M5R2 rebuilding help needed

Tomste

Registered User
Hi guys.
This is my first post here and i´d like to introduce myself.
My name is Tommi and i´m from Finland,Europe. I dont have a Thunderbird (at the moment but i´m considering of buying one for a daily driver) but i do have a ´89 F150 with a 4.9l inline six with 5-speed transmission.I noticed that there was tons on information of M5R2 transmissions on this site so i just had to join so i could ask some questions.
I already tried ford trucks forum but i didnt get any help there yet.
I really hope you can help me out.

Here´s the problem:
I got my transmission disassembled and noticed that all my outer bearing races slips in and out really easily from casings bearing bores. ALL of them,input shaft,output and both countershaft bearings. It seems like the outer races have spin on the bores? So the main question is,is my transmission case ruined??? How tight they should fit in there? Is there anything i could do about it if they should fit tightly or should i try to find another case? Is it possible to use somekind if bearing mount liquid or something?

I´ll hope that´s not the case because these trannys are nonexistent in my country, and it would cost pretty much to buy another case and rebuild kit AND some other parts that i noticed were worn out.
If i need another case,i think it´ll be easier just to buy rebuilt tranny from US.

Tommi
 
I've rebuilt several of these. Yes, the outer races do just slip into their bores but it's a very tight fit. I use a long piece of wood to tap the bearings in place before installing the interior bearing retainer plate. When the bearing retainer plate is in place with the bolts torqued they don't slip. If your outer races show scoring from the race spinning, then probably the bearing retainer bolts were loose. I've never seen that problem on any that I've worked on. I've got spare housings but many of the internal parts are different between the truck versions and the TBird version. There many rebuild kits for truck version available on ebay. The inner races are press fits on the shaft. When pressing the bearings onto the shafts be sure to press on the inner race only. I use a steel pipe and a floor shop press. There several detailed 'how to' articles on the internet for the M5R2 and I wrote one myself several years ago. PM me your email address and I can send you a copy in jpeg format.
 
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Hi,and thanks for your answer.
It does not sound good when you say that they should fit tight in bores,mine just slips right in and i can feel that they´re loose in there. :(
I haven´t measured how big the bore is but i can say it is atleast 0.1-0.2mm bigger than outer race. Is it possible to use any locking glue in there?
 
Here is picture of rear bearing retainer plate,you can see that there´s a mark left by mainshaft bearings outer race.



This is rear mainshaft bearings outer race.



Rear bores.



Front bores.



Countershaft front bore looks most damaged when you look at it but it was tightest of them all to get out. Input bearing and mainshaft bearing races just fell off when i took retainer plates off? :confused: I did not have to use anykind of force to get them out.

Tommi
 
It looks like they do have a little wear but look better than I thought they might. I wondering that if you had some shims if they would tighten up the bearings enough. The shims, large diameter flat rings, come in 2 or 3 different thicknesses <.3mm and go between the front input bearing and the front seal inside the front bearing cap. I'm wondering if you spread some green loctite for using on press fits on the outside bearing surfaces would it stabilize the bearing race. I'm thinking that the truck and the TBird M5R2's have the same main housing. I've got a spare or 2 but getting them to Finland is a problem unless you can get space in an existing container shipment. Then I can just ship it to the container and do payment thru Paypal. I did this before on a shipment to Norway. The rebuild kits offered on ebay have bearings, shims, and brass blockers for around $335 USD.
 
Taking another look at the bearing plate it looks like there is wear where their shouldn't be any contact with the bearing race. Is that correct, is there a wear band on the flat mating surface of the plate around the outside of the hole? The bearing should be inside the hole and not on the plate's surface. That plate has a top and bottom with an arrow pointing ^ up on the nonmachined side. Could it have been in upside down? The 2 bearings are different sizes.
 
Hello again. About that plate being upside down, I could check it tomorrow but i´m pretty sure that it is the upper bearing which has done that scuffing (spl?) mark. It has an arrow on backside of the plate and i´m pretty sure it was pointed up.
Btw, I could measure the bores tomorrow,I am a machinist by profession so i have micrometers and such in my use.

Yes i have found many websites including ebay where i could buy that rebuild kit,but the one you mentioned seems to be a little bit more expensive than the ones i found. They cost around 200 dollars. Are these cheaper kits missing some parts that more expensive ones have? :confused:

There´s a Finnish car/parts exporters living in Florida,i could ask how much they want for shipment to Finland. How much you´re asking of rebuildable case?

Tommi
 
I just remembered that i had one picture in my camera and it shows which way the rear bearing retainerplate was when i took it off.

 
You can see by the size of the holes that the plate's right. I guess $50 would cover it for a housing plus UPS to FL which isn't much from Atlanta. I need to veryify if the housing is indeed the same. Take a couple of photos of your case from different sides and I'll compare it to mine. I may need you to make a couple of measurements on yours too. It's probably shims and bearings that are missing in the less expensive rebuild kits. I haven't seen much bearing wear in mine but those 2 loose bearigns might ought to be replaced to be safe. A new one should be in the kit. These trannys are real easy to rebuild, just be attentive to the way the parts come out and take reference photos as you go so you won't have to wonder when reinstalling a part, "did it go this way or this way?". I use the blow-up diagram from the Haynes manual a lot. It's a full day's job from start to completion.
 
Hi. I measured the bores yesterday and they were much less worn than i though they are. All bores were only +0.02-0.04mm over. But i still think that they should be that much UNDER so it would lock the outer race in place. Same type of bearings is used in rwd cars front hub and it is tight fit,isnt it? I went to local loctite dealer and they had this mounting liquid #620. Its meant for securing vehicle transmission bearings among other things. I think i'll try that. Do you think it will work?
 
Sounds like it's not quite as bad as previouly suspected. The outer races will slide easily into the bores but if they go in at an angle will stick. As I recall the front input shaft bearing is a little tighter than the rear one. I'm not familiar with that type of Loctite but if that's what it's for then it should work. Shims would help also.
 
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