M50D R1 Going to be getting busy with some swapping

[Josh B]

My rebuilt arrived late Friday and now it's got to go in. The rebuilt has no opening for the backup light switch but I have a donor trans which came from the salvage yard that has the switch already installed, so I'll have to swap covers.
There's reason for me to believe the donor trans was rebuilt, and the cover and components hopefully still in good shape, but can't be positive about that until I look inside. I am truly hoping it is good inside so parts can be swapped with the original that's coming out.

I'll also take the metal plugs from the donor and use the rubber ones from the rebuilt.

 

[Josh B]

The cover and shift forks looks ok. The inside looks to me like it's in pretty good shape too. Thinking I might just get my money's worth out of this $68 (and 5 mornings to pull) transmission.

transmission

 

[Josh B]

Here's the reason I had to do the swap. The new rebuild had no port for the back-up signal.
Also a peek into the new rebuilt.
I ran into a snag putting the cover back on to the rebuilt one inside the shed(seems a dowel pin wanted to stick and I didn't find anything to grab it out of there with, might have to find a dowel pull set), but the donor from the yard cover sitting outside went on so it can be covered up from weather

 

[Josh B]

I ran into a problem with the cover swap, two dowel pins decided to stay in the same position.
Now I'm faced with how to get one of them out. I've studied into dowel removers and other processes and have (due to their shape, and the gunk around them that could be glue of some sort) about decided the best way is to drill out the center of one and break off the drill tip leaving the smooth shank to drive into the hole. Fill the hole with oil and drive in the shank, forcing the pin out.
I got into town after the Ace hardware had closed and went by wmart and got some titanium bits. All I have to drill it with are hand-held power drills but think I can hold it steady enough to stay on course. Also thinking the one in the tranny is best as it's in a more solid structure than the one in the old cover I'll have to use, and also don't have a holding jig for the cover either.
I've done a lot of drilling in my time, mostly with hand-held, powered ones, and fairly certain I will know when the bit gets through the steel and drops off into the aluminum. There's over an inch to go beneath it so even if it gets an eighth inch into it, it won't harm it's structural integrity that I can see.

Not sure if this is the best way to go but am hoping to get into this swap early next week, Sunday most likely. I take off Saturdays so that's the start of my week, the temps are supposed to be low 90s next week also(beats the hundreds I worked in all month), and no nearby neighbors to disturb here anyway

 

[pjtoledo]

on various other things I've had good luck with drilling & tapping threads into the pins. then drop a socket over it for the screw to push against.
getting aggressive with end nippers may put enough of a groove in them to grab.

 

[Josh B]

That might be worth a try JP, one picture I saw had some sharp dikes in it, which didn't make me think about the end nippers I have that my father used forever, and I've used over the last 12-14 years, mostly cutting heavy wires and such and working on fences. I doubt they've ever been sharpened and might be quite dull, you know any good way to sharpen those? Not much works well agin that hardened and tempered stuff that I've seen

 

[fastpakr]

Wouldn't a stud extractor work on that?

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[Josh B]

There just isn't much to grab onto there fastpakr, not much over 1/8" other than the tapered part. I started out to put a tap handle on there, hoping I could tighten it down good and get a couple pry bars agin that and give it a good pry but my tap handle wasn't big enough. Probly 5/16" pin.
I'll get after it this afternoon sometimes and see if I can clean that goo out from around the base of it with a sharp chisel and maybe give it a little more surface facing to work with

 

[fastpakr]

Gotcha - I thought there was more sticking out than that. Hard to get a sense of scale.

 

[Josh B]

Well, I finally got around to trying some new vice grips. The drill and tap it out using oil to push didn't work, maybe my drilling wasn't straight enough. A while ago I tried the Vice Grips and it slipped off the first two times(began thinking they'd go back to Wmart and China, but the third try I got a better grip and a better pry and it popped right out. This was the one from the B-series Mazda from the wrecking yard, I'd given up trying to get the one out of the rebuilt.
Maybe now I can get on with the program

 

[Josh B]

I put the cover on the rebuilt and two bolts, along with the shifter, wanting to see if it would go to all the gears. It went in 1st 2nd 3rd 4th and 5th, but didn't want to go into reverse. Could there be any valid reason why it shouldn't easily reach reverse?

