts) that are going to be needed to modify the Windsor and the explorer. The thread will hopefully be started tomorrow with me removing the 4.0 and trans. Thank you and enjoy the thread!
Hopefully it will arrive tomorrow.
