5 speed Rebuild Experiences?

DrFishbone

SCCoA Member
Who here has rebuilt a M5R2 for our cars? How hard is it compared to...say an engine rebuild? I've got the MN12performance write-up on it and it looks do-able. Any tips or things to watch for?
 
I've got one torn down. Haven't re-assembled yet as I need to get some replacement parts (reverse blocker ring and slider is toast).

You can usually reuse most of the bearings, but be careful getting them off. There is one bearing on the mainshaft that must be removed to replace the blocker rings. I damaged mine as the bearing splitter I was using slipped off and ripped the cage open.

The bearings are very expensive if you buy them one at a time. I ended up just buying a complete F-150 248 series kit off of Ebay for $200 The input shaft bearing is over $100 alone from Napa, and the mainshaft bearing was $40.. So for $60 more I had an entire kit and new spiral oiler.

The spare trans I am working on was rebuilt before, but very poorly. 1st and 3rd gear were fiber rings and were very worn down, and 2nd and 4th were brass rings. Also the clearances were way off and there was no spiral oiler re-installed on the input shaft. This damaged the rear bearing plate and I had to get a new one from Ford.

I don't consider this a difficult job if you have the right tools. I've rebuilt AOD's, 4R70W's, and a GM 4T65E-HD GTP trans and they were all much more involved than this rebuild, granted they are automatics.. I think this is easier than an engine rebuild too. (again, if you have the tools.. A press is mandatory, and bearing splitters too.)

Although I remember Dave Dalke saying he did it without a press. Maybe he will chime in.

I'm building this one with brass blocker rings.. But I will be doing a 94-95 model rebuild next using fiber blocker rings. I've had the fiber rings for a couple years but I dont' think you can get them anymore.

Jeramie
 
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Thanks for the replies.

Mike, I have looked through and downloaded both of the references you gave and searched on the subject aplenty. I guess I'm just looking for encouragement that I can do it. It looks intimidating, since I've never opened up a transmission before. :eek:
 
Sorry, I don't know that I can give any confidence as I gotta do the same thing and I have none in myself. I figure I'll just give it a shot. the key seems to be take your time, measure everything the book says to measure and make sure everything is good.
 
Another piece of advice.. Get a spare one to rebuild :)

I've had my spare trans apart since May of last year. Just need to get on the ball and get a few more parts and go from there.

I'm having trouble finding a reverse gear. Any ideas?

Jeramie
 
Jeramie...contact Liberty's Gear. They claim the stock reverse gear and blocker do not mate well with our tranny's. IF you put a brand new blocker on a brand new reverse gear it still has some wobble to it. They said you can retrofit the Reverse gear and blocker from a Ranger. So jog their memory with this if they don't know right away what you are talking about. At a minimum you'll get a brand new R gear and best case it'll be an improvement over stock!

One question though....how did you conclude this: "no spiral oiler re-installed on the input shaft. This damaged the rear bearing plate"

As for the rebuild and difficulties of....it's not difficult at all if you know how to approach it. If you are going into it for the first time....it's not going to be fun. Kind of like when you go to change spark plugs in your SC for the first time...you hit all these brick walls, takes forever to figure out the plan of attack, tools to use. But then you KNOW....so the second time it's much easier.

I didn't need a press (what do you use it for?!?), but did need a $8.00, 1.75 inch diameter, 10 inch long section of exhaust tubing which Autozone stocks to help press the mainshaft bearing back on. To get it off, I just use two pry bars with very even force to work the bearing off. Sometimes judicious use of a heat helps get it moving. On my last rebuild, the biggest PITA was getting that crush nut off the mainshaft. OMG this thing must have had 300ft-lbs of force on it. If you buy ANY specialty tool, I would suggest buying the LONG socket that fits this nut. If you can't afford the real tool, you can just buy a big socket, cut it in half and have a machine shop weld it back together with a long section of pipe in the middle.

Remember, keep stuff in order when you remove it. It's like a big puzzle. If you put it back together right....it goes smoothly. If you hit a brick wall somewhere, then you've done something wrong and need to go back and look it over.
 
Thanks Micah, that's the kind of info I was hoping to hear!

BTW, I got a picture on my computer at home of a very nice looking silver SC, I believe it's yours. Everytime I think of a nice looking t-bird, that picture comes to mind.

Anyhow, I'm sure when I get started on this, I'll have plenty of questions. I usually do pretty well when I have a write-up on something, but knowing a few little tricks always helps save time and money.

I am looking for another transmission for cheap (or one that's already rebuilt )to attack it like 92bird suggested. I think I might actually have fun on it though...I hope. :rolleyes:
 
I should have worded this differently.. I meant "Also the clearances were way off, which caused the rear bearing plate damage", and "there was no spiral oiler" should have been a new sentence.

Come to think of it, I didn't use the press for the dis-assembly. But I did use the bearing splitters a few times. I use my press for a lot of ~~~~ so I forget what exactly I used it for sometimes.. It will come in handy when re-assembling though.

I think I was thinking about my diff rebuild. Where I used the bearing splitters with the press on a couple pieces.

Jeramie
 
Whew...I was gonna say, I didn't think that spiral oiler was THAT important, mine was kinda broken and i just reused it.

The right size bearing splitters make things MUCH easier, but if you don't have one, or in my case....broke one, then the prybars -can- do the trick.
 
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