FM146 to M5OD swap

[cubewhiz]

UPDATE:

* Transmission installed.
* Transfer case installed.

Major headaches today. I had the transmission just about to go in and noticed a dowel from the donor engine was sitting in one of the bolt holes. What a pain in the ass to get out. :/

Should be able to finish up tomorrow.

 

[adsm08]

Yeah, if those dowels stay in the trans they can be a pain to get out.

 

[adsm08]

I assume the thick wire that went to the 2.9 starter will go to where the large wire was on the 4.0 starter. Is there an existing wire for the small wire to splice into or do I need to fabricate a brand new wire? Where on the 2.9 solenoid (I guess that's what that thing behind my battery is?) does it attach? Thanks.

2.9 starter wire goes to the small terminal from the rear relay post.

I got a 60" run of double-eyes battery cable to run from the forward post to the large starter terminal.

 

[cubewhiz]

Yeah, if those dowels stay in the trans they can be a pain to get out.

wouldnt have been so bad if i noticed with the trans still out, but I noticed it when I was just about clear of the clutch cover and there was no way in hell I was taking it back out from beneath the truck.

 

[adsm08]

yeah. At least you weren't cheap and tried to reuse the slave.

I got to do that clutch job twice in 2 weeks.

 

[cubewhiz]

yeah. At least you weren't cheap and tried to reuse the slave.

I got to do that clutch job twice in 2 weeks.

Yeah, I don't want to go through this again even in the next 2 years.

 

[holyford86]

UPDATE:
* I couldn't get the fitting on the clutch slave to budge, so I got annoyed enough to just cut the line. I ordered a new master cylinder, $55 at Advance Auto, but it will take three days to get it. I hope by that they mean Saturday and not Tuesday. I also hope it will come with a new hose from M/C to the slave. Can anybody confirm this or should I start looking for one?

* Apparently my bellhousing was only held to my engine by THREE bolts, at 9, 11, and 3 o'clock. I suppose this means I am missing three bolts? That's what I get for taking my truck to Meineke for a clutch replacement.

*The M/C does not come with a new hose, you will need to find one

*I had a similar problem, except my bolts fell out on their own, clean out the holes that mount the trans to the block, and put a little dab of loctite on each of the bolts.

 

[adsm08]

Yeah, I don't want to go through this again even in the next 2 years.

That was the 3rd time I'd taken a transmission out in my grandparents garage in late November/December in 2 years. Round two only took me a day and a half, but yeah... After round one (on her truck) the wife (then to be) looked at me and said "When we get our own place, we are getting a lift".


+1 on loctite, it will make it a pain to get them back out if you ever have to, but it will keep them in place.

Some master's do come with lines. It depends on the brand.

 

[cubewhiz]

The master indeed did not come with a new line so I got one at Advance ($65).

Short day today. All I did was hook the exhaust back up, install the tcase skid plate, install the rear driveshaft, and fill the M5OD with approx. 3 qts of Mercon ATF.

Still left to do:
* Wire/install starter
* Install front driveshaft
* Fill the transfer case with ATF
* Install clutch master cylinder/hose/reservoir
* Bleed clutch
* Test.

 

[adsm08]

I'll try to get you some pics of my starter wiring tomorrow.

 

[cubewhiz]

I'll try to get you some pics of my starter wiring tomorrow.

That would be great. Thanks. I have been taking pictures along the way. I have a writeup of the swap in a text file that I'll post as soon as I finish. So far I took over 160 pictures.

 

[adsm08]

Dang. All I got was a pic of my head sticking through the floor board.

 

[cubewhiz]

All done. My hydraulic line kept popping out, so it took me like 6 hours to bleed the clutch. It stayed in during my test drive, so I think it's done being stubborn, but damn.

A full writeup of my experience can be found here. Warning: There are a LOT of pictures.

 

[AllanD]

Hrmm, I'll give that a try. The M5OD seems pretty light, probably less than 100 lbs. Is the FM146 similar? For the T/C, I just pulled it out and lowered it onto my chest. Would I be able to do the same with the tranny?

I have a Muncie 465 sitting on my bench in the garage. It's only about 12 inches long, but it weighs about 175 lbs dry. It made the M5OD a joy to carry over to the truck.

It's about 88lbs.

I manage to ship them on a wooden pallet (purpose made from Spruce 2x3's)
via FedEx and they are consistantly <100# as shipped with 12# of lumber attached to them.

AD