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Performance Upgrades - Maintenance - Modifications - Problem Solving - Off-Road - Street Trucks. Covering the Explorer, ST, Sport, Lincoln Aviator, Sport Trac, Mercury Mountaineer, Mazda Navajo, Ford Ranger, Mazda Pickups, and the Aerostar. Featuring H.I. - Human Intelligence.
I went to the parts store, they said theres a mazda and mitsubishi transmission for my 92 ford explorer 4x4 manual 5 speed. Well the oils in the tranny are different and was looking to see if anyone knew the difference so I can get under there....see what I have and get some trans oil in it!!! Thanks guys
Clint
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You more than likely have the Mazda M5OD it's pretty easy to tell what kind of oil it takes. the Mazda trans takes standard Mercon V while the Mitsubishi trans takes gear oil. Pop out the fill plug and see if you can tell what it has.
Like above you have the M5OD Mazda tranny. No matter what the ole Hanes manual says, I would highly rec switching to full synthetic tranny oil. The mazda 5 speed is notorious for getting extremly hot in 5th gear...the synthetic oil will help it run cooler and extend it's life! If you don't have the metal freeze plugs either...get them! Look under Explorer maintance tips on the main page can read all about the metal freeze plugs.. if your not already aware. Course if you've had it in a tranny shop for service...chances are they have already been replaced with the metal ones..but I'd double check. Any rep. tranny shop with knowledge of the M5OD's will tell you the same thing...get the plugs...and run the synthetic to keep it cool. I got 147k out of my original M50D. Hope this helps. If your still hes about which tranny you have..just swing by a tranny shop they can slide under there and tell you in about 2 sec. Good Luck.
I used to run the Mercon ATF in my first M5OD till I started noticing my floorboard above the tranny was getting real warm when I used 5th for extended periods. Took it to a shop...and got the whole run down on the M5OD's and 5th gear heat. They rec'd the synthetic and it ran cooler and lasted another 20-25k. When it finally blew I made sure the guy who did my rebuild knew I wanted the synthetic...he told me he was well aware of the M5OD 5th gear issue and said he always used synthetic. This was a few years back...I do believe I read somewhere on here not to long ago that Ford now req's syn too. Do a search for M5OD oil...transmission oil....some good posts/ info on the subject. I run the Royal Purple and its great stuff!!! Napa carries it.
Premier..as for yours being on it's last leg...the damage may already be done. But hey give it a shot...might pull a few more miles out of it with the synthetic. It will def. stay cooler...maybe keep the gears going alittle longer.
I'm running regular old mercon V from napa with a quart of lucas oil stabalizer. It really helped the transmission shift easier and run smoother. I've had it in the truck for about a year now and no complaints. I have heard synthetic is the way to go, one of these days i'll probably switch over to it. I've got over 100k miles on my trans and I'd like to get a few more years out of it atleast.
Doug, Wow!! a whole quart of Lucas!!!I'm suprised the Lucas has worked well for you!!! That stuff is thick as GLUE ! I tried it in my crankcase...blew the seal on the new filter (which covered the ground with 5 quarts of new oil) and I now have a steady leak from rear oil seal. Put it in my original tranny too, shortly there after the rear seal on it started leaking. I know it says use it in oil, diffs, tranny, etc..but man I'm glad I used it in moderation. I have heard some really nasty stories about the stuff. On here and from the local parts stores. But hey... glad to see someone has had good results from it.
I've had really good luck with lucas products. I tried it in my motor with Mobil 1 and didn't notice a difference so I didn't put it back in. But like I said it really helped out my transmission. I've also used thier powersteering additive and it really helped. I had a hard spot in my steering, I'd turn the wheel about a quarter of a turn and it'd get really stiff. I sucked everything out of the PS pump and added thier PS additive and it quieted the powersteering and got rid of the hard spot. I've heard some bad stuff about oil additives in general, thinning out the additives and such but the little evidence i have seen has been pretty sketchy.
