Pulled this out of the bottom M5OD

[Pyromancer]

Went to change the oil out in my 94 Mazdaa B4000’s M50D found this attached to the drain plug. Any guesses on what it’s from or how soon the trans is going to die? Everything seems fine for now.

https://i.imgur.com/YNsGWyL_d.jpg?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium

 

[adsm08]

Looks like it was a thrust washer/bearing. Something is a little loose right now, but you could go for years without a catastrophic failure.

Or it could blow up tomorrow.


If the trans is out right now I would try to figure out where it came from and fix it before re-installing.

 

[4x4junkie]

It's the wavy spring from under the old shifter bushings (in the shift tower) that likely have long since disintegrated (is the shift lever all floppy?).

Since it appears to have made it out of your trans OK via the magnet, most likely you can ignore it.

 

[Pyromancer]

Trans is not out. I just got the truck and have been doing maintenance on it. Not being sure when trans oil was swapped last I figured I would do it.

Ring came out in two pieces. I thought it was just bent funny but trying to piece it back together it seems like it may have had an odd bend to it initially. Not sure if they shift lever is floppy or what is meant by that.

Sorry for the huge I can't seem to resize it here.

 

[4x4junkie]

By "floppy", I mean, is the shifter handle loose and moves around with tons of slop? Or does it shift firmly into each gear?

If it shifts OK, then evidently someone already replaced the shifter bushings when the old ones gave out, but either they didn't get all the old parts out, or (as sometimes happens), the parts simply fell into the trans after the bushings were gone, never to be seen again (until the magnetic drain plug is removed).
It's not an unusual circumstance with these transmissions. The OE bushings typically last around 10-15 years, and yours is well beyond that.

If you're worried about more debris being in there, I'd say pull the top cover off and look inside. Chances are good though, anything left has already been caught up by the magnet.

A step-by-step on bushing replacement is here:
http://www.therangerstation.com/Magazine/winter2007/shifterbushings.shtml
The pic there shows 4 metal rings of two types, however when I did this on my '94, I recall there being only two rings (one each type) that went in under the lower bushing.

 

[RonD]

I pulled out similar from my 1994 M5R1, 6 years ago, still going fine, was a little worried for a year or two
No noise or looseness, and it was first time I change the ATF, so don't know when it "came loose" could have been laying in there since 1994, lol.

 

[Pyromancer]

By "floppy", I mean, is the shifter handle loose and moves around with tons of slop? Or does it shift firmly into each gear?

If it shifts OK, then evidently someone already replaced the shifter bushings when the old ones gave out, but either they didn't get all the old parts out, or (as sometimes happens), the parts simply fell into the trans after the bushings were gone, never to be seen again (until the magnetic drain plug is removed).
It's not an unusual circumstance with these transmissions. The OE bushings typically last around 10-15 years, and yours is well beyond that.

If you're worried about more debris being in there, I'd say pull the top cover off and look inside. Chances are good though, anything left has already been caught up by the magnet.

A step-by-step on bushing replacement is here:
http://www.therangerstation.com/Magazine/winter2007/shifterbushings.shtml
The pic there shows 4 metal rings of two types, however when I did this on my '94, I recall there being only two rings (one each type) that went in under the lower bushing.

No slop that I have noticed. I remember thinking the bolts securing the boot to the floor looked new as well. I may pull it off when I get a chance but after reading your post I found pictures and a YouTube video of someone replacing the bushings. That does look like one of the springs to me as well. So here is hoping that's all it is. I will likely go to the local pick n pull here next time they have a big sale and just pull a backup trans to be safe looks like there's a good 20 year range I can pick from anyway.

Also thanks everyone for replying, putting me a lot more at ease here. =)

 

[4x4junkie]

No problem, good luck on it.

I think from this point forward it'll be fine, but FYI, if your truck is 2WD (you didn't mention and I don't see it on your profile), that will limit you to 1990-1997 models for another trans (later ones will not have the port for your speedometer gear).
If yours is 4x4 though, then yeah, anything from 1990-2011 4.0L should bolt up and work (the speedo is on the 4WD transfer case).