The bleeder screw and hydraulic line are connected to the slave cylinder/throw out bearing. Not the transmission its self. They will move

 

Picture of my 1-2 & 3-4 shift forks. How bad is the wear on these? I have ordered new ones, but I was wondering what you folks might think. Thanks in advance for any input you may have. Have a good weekend.

 

phoskins, your forks look just like mine. They look brand new to me!

I found some photos of worn forks. My forks pretty much looked like the ones on the right.

 

warren561 - I see some definite wear on the one on the left in my photo, but in general, they don't look too bad. Have you had any luck fixing your problem? I'm able to get mine into first gear if I shift right as I'm coming to a stop, but still moving. After I'm at a dead stop, gears 1, 2, and 3 are often seemingly inaccessible. While stopped, about 50-75% of the time, if I put it into 4th, then move it up & over it will go into first gear. Are you able to select any gear when the ignition is off? With the ignition off, I can move through all the gears without a problem. The other day, when I was trying to get it into gear at a n intersection, I finally shut the truck off, put it into first gear, then re-started it.

 

Look up failing pilot bearing, had that on a old truck with the same trans, couldnt get it into gear at stops unless i turned off the engine or pushed it hard into 3rd or 4th then quickly to 1st.

 

Riding around with your hand on the shifter will get you the wear like the ones on the left.

 

I've owned my 92 since 1996. I've always had the same shift problem going into 1 or 2nd if I allow the truck to come to a complete stop - I then must shift into 3rd or 4th first and then go to 1st gear. More likely to go into gear while still rolling. Recently had the top cover off to replace the rubber plugs - shift forks looked new. Clutch is fine, feels great and tranny only has 113k. I'm just chalking it up to a quirk of the M5OD and don't plan on doing anything else. I've pretty much got use to it and don't really even notice the problem anymore because I make sure it is in gear before stopping.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3fordasho

I've owned my 92 since 1996. I've always had the same shift problem going into 1 or 2nd if I allow the truck to come to a complete stop - I then must shift into 3rd or 4th first and then go to 1st gear. More likely to go into gear while still rolling. Recently had the top cover off to replace the rubber plugs - shift forks looked new. Clutch is fine, feels great and tranny only has 113k. I'm just chalking it up to a quirk of the M5OD and don't plan on doing anything else. I've pretty much got use to it and don't really even notice the problem anymore because I make sure it is in gear before stopping.

3fordasho - I'm glad it's not been a genuine problem for you. I've only become concerned because it's just gotten worse over the past few months. I first replaced the shifter bushings which certainly helped tighten the shifter up.

ifrythings, Thanks - someone else mentioned pilot bearings elsewhere on FTE. I guess when I'm ready to look at the clutch, I can get into this.

eakermeld, you are correct. I don't use the shifter for an armrest, but no telling what the previous owners did for the first 160k miles of the truck's life! Mine don't look bad for the number of miles, I think.

I guess I won't worry about it a whole bunch right now. I'll live with it and read up on clutches, maybe I'll change it & the pilot bearing eventually.

Since this is a Mazda-designed transmission, I will go on record as saying that the older Mazdas my friends have owned were all very reliable, and the first-gen B2000(?) my friend had took a beating and lasted a long time. Ford trucks obviously have equal or better reliability. Aside from having trouble getting into 1, 2 & 3 from a dead stop, I've enjoyed the 5-speed and find it rather fun to drive.

Thanks guys.

 

I still haven't been able to get my clutch bleeder screw off.

I took off the access plug and its dry in there. Doesn't look like the slave is leaking. Clutch pedal is always super firm. I'm going to try to get to bled anyway.

If, after bleeding, it still exhibits the same symptoms (can't get into 1st or 2nd while stopped with engine idling), I'll assume its a failing pilot bearing.

I've done a quick google on M5OD pilot bearings and there's a ton of threads on the Explorer forums about it. And, my symptoms match up with the failing pilot bearing issue.

Probably just going to wait until it gets worse and then drop the transmission. Then change the rear main seal, pilot bearing, throwout bearing, slave cylinder, clutch disk, pressure plate, and flywheel. Might as well since the transmission will already be pulled out.

 

I did a bit more troubleshooting today.

With the gear shift boots removed so I can hear through the access panel...

Clutch pedal down, transmission in neutral, engine started, no bearing noises. I can shift into any gear no problem.

The moment I let the pedal up, I start hearing some bearing noises.

Put the pedal down, the bearing noise slowly begins to wine down. Takes about 5 seconds. During the 5 seconds it will not go into any gear. After the 5 seconds it will go into any gear, but you really have to force it.

It sounds to be like the pilot or throwout bearing is sticking to the input shaft a little bit?

I found this PDF to help troubleshoot which bearing could be faulty... I will try do follow this procedure once I get the bench seat back in and I can go for a test drive. <cite class="_ie">www.skf.com/binary/57-61883/TT08_003.pdf</cite>

The problem is, even if I am able to narrow down that the pilot bearing is bad, if I have to drop the transmission to get inside the bell housing, I'm going to just replace everything within eyesight.

Ugh. This is going to get expensive... maybe I ought to start looking for a ZF now..

 

I took the truck into a local transmission shop this morning. The owner and I took a drive. Diagnosis is a bad release bearing and bad clutch plate. He speculates that the fingers are "rusty" so they don't move as they should and the clutch isn't fully releasing.

320$ in labor and another 300$ in parts. New clutch friction disk, new pressure plate, resurfaced flywheel, new bearings, and new slave cylinder.

I asked for as much Sachs parts as possible...

 

warren561 - That's a bummer, but at least you have the peace of mind that it will be fixed correctly. You have done a smart thing. From what I can tell, mine is not as bad as yours.... yet.

$600 is just ONE PAYMENT on a new vehicle... (depending on what it is).

Best wishes, I hope your truck works perfectly for years to come!

 

Got the truck back from the shop today. In the end it came to a little over $650 out the door. I had them change the rear main seal also. phoskins is right, $650 is less than a payment on a new truck and the new clutch should last me another 100k miles.

I'm pleased. It shifts nicely now. The clutch feels a lot lighter than before! It's extremely light. Clutch engages with the pedal about an inch or two off the floor.

They did a pretty decent job. Oddly enough my oil cap is now missing now. I suspect they may have drained the oil and then put it back in and forgot to put the cap back. I went back and they couldn't find it. They're getting me a new one...

 

warren561, I assume you're talking about the rear main seal on the engine, right?

I'm glad you got it fixed. Chances are they have a warrantee on their labor in case anything goes wrong in the next year or less.

phoskins

 

Yup.

Although, now that the rear main seal is replaced, I'm seeing the oil seeping from all the other seals too! Self-oiling chassis.

For the $650, I got parts & labor:
LUK clutch kit (slave, throwout bearing, release bearing, clutch, pressure plate)
Resurfaced Flywheel
Rear Main Seal
Bled clutch
New transmission fluid

Not bad, I think.