Best brand of Remanufactured Manual Transmission?

[Dave18]

Is there any kind of consensus on the best brand of reman transmissions? It looks like Napa and Auto Parts Warehouse use Pro-King, and AutoZone seems to source from Zumbrota Bearing and Gear. Does anyone have experience with these brands?

I am correct in assuming that a remanufactured trans should be more reliable than having one rebuilt, right?

Thanks in advance everyone!

 

[Craig0320]

That is a really good question that I would like to know also. I can't find a shop I trust around here that rebuilds them and some won't even touch them.

 

[Denisefwd93]

Swap in a m5od or sell it and get a manual shift truck!

 

[Dave18]

Sorry - I should clarify that it is a manual with the M5OD-R1. I'd like to find a remanufactured version to replace it with since I'm getting what I think is a lot of input bearing noise as well as noise in every gear but 4th, which makes me think there may be a couple bearings wearing out...

 

[Denisefwd93]

My mistake. M5s are pretty easy to find at yards,. You also want/need to replace the flywheel and clutch components,. If you have the FW resurfaced make sure you get a shim from the shop.

I have one from my truck sitting in my shed. I thought I'd try rebuilding it someday but the one we put in my truck seems okay for now.

 

[adsm08]

On an automatic a reman is more reliable than a field rebuild, almost every time.

On a manual there are fewer things to go wrong, less to break or wear out inside. If your noise goes away in 4th it is either the pocket bearing, which is common, or a counter shaft bearing, as all become unloaded in 4th gear. The speed gears don't usually wear out as long as things are lubed properly, just the bearings and blocker rings.

 

[Dave18]

Ah okay. So maybe it would make more sense to just have my existing transmission rebuilt locally or something? Another reason I was looking into the remanufactured ones is that it seems a lot easier... Since I daily drive the truck I thought I could just order the "new" unit and swap it out in a weekend with less downtime. Is there a lot of risk to doing that? I'm assuming it would cost a little more, but my main goal is reliability as my wife and I use the truck for a lot of camping and road trips.

 

[adsm08]

Yes, it would be faster, price may be a wash if you have to have someone do it for you.

If I don't get interrupted I can tear an M5OD down, rebuild, and have it ready to go back in in an afternoon. If you take the trans somewhere it will probably take most of a week, but that guy is probably going to be getting interrupted too.

 

[Dave18]

I'm definetely not to that level of skill, although I would love to try rebuilding one for the sake of learning. If I didn't need it to get to work everyday I'd be much more inclined to try!

Really I just don't want to go with the wrong brand and end up worse off than I started...

 

[adsm08]

I'm definetely not to that level of skill, although I would love to try rebuilding one for the sake of learning. If I didn't need it to get to work everyday I'd be much more inclined to try!

Really I just don't want to go with the wrong brand and end up worse off than I started...

These really are the easiest trans I have ever worked on. They are incredibly simple to rebuild, but you have to have a press to do it.

I would look and see if you can get a Jasper reman.

Alternatively if you can pull one from a yard and get it rebuilt by a good local shop, then install that one. They really are fairly common.

 

[RedwoodRanger]

I am curious what you ended up doing. I have the same manual transmission in my 4.0L 92 ranger. It won't shift into first and I am not going to rebuild myself. I have heard poor things about Jasper. Any more thoughts on the issue in regards to brands? Not too worried about the price, I just want a quality reman and would like to not have to do it twice. Although, now I am thinking of throwing a junk yard tran in for the time and having mine remanned.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I am curious what you ended up doing. I have the same manual transmission in my 4.0L 92 ranger. It won't shift into first and I am not going to rebuild myself. I have heard poor things about Jasper. Any more thoughts on the issue in regards to brands? Not too worried about the price, I just want a quality reman and would like to not have to do it twice. Although, now I am thinking of throwing a junk yard tran in for the time and having mine remanned.

If you are mechanically inclined the M5OD is a pretty straightforward trans to work on.

I rebuilt mine in my basement last winter.

Shop manual is in here, thrid one down under manual transmissions:

https://www.therangerstation.com/how-to/transmission-transfer-case-driveshaft/

 

[RedwoodRanger]

If you are mechanically inclined the M5OD is a pretty straightforward trans to work on.

I rebuilt mine in my basement last winter.

Shop manual is in here, thrid one down under manual transmissions:

https://www.therangerstation.com/how-to/transmission-transfer-case-driveshaft/

Thank you for the reply. I found on from Auto Zone that has a 1 year warranty. I think it is manufactured by MidWest and like $1300 after core. Anyway, I don't have the time to learn how to rebuild it right now, I just need a quick fix so I can get to and from work. I plan on doing the clutch too.

Any advice on trans fluid? I have heard its better to run synthetic.

 

[gri]

What are some reliable sources for rebuild kits for the m5od-r1? I have '92 3.o

 

[Shran]

Any advice on trans fluid? I have heard its better to run synthetic.

Any old Mercon V ATF is good, synthetic is not necessary. I end up with a lot of random fluids from yard sales and stuff, mine has a mix of Mercon V and Chrysler ATF+4 in it right now and all is well. I've run 5w-30 engine oil in them before with mixed results - a couple actually shifted a lot better but others did not. Something to experiment with anyway.

What are some reliable sources for rebuild kits for the m5od-r1? I have '92 3.o

I believe Cobra Transmission is a preferred vendor of several people on here - I got my rebuild kit on eBay and saved quite a few bucks but had issues with it and the seller was hard to work with. YMMV.