No 5th or reverse - 1989 5 speed manual trans

[BuckHilt]

My 89 2.3L 5-spd has been running fine until today. I shifted down from 5th and caught Reverse, now I can't get either 5th or reverse. It won't go into 5th at all, and grinds when trying to get reverse. I have been able to get reverse sometime, but not with any regularity.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Ouch, both those gears are on the same slider so it's possible the synchro is screwed up... I think, it's been over a decade since I've been in an M5OD... I think some of that is behind the rear case bearing for the shafts so you might be able to see what is going on with the transmission in the truck, drain the fluid, pull the rear driveshaft, pull off the tail housing and I know the big nut that holds things together should be right there... hopefully someone else is more recently familiar...

 

[BuckHilt]

I tried some stuff after the initial post and I can get it in Reverse but as soon as I let out the clutch it pops out of gear.

 

[Shran]

I tried some stuff after the initial post and I can get it in Reverse but as soon as I let out the clutch it pops out of gear.

It would help to know what transmission you have. Does it have a removable pan on the bottom or no? Mitsubishi FM-132 would have a pan, Mazda M5OD would not, I think yours probably has the latter.

If it's an M5OD, and your shifter is really floppy and loose, the shifter bushings could be at least part of the problem. Could be shifter related on an FM trans but not as likely.

My guess either way is that the pads on the 5th/reverse shift fork are ground down to nothing and it may feel like it's in gear but the fork can no longer move the slider ring far enough to fully engage either gear and under a load it's popping back into neutral. On a M5OD, it is difficult but not impossible to fix this with the trans in the truck. I would not attempt doing that on the FM trans, though, they are assembled slightly differently and it's much easier to fix it on a bench.

 

[scotts90ranger]

It's a 2.3L (all mid '87 up Lima's) so it is a M5OD

 

[Shran]

It's a 2.3L (all mid '87 up Lima's) so it is a M5OD

That is what I figured, I kind of assume M5OD in a 4 cylinder truck but you never know these days with parts swapping on old vehicles. I'm sure someone, somewhere is grumbling about the FM-146 and 1350 t-case I put in a '94 Explorer years ago...

 

[gearfather]

they don,t use fork pads but what is common is if your grind up the reverse side of the slider it will pop out of reverse and not go into 5th and vice versa..

 

[Eddo Rogue]

I lost 5th gear on one of these. Had to pull it and get some parts replaced.

 

[BuckHilt]

they don,t use fork pads but what is common is if your grind up the reverse side of the slider it will pop out of reverse and not go into 5th and vice versa..

Any recommendations on where to get the slider and shifter bushings?

 

[Eddo Rogue]

I have a transmission shop guy.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I would just google transmission parts in a bigger city near you (I just did Columbia to see and it showed a couple options), for me I have to go through Portland so you might need to jump to Charlotte... if you ask nicely at a transmission shop they might tell you a good place to get parts locally...

 

[BuckHilt]

T

I would just google transmission parts in a bigger city near you (I just did Columbia to see and it showed a couple options), for me I have to go through Portland so you might need to jump to Charlotte... if you ask nicely at a transmission shop they might tell you a good place to get parts locally...

Thanks, I'll try that

 

[Shran]

By "pads" I meant the surface of the shift fork that touches the slider... they are not a separate part. Just wanted to clarify.

I usually get M5OD parts on eBay, RockAuto, Cobra Transmission, couple other places. Often have to search around a bit to find exactly what I need.

If you need to replace the slider, it would be a good idea to replace the keys and springs at the same time... and examine the hub it rides on as well.

 

[gearfather]

Any recommendations on where to get the slider and shifter bushings?

i can help you, pm sent

 

[NakedDucks]

I hav e all the parts you would ever need for an M5OD.

PM me