M5OD-R1 fighting to get into gear

[An Audio Guru]

The problem isn't to bad right now but is geeting worse and need to rectify before Saturday when I make a long drive in it. My truck is a v6 vulcan 5 speed M5OD-R1(I think). The stick has a lot of wiggle room or play in it...more than my last truck did. Occasionally when playing with the stick at lights when in neutral it wont move over in between 5th and reverse. I have to shift into a lower gear to "reopen" that side. When actually driving I will have to play around in 1st and 2nd to get 3rd to open up.....kinda of annoying when in motion/traffic and I have to coast until I can get it into 3rd. When sittin and go to put in 1st it seems like it might be having a small issue that can get bigger getting all the way into that gear too. Basically I have heard of something called a syncronizer before and wanted see if anyone knew anything about it? Where it is? Does it sound like it could be the prob? The trans isn't slipping I think, when its in gear its golden!! Drives great other than a bit of vibration. Truck just got another engine from a Mazda B3000 and got another rear end too. Truck has had a shiz ton of work done since November... Anyway <-- ramble on there. Any help would be appreciated. And if anyone has any other ideas please pitch in. Thanks!!

 

[An Audio Guru]

Oh and the cylinder in side the trans or bell was replaced during the motor swap. Forget if its called the master or the slave thou...


-->note to self http://www.ford-trucks.com/article/idx/9/059/article/_M5OD_Mazda_Design_Manual_Five_Speed_Transmission_Preventative_Measure.html

 

[Maritime Storm]

Sounds like you have a couple of issues, the slop in the stick can be fix by replacing the shifter bushings. The other may be either clutch issue or it's overdue to have the ATF changed.

 

[An Audio Guru]

Bushings....more info pls. Like where to access and what does it look like. I could take a guess and say pull up the boot and probably right there...right? Can the Bushings be bought at autozobe or a place similar? And what is atf?

 

[tx3nc]

Bushings....more info pls. Like where to access and what does it look like. I could take a guess and say pull up the boot and probably right there...right? Can the Bushings be bought at autozobe or a place similar? And what is atf?

From our tech library:

http://www.therangerstation.com/Magazine/winter2007/shifterbushings.htm

Check at your local auto parts store. If they don't have them, try:

http://www.thegearbox.org/M5R1M5R2.html

or:

http://allstategear.com/


ATF is Automatic Transmission Fluid. The preferred lubricant of your manual transmission. DO NOT PUT GEAR OIL IN YOUR TRANS!!!!!! Too thick and won't properly lubricate the parts.

All that being said, there are 3 rubber plugs on the back end of the shifter housing. These harden up, get brittle and start to leak. Check your fluid level asap. If it is ok, then I would probably go ahead and change it. If it is low, change or top it off asap.

After you do those two things, let us know if it fixes the problem.

 

[An Audio Guru]

Ok found the parts for $26 at a local tran shop. But got in a hurry and didn't catch the part about staying in neautral when I snatched it all apart. Um now its stuck in gear...1st. I'm an idiot i know buy how do u get the thing to line up again...

 

[tx3nc]

Ok found the parts for $26 at a local tran shop. But got in a hurry and didn't catch the part about staying in neautral when I snatched it all apart. Um now its stuck in gear...1st. I'm an idiot i know buy how do u get the thing to line up again...

Look down in the hole. you should see 3 pairs of rods. All the gears are opposite their location on the stick. So since first is leftside forward, looks at the right side rear of the shifter hole. That set of rods should be towards the rear of the truck. Use a screwdriver to move them up to the middle. The pairs of rods are all coupled together so you can just move the front rod forward and the rear will follow. You might need to step on the clutch if the transmission is under tension (as in parked and holding position with the engine instead of the parking brake)

If that doesn't work, you can always try to stab the shifter into the gap on the right side rear of the hole.

 

[An Audio Guru]

Figured that out. Got it back together and went for a test drive. Then the whole right side dropped out into the bottom of the trans. Ya me. Bout to drop it now in the rain. Take inside on the porch and attempt to rebuild top of it. On in over my head but oddly excited...wish me luck. Any further advice appreciated. As far as the excessive play and smooth shifting b4 it fell apaet...I was good and seemed fixed. But apparently i had a 2 part problem.

