TK5 to M50D swap??

I recently bought an 87 Ranger 2.3 2wd 5speed that has the TK5 in it and I have the opportunity to pickup an early 90's 2wd M50D. I need alittle tutorial on what needs to be modified for the swap. I have to be able to do it over a weekend so i need to be fully prepared and have everything I'll need on hand.

I've searched to see if I could find some posts detailing the swap but haven't found much, other than the fact that the M50D is a few inches longer so i'll have to shorten the driveshaft a bit, but are the M50D output shaft splines the same? will my clutch master work with the M50D slave? are the input shafts the same?? will the shifter come through the same hole in the floor board? what about the trany mount, does it have to be relocated/modified? anything else?

thanks in advance!!

M5OD must be from/for a 2.3l as it has an integrated bell housing.

read here: http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-143771.html

Not sure on the splines and starter motor??

Yes, does not seem to have been a popular swap, not much info out there.

The master will work, the line will not, the connection is different. Just buy a whole pre-bled kit.

The input shaft splines are the same, you are OK there.

I am not sure about the driveshaft splines. If you have access to the other truck's drive shaft you can put the slip-yoke piece on your existing drive shaft, if the other truck's shaft can't be used for some reason. Otherwise check with a local drive-line shop. Whoever does your shortening should be able to get that piece.

The shifter on the M5OD sits pretty far forward compared to the FM and TK transmissions, even though it is longer. It will fit, but trimming of the floor pan will be required. I made my own plate out of sheet stock and cut it to fit.

Trans cross-member will have to be relocated. Once it is dropped look at the ears it bolts into. They are each held in by 3 rivets. The rivets will have to be cut out, and the ears moved to the rear set of holes that were for an auto trans. I know it looks like not all the holes are there, but they are. The front hole of the rear set is covered by one of the pieces that must be moved. Use grade 8 or 10 bolts and locking nuts for this.

Weren't the later 1st and all 2nd gens (which had the same cab) equipped with M5OD-R1's?

The M5OD first came out in 88. The cab is the same 83-92, but the plate on the floor for the shifter is not.

When I put an M5OD in my 87 about 5.5 years ago I had to trim the actual floor pan for the shifter to fit properly. When I put an M5OD in my 88 the day before Easter I had to take about an inch off the plate to fit the shifter. I could actually have left it alone if I never wanted to take the shifter out for bushing service or the like.

Either way a new plate is required because the different shifter position leaves a big hole in the floor.

thanks for the reply adsm08, sounds like your the guy to talk to about this one. afew follow up questions.

1. I understand these master/slaves can be a pain to bleed out but wouldn't just getting a line with the right fittings be much more economical than the whole system?

2. just to make sure i understand correctly about the crossmember: my tk5 rubber mount&crossmember will bolt right up to the M50D, it 's just that the tabs that are riveted to the frame that the crossmember bolts to need to be moved back. correct?

3. Ron D mentioned the starter, so did that bolt right up for you or ??

5. anything else you can think of??

I found a good picture of the output shaft of a m50d it has 25 splines ... I guess i'll pull my drive shaft tomorrow and see what it has. The guy with the M50D wasn't sure if he still has the Driveshaft, hopefully so as that may well be the right length and obviously the right yolk.

1) Ideally yes, it would be more economical to replace just the line and slave. And honestly, if everything is out of the truck bleeding isn't so bad because you can hold everything upside down and do it that way, which eliminates the two big air traps in the system. There are two other issues that make me recommend buying a whole system kit. First, if you replace the slave and the line and not the master the seals of the master system suddenly become a point where the strength of the system is mismatched. I have found this tends to lead to failure of the weakest part quickly, so you may end up needing a new master shortly anyway. Second, it has been a few years since I saw just a line for sale.

2) I am not 100% sure about the rubber mount, but it will probably work. The cross member will work, the pieces it bolts to just have to be moved back. You are correct about that.

3) When I did my truck I upgraded to the 4.0 clutch and so I had to change the starter because of the bigger flywheel I put in. On this last one I only changed the trans and was able to reuse my original starter.

4) You skipped 4. Counting is important when working on cars.

5) I don't know how much this will apply to your swap being a 2wd, both of mine were 4x4. I had to change the shifter boots to make everything line up correctly because, as I said, the shifter on the M5OD sits farther forward. On the FM transmissions I took out the t-case shifter is in front of the trans shifter. On the M5OD the trans shifter is in front of the t-case. I don't think the TK boot is going to fit the M5 stick correctly.

i've never really liked 4ords . . . lol. i can tell you've earned your rep power, thanks for all the insight! i've never played with these older fords, i've always been a chevy man and i can't figure out why the hell ford can't use some standard ass hydro connectors like the rest of humanity. The kid i got it from a whole new kit put in this tk5 when he had the clutch replaced in the fall. It would be a shame to trash it, and a whole new kit for the m50d looks like it's gonna cost a pretty penny. . . . ehh.

well, i think I'm gonna go get that trany, i think it'll be worth the effort/expense to do the swap.

In 88 Ford did start using the same hydro connector, with fluid brake, that my wife's 01 S-10 had.

