Trans identifier

[SenorNoob]

FM146 should be 80/90...

The thicker oil covers lots of wear/damage.

 

[MattyT406]

Well it's a start anyway. No going back now.

 

[Shran]

FM146 should be 80/90...

The thicker oil covers lots of wear/damage.

No - 80w90 is terrible in these in cold weather especially! They shift like crap, the oil is too thick.

Synchromesh MTF from O'Reilly or engine oil is best.

 

[Brain75]

I haven't touched the FM145/6 but I was curious about this so I googled... a couple places I found people claiming that Ford changed (in 1989) to ATF and published a TSB stating so... yet Haynes, the shop manual, tran rebuild shops, everywhere still specify 80w.... Couldn't find the TSB myself. If it had ATF in it (and several other 89 folks said theirs did), I would dig around to try to find the TSB a little harder than I did...
FWIW, there is a dozen threads arguing the ATF vs. 80w here, explorer forumn, etc etc - lots of debate to death.

 

[SenorNoob]

I suspect (but have no way to prove) that is mixed up with the M5OD which showed up in 88. Gear oil in an M5OD is very bad. You won't be able to shift gears below 40F. Made that mistake once. I haven't ever put ATF in an FM146 so can't speak to that.

 

[Brain75]

one of the better (but short) threads on FM series and fluids:

FM145 trans fluid

After checking the tech area and searching the trans forum, the most recent post to answer my question is from 07. So I'll take a shot at it now. I have an 89 B2 with 142,000 miles and the fm145 trans. I purchased from the original owner in late Oct, 13. I have every receipt since new! It...

www.therangerstation.com

 

[Shran]

GL-5 rated gear oil (pretty much all of the common stuff) contains sulfur which will erode the bronze synchro rings in ALL the Ranger manual transmissions.
GL-4 is safe but very hard to find, I have only found it in straight 80w and it is terrible in cold weather. Been there, done that, trust me - not good. Don't waste your time.

All of the Toyo Kogo and Mitsubishi transmissions should have either MTF of some sort (Valvoline, Pennzoil, Red Line, etc) or engine oil. 5w30 synthetic is a good choice. I have used Valvoline Synchromesh MTF in several FM-145's and -146's and have been very happy with how it performs in all weather conditions. I probably would not run ATF in these transmissions, too thin.

M5OD's would have had ATF in them from the factory (Dex/Merc III) but you can use MTF or engine oil in them too.

 

[MattyT406]

Parts have been ordered, now I just have to wait impatiently. Really hoping to have it on the road next weekend.

I'm going to run the mtf if I make it that far. Haha

 

[MattyT406]

So I'm chugging away on disassembly and these two little nubbins popped out while I was loosening the countershaft nut. I can't figure out what they are with the parts diagram. Any idea what they are?

Thanks guys.

 

[Shran]

So I'm chugging away on disassembly and these two little nubbins popped out while I was loosening the countershaft nut. I can't figure out what they are with the parts diagram. Any idea what they are?

Thanks guys.

Pretty sure those are shift interlock pins, IIRC there are two threaded plugs on the side of the trans and springs below those plugs, and the pins go under the springs. They prevent the transmission from being in more than one gear at a time.

 

[MattyT406]

Pretty sure those are shift interlock pins, IIRC there are two threaded plugs on the side of the trans and springs below those plugs, and the pins go under the springs. They prevent the transmission from being in more than one gear at a time.

Indeed. They were not labeled in the parts diagram, but were shown in a step in the assembly instructions. Thanks so much for your help! I got it all back together and it runs like a champ.

Whats crazy is i found a shift fork underneath the seat while I was cleaning it out. The shift fork in the trans was completely worn down, and the one under the seat had the same wear. So that's two shift forks with the same problem in a truck with 72k miles? And the clutch appeared newish. So I'm quite nervous that this fix won't last very long, but only one way to find out.

 

[Shran]

Indeed. They were not labeled in the parts diagram, but were shown in a step in the assembly instructions. Thanks so much for your help! I got it all back together and it runs like a champ.

Whats crazy is i found a shift fork underneath the seat while I was cleaning it out. The shift fork in the trans was completely worn down, and the one under the seat had the same wear. So that's two shift forks with the same problem in a truck with 72k miles? And the clutch appeared newish. So I'm quite nervous that this fix won't last very long, but only one way to find out.

That's weird. Shift forks are supposed to float on their slider rings so they will wear if they are constantly pushed against them... IE, if someone drives around with their hand on the shifter all the time. Could also be from wear somewhere else, a bearing maybe, that was causing the transmission to pop out of gear so the previous owner had to hold it in gear. The shifter being messed up & sloppy could certainly have contributed too.

Glad to hear you got it all back together, they are kinda fun to rebuild.

 

[MattyT406]

That's weird. Shift forks are supposed to float on their slider rings so they will wear if they are constantly pushed against them... IE, if someone drives around with their hand on the shifter all the time. Could also be from wear somewhere else, a bearing maybe, that was causing the transmission to pop out of gear so the previous owner had to hold it in gear. The shifter being messed up & sloppy could certainly have contributed too.

Glad to hear you got it all back together, they are kinda fun to rebuild.

Ya i think it went pretty well and it certainly was cool. It really seems like this was a ranch truck, and spent its life in first gear in a field somewhere. But who knows.

I've got about 200 miles in it now, great little pickup it's going to be my buddy for a long time hopefully.

Thanks again for your advice. Six pack on me for sure!