 

[Josh B]

Ok, I got it figured out, used my handy little bookmark for duckduckgo.com already initialized w/ therangerforum to do a search.
Seems the M50D has a safety agin going into reverse from other gears, especially 5th.
Took it back to the 1st/2nd gear side and brought it back to reverse, then straight into R, went right in

M50D Transmission Problem - Ford F150 Forum

 

[Josh B]

Well, I've had long series of sidetracks and setbacks but finally got the things needed together and hoping to get out of the transmission hellhole I've been in the last couple months. Maybe I can get this swapped out over the weekend, got to have it done before Tuesday because it has an appointment with the windshield transplant Dr. then. I've already got the hardest part done in just getting it up on jacks. Course I wouldn't want to do it without my favorite shade tree T-shirt

 

[Josh B]

Well, shortly after making that last post I heard a horn honk and went outside, got distracted a couple of days, didn't get back on it until this morning, and even that wasn't early, probly about ten before I got back into it. I did work all day on it tho, wanting to get the old tranny out so I'd only have that much to go back with tomorrow. It wasn't easy, hit hurdles all day, but thankfully it was already all up on jacks. Pulled the center bearing and rear driveshaft, dropped the rear tailpipe, pulled the cat, the front Y pipes, put the transmission jack under the transfer case and got it out. Put the jack under the transmission and lifted the weight off and pulled the cross-member out from under it, got that out of the way, pulled the trans rear damper support, realized the transmission jack only had two wheels on the ground and was perched onto the front cross-member, kinda locked up on there, but I'd already removed most the bolts to the engine block, thought dammm, i'm in a jamb!
Recalled the decent looking come-a-long(Circa 1980- $10) I'd found at a sale last Spring and got it out, put one hook on the center cross-member and the other on the tranny, haha, and started crankin it down. Fortunately it didn't create any added probs, simply pulled it back as I wriggled it around and soon enough it was firmly on the jack and the rear engine support (jackstand with makeshift wood block) was firmly in place. It was already so close to being dark it was beyond grabbing a photo.
I was sure glad to get the old one out today, now I have all day tomorrow to get the new rebuilt back in and it all together by dark tomorrow, I'd hate to miss my windshield appointment for Tuesday, this family has been in the business a long time, my only other WS replacement was done there 37 years ago, and I'd have a hard time finding any comparable shop these days

Side note, when I dropped the transmission fluid there was yet another piece from the bad bearing cage I first became aware of first time I dropped the fluid, 12 years and over 100,000 miles ago, this thing was definitely on its last leg. I figure it's the front bearing, it's been really rough since the throw out bearing fell apart two months ago, mostly in 1st,2nd, and 3rd, hard to get it moving, but i haven't pushed it too hard in those gears, taking a lonnngggg while to reach 60 mph to go to 4th, where it smoothed out on into 5th, for relatively smooth highway travel, although i could still feel the vibration through the stick. Most the bolts now were not even really tight, the top two transmission bolts were, well one was completely gone and the right one was just hanging there, making me think i hadn't torqued them near enough, but that wasn't the case, it was just in terrible shape, and i'm glad as hek to get it out and get the rebuilt in there

 

[Josh B]

Well, this has turned into quite a challenge, but I'm hoping to wrap it up tomorrow and get it back together. Stabbing that transmission took most of a day, never did figure out why, just finally got it started pulling back together.
Dang that exhaust system cost me most of a day too. It's assembled in such a way it must be bolted loosely together from the front to the back, then tightened up from the back to the front. That and my ADHD didn't work well together, the nearest neighbor a quarter mile away might have have heard me cuss a few times :/ I'll spare you the grizzly details
Today i got the transfer case back in position, but the flange ridge is going in slow, really tight I suppose, just tightening bolts a bit at a time, doesn't seem to be any serious binds, hoping it'll pull on in without any bad problems.That thing's almost heavy as the transmission, and in a much smaller package.
It's been up on jackstands for a week today, yesterday a friend came by and we went up to the travel plaza, picked up some beer and smokes, but I don't drink any until quitting time, which for me is near dark:30.
Tomorrow all i've got to do is finish pulling that TC on in, and hooking up the drive shafts, and a few other simple odds and ends.
Wish I had taken more photos, since realizing they could be best simply inserted, but when you're trying to "drain the swamp" and all that jazz, oh well! :/