Let me dig through the shit pile and see if I have a line. The M5OD I just put in my BII came with a whole system in it, but my hydraulics were all new, so I reused my stuff. I might have the line you need around here somewhere, if it didn't make it to the junk heap this weekend.

You will have to use the M5OD slave though, because the TKs and the FM145 connected at 11:00 on the bell, and the M5OD goes in around 9:00.


EDIT: Had a look around, looks like the one I had is gone. Dorman is apparently still making just the line, DORMAN Part # 628202.

Sorry I don't have anything to add, but why do you want to swap out the TK5? Is it broken or something?

I appreciate you looking around for the line for me! lol the $60 for the line is better than the $300+ for a whole kit.

incidentally I found an '04 5speed out of a 2wd ranger, think that would work just as well as the '90 trans? All i can seem to find that is different is the electric speedo.

Twister said:

Sorry I don't have anything to add, but why do you want to swap out the TK5? Is it broken or something?

Click to expand...

yeah the TK5 has some bearing noise going on, the syncros are starting to tap out, and ofcourse the shifter is super sloppy. I got a pretty good deal on the truck so i got some budget to go ahead and get a replacement to have on hand and start collecting everything else i'll need. It seems getting a decent replacement in there is going to be somewhat more of a pain in the ass and more expensive that I had thought when i was checking the truck out, But it has got a whole lot of upside to it.

1994 and earlier Ranger 5-speeds will have mechanical speedo cable hook up, and some also have the VSS(vehicle speed sensor) as well, VSS only started in 1995.

Good read here on that: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/speedometer.shtml

Trans must be from a 2.3l engine.

Update

OK so i've got most all the parts together to do the swap, and in the process have learned some new stuff that may help anyone else considering the same kind of retrofit.

for clarity I'm removing the TK5 trans from my 1987 2.3L 2WD standard cab longbed and replacing it with a N.O.S. M50D-R1 for '95-02(?) (yeah, i got a brand new one off the shelf of a closed dealership!! and that's an epic story involving magic and angels).

- the overall length of the TK5 and M50D-R1 are IDENTICAL at 31.25in. I found a webpage listing the M5R1 as 29.25 but i'm thinking that's maybe a 4x4 version w/ no transfer case. This 2wd M5R1 in my hands is absolutely 31.25in. from bellhousing to output shaft, so there is no need for me to shorten my drive shaft! woohooo!!! however,......

- the slip yolk splines are different. the TK5 has one weird double width spline and a slightly smaller diameter than the M5R1, so I'll need at least a yolk, but i found a whole driveshaft off a '96 std cab longbed 2.3L manual (wheelbase was the same until '97) so it should drop right in, if not i'll swap out the yolk. The U-joints are the same if you were wondering, though it looks like ext cab driveshafts use different u-joints, go figure.

- the input shafts are supposedly the same, so Clutch, pressure plate, flywheel, Pilot bearing should all interchange (gonna replace pilot bearing anyhow), we will find out. . . .

- After researching, hunting, measuring and discussing the Clutch S&M situation the solution has been found. a complete '94 (and only '94) S&M pre-bled kit will drop right in.
Here is the deal on that: in '94 and older the Master will bolt up to to the firewall in my '87, but '95 and newer use a different mount style altogether. The '94 and newer slave will work with the trans/clutch, but '93 and older slaves are a different part. It may just be the hose connector is different, i'm not sure. So, I *MAY* be able to use any 88-94 complete kit if the only difference in Slaves is the hose connector, but I KNOW that the '94 slave will work and I know the '94 master will bolt right to the firewall so i'm going with that year specifically.

- the rubber mount is different but the crossmember is the same so, ~$10 for a new rubbermount, old one is looking abit sad anyhow. just eyeball guessing it looks like Adsm08 is right about having to move the crossmember mounting tabs to the further back position. I forgot to measure that the other day when i was under the truck, but no biggie either way. . . . .

- Speedo: my 87 uses a mechanical cable and I'm not sure if it'll work properly but the my M5R1 has a gear on the outputshaft where the VSS would mount. my speedo cable mount housing and gear looks like its all the same dimensions as later VSS and might bolt right up and work like new money (see the Speedo Tech article in the "interior electronic" section here on RangerStation, thanks for the tip RonD). If this doesn't work I suppose i'll convert to electronic speedo at some point.

- Starter: i'm also unsure of this but the mounting bolts appear to be identical and since i'm using my existing flywheel my current starter should work with no problem.

- shifter location is definitely different. gonna see if i can rip a correct tunnel cover out of a junkyard and just swap them. If not, a quick cut and fab job will be in order (hell that would be quicker & easier than dicking off at a JY and swapping out the tunnel covers but i like to use the right stuff instead of modifying if i can, ehh)

- Backup switch is the same.


I think that about covers it. Thank you guys for the great site full of resources and knowledgeable folks! I'm gonna do a full Pictorial and write-up of the Swap when I do it in about 2 weeks, you know for posterity and all. . .

Nice write up, thanks

'95 and up may not have the worm gear in tail shaft housing for mechanical speedo.
Look in the hole to see if you see it.
Not much work to remove tail shaft housing and install it while trans is out.

WAIT, no need to remove housing, have a read here: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=388935