 

[tx3nc]

Figured that out. Got it back together and went for a test drive. Then the whole right side dropped out into the bottom of the trans. Ya me. Bout to drop it now in the rain. Take inside on the porch and attempt to rebuild top of it. On in over my head but oddly excited...wish me luck. Any further advice appreciated. As far as the excessive play and smooth shifting b4 it fell apaet...I was good and seemed fixed. But apparently i had a 2 part problem.

Not sure what you mean by the right side falling into the trans. When I took mine out, I found it to be easier if I pulled the carpet back and then unbolted the metal/rubber cover that was screwed to the floorboard. To remove the shifter lever, take the nut off of one side and thread it onto the other side of the bolt and tighten the nut to pull the bolt out. Support the engine when unbolting the transmission. Depending on your engine, you might have to drop the Y pipe to get the trans out.

Once you get it out, the top cover has an oring seal on it that can be reused. So taking the top off and putting it back on should be no problem. While you have it out, check those three rubber plugs. Take some pictures of what youfind and post them. Might help wth the diagnosis.

Overall, these transmissions are pretty simple. Just be organized in how you take it apart so you don't lose or misplace any bolts or parts. I used ziplock bags that I labled and stacked as I took it apart. That way they are organized in order to reassemble.

 

[Rose2300]

if it was the synchros wouldn't the trans grind when putting it into a gear?

 

[An Audio Guru]

if it was the synchros wouldn't the trans grind when putting it into a gear?

Idk....this is all new to me.


As far as the tear down and snatch out. Got 2 siezed bolts at the top left driver and back of the starter. Also gotta drop the exhaust. Then see if I can bench press the thing outta there. Gotta some help tomorrow. Will keep posted.

 

[tx3nc]

if it was the synchros wouldn't the trans grind when putting it into a gear?

Yes. In my case the syncros were fine. It was the hub the synchros ride on that was the problem. It was sticking on the main shaft and not allowing the brass rings to work properly. If upon inspection, you can see a gap between the teeth on the brass ring and the teeth on the gear, then the syncrho ring is probably ok. Heat buildup in the transmission seems to cause the hub to seize or stick on the shaft. There are 3 hubs in the transmission. To free them up requires full transmission disassembly. I'm talking about parts 40, 41, and 43 in this diagram:

http://www.mackstrans.com/images/diagrams/M5R1-Diagram.jpg

 

[tx3nc]

Idk....this is all new to me.


As far as the tear down and snatch out. Got 2 siezed bolts at the top left driver and back of the starter. Also gotta drop the exhaust. Then see if I can bench press the thing outta there. Gotta some help tomorrow. Will keep posted.

The trans itself isn't that heavy. You can drain it to make it a couple of pounds lighter. I can heft it around myself. I'd guess it weighs in the neighborhood of about 80 to 100 pounds in the 2wd version without a transfer case. Still, I would recommend using a floor or a transmission jack to pull it out.

 

[An Audio Guru]

The trans itself isn't that heavy. You can drain it to make it a couple of pounds lighter. I can heft it around myself. I'd guess it weighs in the neighborhood of about 80 to 100 pounds in the 2wd version without a transfer case. Still, I would recommend using a floor or a transmission jack to pull it out.

Just read all this and funny thing is I did all off that too. Also someone welded what had to have been a joint at one point where you could disconnect the ypipe from the rear pipe. Mine has duals split by a muff, single pipe in the center. So since the whole exahaust from the mani joints back was welded solid....I dropped the whole exhaust...hangers and all. Didn't work...spare tire was in the way. Dropped it. Didn't work. Still not enough clearance to get the tranny out. The ypipe is in the way. Top at the mani joints aren't clearing the tunnel either without clearing the bottom of the y from the forward cross member. Ulimate result...a ride to the buddys for a sawza to make the joint there is supposed to be in it anyway. It's 1015 at the apt and were cutting away at pipe. Battery died and ended up finishing it up with a hand saw. Dropped it all out the way and tranny came rite out. Sitting on my porch now looking for the lock pin for the rod that fell off. That and a bottle of jack.

 

[An Audio Guru]

Tranny cleaned in and out. Connecting rod/shift linkage thing locked back into place. Waiting for it dry to put the cap back on and throw it back in the truck. Tran shop I got the shift rebuild kit from reconnected the link and gave me the little pin lock all for free and did it too. It's been pretty interesting with this thing. got a bit drunk last night playing with the tranny. Anyway pics to come when done.