M5R1 won't go in, WTF?

[Natedog]

you pulled the exhaust i assume?

i usually unbolt those 4 bolts in the middle of the radius arm crossmember to allow the two halves to "sag". gives you a few more inches to work with.

Crap, mine sagged upwards. Tried it with wheels in the air, wheels on the ground...nothing realy changed. Looks like maybe unbolt the entire crossmember from both frame rails and let it and the rear of the radius arms hang down. Then unbolt the cat and use a jack to tilt the motor back and down. Anybody tried it this way?

 

[4x4RangerGuy]

Even my Toyota 4x4 with 5 speed and dual tcases ALL bolted together is way easier to R&R than this.

4x4rangerguy, which heat shield did you end up cutting and welding on yours?

I just finished a late dinner and will go back out there, unbolt the center crossmember bolts (and the sway bar mounts....lol) and wrestle this thing a lil bit more. Have to at least try to get er in without removing the exhaust....lol.

Wicked_sludge, Thanks for your fast replies! I'm hip deep in the grease and dirt out there in the driveway. Thank God it's not raining yet.

Well, I have CA emissions on my truck, so I have 3 cats for my year (I have no idea why the guy ordered it with CA emissions...). So, I have a cat. right below the bellhousing/engine where the left side pipe goes to meet the right side pipe. To get the transmission past the cat, I just cut the heat shield off of the cat. and rewelded it after getting the tranny in. The only reason I had to hammer it back to shape was because I tried getting it past with the the shield on...which I did the first time, but had to take the tranny out later that week because the slave died. So, I cut the shield to make things easier.

I can take pics if you'd like me to.

 

[cocoasranger]

On my 89 4x4 Ranger I used a large screwdriver to "lift" the part of the bell housing flange that hangs up on the cross member bolt ends till it cleared them. I also slipped a couple bolts in at the back of the trans and used another big screwdriver between them to rotate the trans as needed as it was lifted over the cross member.

I only disconnected the exhaust after the last flange beyond the rear converter and did not drop the cross member (probably would if doing it again.)

 

[rickcdewitt]

nate,its a pain to get the input shaft seated even after you get the tranny up there.its a huge tranny compared to the others and you'll need all the room you can get.if you take off the exhaust at the manifolds and front of muffler you should be able to sneak that section out.i'de think about removing that radius arm crossmember also if its a pain.its only an hours extra work to remove and install those parts with the right tools.if you've already stuggled for that long i'de say its worth making that step easier for you by getting shit out of the way.

 

[Natedog]

Thanks for all the help guys! Going to crawl under and drop the radius arm crosssmember after a late lunch today.

 

[Jspafford]

Hrm, I have said it once, Ill say it again.

I pulled the stock FM-146 out of my STOCK bronco II, and put the M5OD in place of it without moving anything related to the exhaust. All I had off was the tranny crossemember. I lowered the back of the motor some, and pulled the shift cover off..

Slid right in, I was doing it by myself.

I know everyone always tells me it is BS, and there is no way, but believe me, I did it.

 

[Natedog]

...I pulled the stock FM-146 out of my STOCK bronco II, and put the M5OD in place of it without moving anything related to the exhaust. All I had off was the tranny crossemember. I lowered the back of the motor some, and pulled the shift cover off...

Haven't looked at BII trans crossmember lately. Is it same as Ranger?

Well I just did it by dropping the radius arm crossmember a lil bit. I tilted the motor by pulling on the exhaust cross-over pipe to get the bellhousing past it. Problem is I had to pull the trans back out a bit because the top of the shifter stub retaining sheetmetal was hooked over the sheetmetal of the trans tunnel...aaargh. The shifter is going to be right at the front edge of my existing hole. Looks like I'll need to trim alot of carpet and sheetmetal away from it. Anybody got a before after pic of this hole with the trans in place?

 

[Natedog]

Tranny is in, but I'm worried about the shifter location and that it seems the top of the tranny is touching the bottom of the tranny tunnel. Transfer case is not on yet, so that will prolly sag it down a little more, but it still seems very close. New tranny mount and stock a4ld crossmember. Kinda wondering here...had to cut a piece out of the front right area of the shifter hole (plate from a4ld shifter removed at the moment). Pics:

and one from underneath, floorjack is not touching the transmission, it's all resting on the crossmember and tranny mount. Maybe I need to get a different crossmember? I hope the 4x4 shifter boot and plate is a good bit bigger than the a4ld 4x2 setup was: