Hey guys, first time posting on this forum. Im having some problems with my 89 f150. I was driving out in the woods in 4x4 and lost my reverse/5th. i know this isn't necessarily uncommon, but no one gives any details on how to actually repair it. got the top cover off the trans now and i have tried to manually shift it into reverse and 5th. Not sure which its going in to, but it will go into one gear and not the other. So i assume its the shift fork. I know how to replace the 12 and 34 shift forks, but do i have to pull the trans apart for the 5r shift fork? Thanks for any replies. I think if i have to pull the trans apart ill probably just go grab one out of the scrapper. Its a bummer because the 12 and 34 shift forks look perfect along with all of the gears, so i suspect outside of this issue that my trans is in great shape. The trans is an M5od mated to a 302

 

I can't remember for sure, but I believe the 5th/Reverse fork comes out through the back when you take the extension housing off.

 

Well that'd be nice. Ill wait for some more input before i go rip off the ext. housing

 

I think that's correct.

 

It is. I once bought a truck with that issue pretty cheap. Figured what did I have to lose and pulled the rear housing. Mine had a gear/bearing issue. Lucked into a used transmission cheap that happened to have different issues. Swapped parts and drove it a couple of years. Worked fine until I sold it. First time ever inside such a manual transmission but it wasn't difficult to figure out.

 

Good to know, thats very reassuring. Ive never done a manny in a car, but I've built engines and split cases on bikes, so i think i should have the skills for the job. Heading to tackle that project now. Thanks everyone for your input