04 manual transmission

[Engine7]

Anybody tried changing fluid in the 5 speed yet to geta smoother shift? This things shifts worse then some big rigs I drove, anybody tried to make it smoother. I am thinking of switching to a synthetic and seeing if that helps. Anybody tried it yet?

 

[MAKG]

Make sure it's RIGHT first. Gear oil will ruin these transmissions. They use ATF.

And there is little point to synthetic ATF.

 

[engdept]

0w30 gear oil will make the M50D's shift like a dream.

 

[Bob Ayers]

Use Mercon, or Mercon V ATF!

 

[MAKG]

0w30 gear oil will make the M50D's shift like a dream.

So tell us, where do you find this magic 0W30 gear oil?

0W30 CRANKCASE oil has about the right viscosity, but an additive package that really doesn't make sense in a transmission.

If you're going to spout myths, at least spout them correctly.

 

[engdept]

sorry I got my oil type mixed up.

There are. U erous people running 0w30 oil in their M50D's; JoelH is one of them.

 

[rboyer]

In my "OPINION" anything is better than gear oil. Thick=BAD Thin=GOOD is the way to think if you don't want to ruin the thing. Whoever designed the M5OD said "These things need ATF to be properly lubricated" and that's the reason I run ATF. Sure there are other lubricants out there that people are running in their transmissions and they may or may not sustain the thing for a long time but whenever I blow up a transmission I want it to be from doing something fun, not from neglect. I could care less if I killed the transmission in my Ranger but it's not going to happen with the wrong fluid in it.

 

[Jason_12_02]

Do ya'll have problems with it not wanting to go into first? mine shifts like a dream while im moving, but sitting at a light or something it just don't want to go into gear. I now know of 5 rangers various years, motors and transmissions that do this.

 

[4x4junkie]

Use Mercon, or Mercon V ATF!

"V" doesn't work so well in these transmissions, use straight Mercon-spec fluid.

 

[MAKG]

Do ya'll have problems with it not wanting to go into first? mine shifts like a dream while im moving, but sitting at a light or something it just don't want to go into gear. I now know of 5 rangers various years, motors and transmissions that do this.

Then they all have sticky pilot bearings or weak slaves.

 

[reginald fairfield]

Do ya'll have problems with it not wanting to go into first? mine shifts like a dream while im moving, but sitting at a light or something it just don't want to go into gear. I now know of 5 rangers various years, motors and transmissions that do this.

Mine is the same, pain in my ass.

 

[Bob Ayers]

"V" doesn't work so well in these transmissions, use straight Mercon-spec fluid.

Mercon is going out of production, so Mercon V works great as a replacement,
in manual trannies, and automatics that call for it.

 

[4x4junkie]

Mercon is going out of production, so Mercon V works great as a replacement,
in manual trannies, and automatics that call for it.

No....

The exact problem as what's being described here has been reported by numerous people after putting V in it. It is NOT 100% compatible. Ford is playing some sort of stupid game with these fluids and all it's done is confused the fawk out of everyone (and probably leading to needless repairs on these trannies due to shifting issues).

Mercon fluid is still just as widely available as before, it's just labeled slightly different to get around Ford's licensing game.

 

[Simple_serf]

The newer ones are fine with Mercon V...the older ones prefer Mercon.

Look in the maual for that year and see. There is a difference in the trans.

 

[Jason_12_02]

yeah, the old mercon is now under the name Dex/Merc. They can't use the words Dexron or Mercon due to legal issues with ford. Carquest sells it as CQO CQ420 or the valvoline is VV324.