1997 Ford F-150 4.2L M5OD-R2 5speed concerns with transmission

[SamMerkun25]

Hey guys
Bought a 97 f150 4.2 5speed 150k miles in july 2021, I've been driving it since and absoluetly love it, I do tree work with it, constantly loading it the hell up with logs and branches almost everyday. I drive the crap out of this old rig, the tranny shifts pretty good, when its hot it takes a little bit longer to go in gear then when its cold, I can almost feel a very small grind going into 2nd gear sometimes, if I slow down shifting into 2nd it goes in fine. So in recent months I had 2002 camry 2.4 5 speed 190k miles, I had a shop change the tranny oil and 3rd started grinding, not sure why but shop claimed it was possibly original oil, should I change my gear oil in my ford truck? I would hate to have a similar issue like in my toyota camry, I see they take mercon ATF, please give me some thoughts and advice!

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Changing the fluid is always a good idea.

But the M5OD likes to leak from the shift rail plugs, if its low on fluid and been ran and ran hard that way you may wanna start planning on changing a trans.

 

[SamMerkun25]

Changing the fluid is always a good idea.

But the M5OD likes to leak from the shift rail plugs, if its low on fluid and been ran and ran hard that way you may wanna start planning on changing a trans.

I am going to be changing the fluid here soon, I would love to keep this truck going frame is solid body is ok good enough for me typical cab corner and rocker panel rust, truck is a dog!

 

[rusty ol ranger]

I am going to be changing the fluid here soon, I would love to keep this truck going frame is solid body is ok good enough for me typical cab corner and rocker panel rust, truck is a dog!

The 4.2 wasnt exactly a power option lol,

 

[SamMerkun25]

People hate being stuck behind me especially getting on the freeway lol

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I owned the same truck as specced. It worked just fine for me except underpowered for towing my siding trailer.

 

[SamMerkun25]

My truck does burn a little bit of oil and I change the oil a lot, Since I drive the living crap out of it I'm changing it every month and a 1/2 or so new filter every time, I'll put sea foam in the crank case a few days before my oil change That usually slows the oil burning down a little bit, truck needs heater core coolant is getting flushed soon

 

[bobbywalter]

My truck does burn a little bit of oil and I change the oil a lot, Since I drive the living crap out of it I'm changing it every month and a 1/2 or so new filter every time, I'll put sea foam in the crank case a few days before my oil change That usually slows the oil burning down a little bit, truck needs heater core coolant is getting flushed soon

I don't know how many miles are on it or how long you have owned it....

It's not about burning oil...

It's a patently retarded oiling system....just like many modern rigs...even the new 7.3

Study it. Ounce of prevention

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Hey guys
Bought a 97 f150 4.2 5speed 150k miles in july 2021, I've been driving it since and absoluetly love it, I do tree work with it, constantly loading it the hell up with logs and branches almost everyday. I drive the crap out of this old rig, the tranny shifts pretty good, when its hot it takes a little bit longer to go in gear then when its cold, I can almost feel a very small grind going into 2nd gear sometimes, if I slow down shifting into 2nd it goes in fine. So in recent months I had 2002 camry 2.4 5 speed 190k miles, I had a shop change the tranny oil and 3rd started grinding, not sure why but shop claimed it was possibly original oil, should I change my gear oil in my ford truck? I would hate to have a similar issue like in my toyota camry, I see they take mercon ATF, please give me some thoughts and advice!

Sounds like the syncros are going out of it.

You had syncro material floating around in your old fluid and it left when the fluid was changed.

Not a hard trans to go thru if you have the ambition, V6 4wd 5 speeds are hard to find and you will really struggle to find one with fewer miles than what you have. It took me a couple years to dig one up, really wanted to balk because it had a gooseneck ball in the back. 3/4 slider was worn (for some reason ) but it didn't take much to fix and has treated me well for 3 years now.

Yours should have the cheaper syncros at least, my '04 has the carbon fiber syncros, they were like $250 for a set. Mine looked ok so I decided to just try them and it worked out.

 

[SamMerkun25]

I did the fluid change today, was a success, had no issue put 3.8 quartz of ford mercon V, old fluid wasn't too bad it was brown but drain plug had no chunks, 2nd doesn't grind at all anymore so very happy with results thank you everyones input

 

[Elutheros]

I'm running the same trans from a 5.0 F-150 in my Ranger and after 40k miles in the Ranger it started shredding bearings ( I have no idea how many miles were on it originally). It was always resistant to fast shifting into 2nd. I replaced it with a rebuilt last year and it's still not a speed shifter. I always wonder how that trans worked in the Thunderbird versions.

 

[snoranger]

I always wonder how that trans worked in the Thunderbird versions.

It was good in the Supercoupe. It shifted smoother and held up to more abuse than the T5 in the earlier Turbocoupe. If you kept the 3.08s or swapped in 3.55s, first gear was ok... 3.73s made first gear is almost useless.