1990 F150 4.9, 130,000 original miles by me.

Hey all I'm starting to get the feeling its time for a new tranny, but before I make that leap I wanted the FTE experts opinions first. In the last month I noticed as I cruised in OD (5th) if I let off the accelerator it would drop out of gear and into neutral.

I had a weekend planned for a little TLC on my truck, new brakes, brake lines, oil change etc...So i decided to change the Tranny fluid as well and see if it made any difference in my OD issue. A few days of driving and OD is the same and now I can't find reverse without fighting and grinding for a bit. It seems to be getting worse. I used ATF tranny fluid when I did the change, using the one the boyz at Advanced Auto suggested. I did notice when I drained the fluid it was yellowish, and the new stuff I put in was red if that tells ya anything.

The drain plug had a thick buildup of greasy muck on it with the usual tiny shavings and one thin piece of chewed metal about a inch long. It looked like what could be the remenants of a spring from the shifter bushing. So did I screw up something using the wrong tranny fluid or is my tranny just giving up the ghost? What say you all??

Thanks!

Brian

 

Popping out of gear is usually a sign that internal bushings are slopped out.

ATF is the correct fluid for the M5OD. It doesn't make much diff which type you use.

 

When you say internal bushings do you mean the ones at the base of the shifter? Thanks,
Brian

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...rs-update.html Have a read here, may help.

 

Bushing kit ordered, Thank you all.

Brian

 

No, I mean the bushings (and/or bearings) that keep the input and output shafts and the cluster gear aligned inside the transmission.