Wanted M50D-R1 HD

[drivenyam]

So Sunday was wonderful. My son calls me on the way to church to tell me his transmission has just stopped giving power. Luckily he was just a few short blocks away from a buddy's house and they were able to push it to his house to park it. We have now officially got it to our house and are going to start the disassembly today to pull out the transmission. I'm wanting to see about swapping the transmission that's in there to the HD version. I would prefer someone near us so I can avoid shipping, but does anyone have an M50D-R1 HD sitting around? I know it's a long shot, but I thought I would ask. Thanks guys

 

[Uncle Gump]

Are you sure it's the transmission and not just a clutch job?

 

[RonD]

HD version was only available for the 4.0l engines, and since bell housing is integrated into the M5ODs an HD can't be used on any other engine size.

And HD only meant it had an extra bolt hole in bell house matching the extra bolt in the 4.0l SOHC engine, internally it was the same

So to use ANY M5OD-R1 you need it to match engine size FIRST
And THEN it needs to match 2WD or 4x4, no easy conversion between the two

Other thing to consider if 2WD, speedometer hookup, if 1986-1997 it needs a transmission with speedo hook up, so 1988-1997 M5OD-R1
If 2001-2011 then it needs a transmission with an OSS(speed sensor), 2WD or 4x4, so 2001-2011 M5OD-R1
1998-2000 can use any year M5OD-R1(that fits) as it gets speed from rear axle

2..8l, 2.9l, and 4.0l Ranger engines used the same bell housings

2.3l and 2.5l Lima engines used the same bell housings

3.0l Vulcan V6 didn't match any other engine

2.3l Durtatec 4cyl also didn't match any other engine

car-part.com is a good place to look for used car/truck parts


The only problem these transmissions had and it wasn't common, was that the input shaft gear would strip
You would lose ALL gears EXCEPT for 4th gear, its direct drive and doesn't use input gear
So you can test for that, if it moves in 4th then its the input gear, which requires full rebuild to repair

As said above "no gears" could be clutch, and if 4x4 then transfer case as well

 

[Craig0320]

I beat the living crap outta my 98 5 speed and never had a problem. Sold it with a ton of miles on it too.

 

[rubydist]

iirc, the HD variant had slightly taller ratios in 1st and 2nd compared to the standard model, so they were not identical inside.

 

[RonD]

+1 ^^^

Yes, the 4.0l Rangers were the only ones that got the HD models(2011 and up) and they always had different ratios than the ones that were used in 3.0l or 4cyl Rangers
But there was no "heavy duty" differences

 

[drivenyam]

So, it is a 4.0l and 4x4. I am aware they won't work on the other engines. I appreciate that info.

While we are still working on removing the tranny, I am pretty sure it's not the clutch as I do have experience with that issue AND there was already a concern about the input shaft prior to this issue.

I was simply looking to see if anyone had the HD version. If not, I will certainly try to rebuild or whatever I have to do to this one. Thank you for your helpful information. We really appreciate you.

 

[RonD]

IMO, you would be no better off with the HD version, but.............................maybe easier to come by a newer one, 2001-2011 Ranger 4.0l 4x4 or Mazda B4000 4x4

But make sure you get it complete with shifter and arm as the HD model was different than the older 4.0l one

Article here on the differences: https://www.therangerstation.com/Magazine/January2011/M5OD-R1HD_swap.shtml