Need Forks What transmission is this?

[MicrowavedBread]

So I'm replacing the transmission in my 99 3.0 flex fuel ranger. I bought a transmission off of craigslist and it allegedly came off of a 99 ranger as well.
So my issue is, the fork assembly that was given to me with the trans doesn't fit. So I disassembled the fork assembly and found out the forks are too small in diameter to fit around the coupling sleeves.
Since I don't have the original truck this new to me transmission came out of I can't for the life of me figure out which transmission it is.
The trans that came out of my 99 ranger seems to be an m5r1 but clearly the new one is different and nothing clearly tells me what it is. I believe its an m5r2 but I'm not sure at all.

 

[adsm08]

They are both M5ODs, but I think you are correct that the one with no fork assembly is an R2. It appears to be longer, which is one of the markers of an R2 trans. The R1 is about 7/8s the size of an R2.

 

[RonD]

Label numbers

F87 = 1998 Ranger, A = Light truck division

1L5 = 2001 Ranger, L3 would be F150/250 which would have M5R2

So both should be M5R1, but new one does look much longer

2001 was first year of the M5R1-HD, which had different shifter, and only came with 4.0l bellhousing pattern

 

[MicrowavedBread]

Label numbers

F87 = 1998 Ranger, A = Light truck division

1L5 = 2001 Ranger, L3 would be F150/250 which would have M5R2

So both should be M5R1, but new one does look much longer

2001 was first year of the M5R1-HD, which had different shifter, and only came with 4.0l bellhousing pattern

The bell housings would appear to be identical. So that implies r2 right?

Old on left New on right
Old came off of my 3.0 ranger

 

[adsm08]

The bell housings would appear to be identical. So that implies r2 right?

Old on left New on right
Old came off of my 3.0 ranger
View attachment 25536

No, that implies R1. R2 would have a different bell, it was used behind V8 engines mostly.

 

[MicrowavedBread]

No, that implies R1. R2 would have a different bell, it was used behind V8 engines mostly.

So then why are the forks different? and how would I find the right replacement? searching for m5r1 shift forks returns the same ones i have and m5r1HD returns nothing. unless im just missing something

 

[RonD]

I concur, BOTH bellhousing are for 3.0l Vulcan which had unique pattern, so for sure both are M5R1

3.0l/4.0l seen here: https://therangerstation.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/3-0_vs_4-0_bellhousing.jpg

 

[RonD]

M5R1-HD would only have 4.0l bell housing pattern

I found these 3 part numbers for the 3 shift forks
1-2 shift fork 1L5Z-7230-AA...........1L5 = 2001 Ranger
3-4 shift fork E8TZ-7231-A..............E8T = 1988 multiple vehicles
5-R shift fork F1TZ-7289-B..............F1T = 1991 multiple vehicles

M5R1 was first used in 1988 in Ranger and Bronco II , so
3-4 shift fork never changed, used until 2011
5-R was last updated in 1991
1-2 was updated in 2001 and only Rangers used this transmission at that time, so it got the L5

I am not sure why you are seeing different shift forks???
Its a puzzler

I did look up one M5R2 shift fork, 5-R, XL3Z-7289-AA........XL3 is 1999 F-150/250 so V8 engine usually

Ford uses 7289 part number for the 5-R shift fork in any manual transmission, the Pre-number tells you the year part was first made and what model vehicle unless it was multiple vehicles using same transmission

 

[MicrowavedBread]

This is what i mean by it needs a different shift fork. Thats the 1-2 fork in the 1-2 gear. It fits perfectly on the old trans but not on the new one.
And I used a wire to measure circumference and then divide by pi to get diameter.
Old gear is approximately 119mm diameter and new one is approximately 125mm diameter.
Im very tempted to just grind down this fork's pads to make it fit. Its getting very frustrating not being able to find what I need.
But if you're saying 1L5Z-7230-AA will fit the new one I will definitely just order one.
But I can only find that part number from Fordpartsgiant.com, can't find it on summit, rockauto, or partsgeek.

 

[pjtoledo]

have you compared the gear ratios between the 2 trannys? that may provide a clue about what innards may have been swapped in.

 

[RonD]

I did find another 1-2 shift fork E8TZ-7230-A , 1988 R1 multi vehicle

So yes it does look like there was a change in 2000/1

But that would also mean the 1-2 dog gear size changed, which is odd

Give these guys a call: https://cobratransmission.com/m5r1-1-2-fork-5007042-1

Bet they can tell you what part to get and more important WHY

 

[MicrowavedBread]

I did find another 1-2 shift fork E8TZ-7230-A , 1988 R1 multi vehicle

So yes it does look like there was a change in 2000/1

But that would also mean the 1-2 dog gear size changed, which is odd

Give these guys a call: https://cobratransmission.com/m5r1-1-2-fork-5007042-1

Bet they can tell you what part to get and more important WHY

I think I'm going to grind these pads. Looking at the other part you found it seems like the same thing just smaller pads. Its only about a 2mm difference to each side.
If that doesn't work I'll give them a call and see what they say.
I seriously appreciate the help, you guys are awesome!

 

[RonD]

Thanks

Seems we are "going to school" on this one

No one has chimed in with an "oh yea, there was a different size"

 

[MicrowavedBread]

Thanks

Seems we are "going to school" on this one

No one has chimed in with an "oh yea, there was a different size"

Not yet, there's still time though!
Luckily i've been a machinist for a long time. This should be a cake walk

 

[MicrowavedBread]

For anyone still watching this thread.
The fork has been modified and trans is installed and working like new
Thanks for the help everyone!