Which parts, OEM or...?

[9723]

My ,97 2.3L XLT finally needs a throw-out bearing. If I'm going to pull the trans out I think I should do it all....the front seal, clutch, pressure-plate and and slave cylinder.

Should I buy OEM or Exedy? I've used exedy clutches before on other vehicles, but their slave cylinder is considerably more then the OEM version.

Thanks!

 

[RobbieD]

OEM parts are usually my first choice, especially on certain things that matter more (ignition parts, sensors, and internal or hard to change parts).

That being said, I'm also a cheap bastard, and on some parts I'll weigh carefully the cost and perceived quality of aftermarket parts. I've done two clutches recently, and used Vallejo parts for one (2.9L) and LUK and Perfection Clutch parts for the other (4.0L). It was a case of what was available at the time. and what the costs were. On both clutch jobs there were no parts issues, and I'm completely happy with my parts choices.

Maybe I'm off base here, but I do prefer cast aluminum slave and master cylinders over the plastic-body ones. My trucks are kept stock; I also tend to choose replacement parts that are comparable to the stock parts.

I agree with your wanting to take care of the other things while you're doing this, and good luck!

 

[Uncle Gump]

It's really sad that service parts are such a crap shoot these days... it shouldn't be that way. But build it as cheap as you can to maximize profits is the way it works now days.

It's been years since I've replaced a clutch... but I installed LUK the last time I was in there.

 

[adsm08]

I have no experience with Exedy parts.

My last few slaves have been Perfection, and all but one lasted at least 10 years.

 

[9723]

I don't think my slave is broken, just the throw-out bearing....that's 23 years, but only 167k miles. I've had it since 2001.

Exedy is the actual OEM manufacturer for many imports. I'm wondering if the Mazda/Ford is one of them?
.

 

[adsm08]

I don't think my slave is broken, just the throw-out bearing....that's 23 years, but only 167k miles. I've had it since 2001.

Exedy is the actual OEM manufacturer for many imports. I'm wondering if the Mazda/Ford is one of them?
.

Ford has used LUK parts for clutch systems for as long as I can remember.

 

[9723]

Ford has used LUK parts for clutch systems for as long as I can remember.

...and the Ranger is a Mazda product purchased by Ford. Mazda manufactured in Minnesota and New Jersey. Many imports have been manufactured in the US for a long time now. It's owned by Ford but the Ranger since '94 is a Mazda B series truck with a few minor trim changes. Same engine, trans and most everything else is the same. Mazda also made the Ford Courier earlier.
.

 

[adsm08]

...and the Ranger is a Mazda product purchased by Ford. Mazda manufactured in Minnesota and New Jersey. Many imports have been manufactured in the US for a long time now. It's owned by Ford but the Ranger since '94 is a Mazda B series truck with a few minor trim changes. Same engine, trans and most everything else is the same. Mazda also made the Ford Courier earlier.
.

Mazda mad the Courier, but the 94+ Ranger is a Ford built by Ford for Ford, using some Mazda parts, namely the manual transmission, and the 2.3L from 01 up. The whole rest of the truck is Ford to the bones. The 94+ Mazda B-series is a re-badged Ford.

In case you want to question me on that....

The 94 body is the same as the 93 body.

The frame for 93-97 is largely unchanged from the 83-92, except the front frame horns for the bumper mounting.

Available engines were the 2.3L Lima, which Ford was using since the early 70s, the 3.0 Vulcan, which Ford designed and built originally in the 80s for the Taurus platform, and the 4.0, which is in the Cologne family, which traces it's roots to Ford's Germany division and it's production of the Tanus V4 in the 60s.

Available axles were the Ford 7.5 and 8.8. The 7.5 was in the Mustangs and other small cars, the 8.8 used in the Rangers was a lighter duty version of the light duty axle used in the F-100s and F-150s starting in 1980. A variant was also used in the Crown Vic cars.

Automatic transmission? Bordeaux series transmissions designed by Ford built in the plant in Bordeaux France. I have actually met the guy who was the production supervisor of the 5R55 assembly line in the late 90s. He was one of my customers for a few years, cool guy, and actually knew what he was talking about most of the time, but could admit when he didn't, unlike most customers.

The M5OD was the only Mazda designed and built unit used in a Ranger between 94 and 2000 until the 2.5 Lima was killed and replaced with the 2.3 Duratec which is a Mazda L series engine.




And interestingly, the Mazda manual transmission in question was never used in an actual Mazda product.

 

[9723]

My '97 Ranger: 2.3L 5-speed

"For the 1994 model year, Ford commenced production of the Ranger for Mazda, who began to sell the model line as the B-Series pickup truck (effectively in reverse of the 1972-1982 agreement that produced the Ford Courier)."

sourced here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Ranger_(Americas)#Second_generation_(1993–1997)

It's a Mazda assembled by Ford. Ford has been outsourching parts from all over the place for a long time. That's one of the reasons they still made a profit when the other American car companies didn't....It's a great truck, one of the most reliable around if not mistreated.

 

[9723]

I'm looking trans parts for mine not anybody else's.

 

[racsan]

Id go with o.e.m. parts, you never know how long any replacement part is going to last, but (generally) a oem part has a better chance of lasting longer. clutch parts are a pain and time consuming to change, this aint a alternator or thermostat.

 

[adsm08]

My '97 Ranger: 2.3L 5-speed

"For the 1994 model year, Ford commenced production of the Ranger for Mazda, who began to sell the model line as the B-Series pickup truck (effectively in reverse of the 1972-1982 agreement that produced the Ford Courier)."

sourced here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Ranger_(Americas)#Second_generation_(1993–1997)

It's a Mazda assembled by Ford. Ford has been outsourching parts from all over the place for a long time. That's one of the reasons they still made a profit when the other American car companies didn't....It's a great truck, one of the most reliable around if not mistreated.

Right. The B-series is a Ford, assembled by Ford, from Ford parts, sold under the Mazda name.

 

[9723]

Thanks for the help with parts.