What Transmission is this??

[jdunne03]

I hope I'm posting this correctly and in the right place.
So the problem started with a truck for sale....CHEAP ! I bought a 2007 Ranger in great shape BUT has a problem with the gear selector is stuck in 4th. Fiddled and diddled with shifter stub and reassembled, now it shifts in to all gears but 4th. Had to drop tranny to open it up for repair (or replace) and things start getting weird. Drained what should have been almost 3 qts of fluid and only about 4 oz of black goo comes out and the drain plug looks like black cotton candy. I figure the gears are all toast...NOPE, they look and move just fine. Being the proactive guy I am, I have my son pick up a rebuilt F87A AB (M50D-R1) from a guy on CL that wrecked his truck before he could install it. This came with a new clutch and good flywheel.
So I'm not a mechanic but am mechanically inclined, I watch a few You Tubes on R&R the Ranger trans and google for hints and tips..... All set, jack it up, start taking it apart and nothing looks similar. I figure it's just a newer model year. I have hard stainless fuel lines and a large cable loom bundle running the whole length of the trans on the top drivers side. The electrical loom is connected to the trans with push loks in 5 places, the connectors for sensors, O2, etc. are also mounted to brackets that have to come off first, as well as the fuel lines. I get all the bottom bolts out and I'm having a heck of a time reaching the top bolts, there is NO ROOM above this trany as it's about an inch below the soft heat shield/sound deadening mounted beneath and there is a 1 1/2" cable loom routed with a PVC or water hose right on top of the trans bell-housing running side to side. The only way to get the last bolt from top drivers side is 3 extensions for a total of 40" and feed it down the top with my left hand and use my right hand to reach around the trans and guide the socket to the bolt. IT FITS PERFECTLY WITH OUT USING A SWIVEL !
I took off the top cover and expected the gears to be ground down to nothing or a pin broken or some visible sign of destruction....nothing, looks good inside. I poured some mercon on top of the drive assy and realigned the forks and popped it back together. Seems to be shifting fine now. Fingers crossed that it was just so dry the 4th gear syncro was just stuck.
The whole reason for my post was to give people a heads up to this transmission and find someone who knows that this thing exists. It's a 7L54 AB E476861 according to the sticker, and I found nothing on the Ford site or any specs on Google. The only info I found was from Zumbrota Drivetrains, RMTM5R1F-1TE Seems it is for the Mazda B2300 and is referred to as an M5R1
That's when I realized my MFD sicker on the door pillar says I have a type "R" transmission. Everything I was able to find says that's a R – 5R55W – 5-Speed Automatic (2002-2011). Definitely not a swap...it came original like that. I've included a few pics including the bolt pattern of the bell-housing. 10 Bolts hold it to the engine. If anyone has any info they can share or point me too it would be appreciated.
I will post again after put it back in and try it to let you know the results.

 

[adsm08]

The picture with the two transmissions.

The one on the left is an M5OD from a Lima 4-cylinder, used in Rangers until mid 2001.

The one on the right is harder to see, but the holes in the bell look like an M5OD, given the starter drop being flat and up on the high LH of the vehicle it looks like it's made for a Duratec 4-cylinder, which replaced the older 2.3/2.5 in the Rangers/B-series.

 

[jdunne03]

Hey adsm08
Thank you for the quick reply. I'm still confused as most pics I see when I google m5od show the high square front bell housing and not the round case. I also seem to read that the M5OD was for the 4.0L..... oh the confusion !! haha
Anyway I will be reinstalling tomorrow and fingers crossed it will work.
Thanks for the input

 

[pjtoledo]

the M5OD comes several different bell housing patterns.
2.3 Lima, up until 2001, think old design, 2.5 for last 2-3 years
2.3 Duratec used since 2001, think new design
3.0 Vulcan,, same engine as Taurus' ,again think older
4.0 Cologne, also fits older 2.9

the 4.0 versions have different ratios for the lower gears.

what you have in your Ranger is only manual transmission for the 2.3 Duratec engine, been in use since 2001.

 

[pjtoledo]

put a new pilot bearing in!! they do go bad and cause issues while idling

 

[adsm08]

Yeah, the M5OD became available in 88 and has been available behind all the engines that were factory in Rangers since then, as well as a different version behind used behind the 4.2, 4.6, 4.9 and 5.0 in the F-150s.

The bell housings are different for the different engine families, and will look different because of it.

Like I said, the one on the right is hard to see, but it appears you have two M5ODs built for two different engines.

 

[snoranger]

The one on the right looks like a later Miata trans.

 

[adsm08]

The one on the right looks like a later Miata trans.

The Miatas has the Mazda L series 1.8 and 2.0 in them. The Ranger 2.3 Duratec is part of the Mazda L series, so that would make a lot of sense.

 

[don4331]

jdunne03:

You seem pretty adamant that the 12 year old truck you just purchased has the OEM transmission; You sure you didn't buy a truck that had had a blown auto replaced with a manual?

I have have done automatic to manual conversions in the Ranger's I have "restored" - repairing a 5R55 is more cost than truck, but reuseable M5ODR-1s are easy to find. I know all the parts which need to be swapped, so at end of day, the only remnant of the auto would be the sticker on the door.

And one can't modify the Federal sticker legally, so it remains the way it is.

For the experts:

Here's an interesting swap question - does the Miata transmission bolt to Ranger engine? Or does one swap the entire engine/transmission combo? How different does a Miata 1.8 look from a Ford Duratec?! Just like an Explorer 5.0/auto bolts into Ranger, might the Miata powertrain? (Not something we would normally contemplate, but if you had parts??)

 

[adsm08]

I'm pretty sure the 1.8 is the same as the 2.0/2.3 with a different stroke and bore. It should just go in.

 

[pjtoledo]

you can take the VIN to Ford dealer/parts and they can tell you what it had from the factory.

 

[Ranger850]

So he got a truck with a bad tranny and the one he bought is different than his bad one? And there are about 5 versions of this m5od, depending on what motor and 2wd/4wd? And @don4331 suggests that he may have to manually shift his automatic transmission? This isn't confusing at all

 

[don4331]

And there are about 5 versions of this m5od, depending on what motor and 2wd/4wd?

There are at least 10 versions of the m5od; 7 of which could also be found OEM with either 2 or 4wd output

2.3/2.5 Lima; 4wd option
2.3 Duratec
3.0 Vulcan; 4wd option
2.9/4.0 Cologne; 4wd option
4.0 Cologne SoHC - one extra bell housing bolt hole but otherwise same as OHC Cologne; 4wd option
5.0 Windsor aka M5od-R2 imperial bell housing bolt holes; 4wd option
4.2 Essex, M5od-R2 metric bell housing bolt holes; 4wd option Technically, there's 2 version of this with slight variant in shifter location.
3.8 89-93 SC M5od-R2 low 1st (3.75:1)
3.8 94-95 SC M5od-R2 high 1st (3.42:1)
4.6 M5od-R2; 4wd option

I'm curious as to whether jdunne03 could have a Miata drive train swapped in. As adsm08 commented it would just bolt in.

 

[Ranger850]

holy crap

 

[ZeroHour]

Well crap. Until now I didn't know the M5OD had 4wd options.