I have a 5spd 2.9L V6 4x4 1990 Bronco II with about $168k miles on it. Bought it 2 years ago with 149k miles. Its transmission has always beel a little noisy, but has always held up. Only problem it had before was the clutch not working once. Turned out to be the clutch fluid. Now it occasionally has issues, but pumping the clutch helps.

Here's what it does now: Occasionally, it will be verey hard to put into gear. Increasing engine speed helps this. Sometimes when starting from a stop, it will catch something and buzz, but, continuing to engage the clutch will engage the gears normally and it'll work.
And now for the major killer: 4th gear has always been the smoothest and most powerful gear to use. Not anymore. It will pop out of gear at whim, usually, when its not under stress. And it will resist going into gear, grinding terribly unless it is eased in, and even then it usually gives a few pops before settling in. I have to hold the shifter firmly in 4th gear in order to keep it there.

So does anyone know exactly what's wrong and what I could do about it? Transmission work is a scary thought financially, but I start a summer job next week.

 

i have an 86 BII 2.9 4x4 % speed,mitsubishi tranny.
Same exact thing was happening to mine,when just cruising,4 th would pop right out of gear& made a bearing noise that got worse in time.
Ended up pullin the tranny out,replacing it with a remanufactured one.
When i pulled the old one out,the front shaft was so loose you could almost pull it out & the pilot bearing was completly gone.
I shopped around for rebuilds & used ones,cheepest i could find was 1200$ for a used one & rebuilds were all well over 1500$ minumum,somne said could go to over 2500$ for a rebuild cause the parts are expensive for those tranny's.
I found good place though on the internet,750$ for a remanufactured transmission gauranteed 1 year/12,000 miles.
Ive put the new tranny in,im real happy with it,couldnt beat the price,only thing is,they charged me a core charge of 150$ till i sent back the old one,they payed the return shipping,cost me 95$ to ship the new one here,wich in the end,cost me a total of845$
Here is the address & e mail & phone # if ya need it
Allstate Gear company
4717 south Zarzamora street
San Antonio Texas 78211
phone #'s-210-922-7901
toll free-800-577-1346

email david@allstategear.com[/email]
Website-Allstategear.com

P.S.You have to call or e mail them to find out if they have your transmission,there website must be way out of date,doesnt show the FM145 mistsubishi 4x4 tranny i got from them,you could possibly have the Mazda tranny also,just e mail or call them,they'll tell you if they have your unit,they also sell parts for transmission if you decide to rebuild yourself,also, I found a problem why alot of those trannies go bad,theres a hose,used as a breather,comes out of the top of the tranny,connects to a hose from the transfer case,a type of breather hose,problem is,the transmission takes gear oil,the transfer case takes automatic transmission fluid,if the tranny fluid gets into the transmission,eats seals & bearings up & thins out the gear oil,make sure when you put the tranny in,dont connect the hoses again,i put a little oil type breather on the end of each hose seperate

 

Another thing I was wondering, if an auto transmission is available at less expense somewhere, is it feasible for a guy who's never done this to retrofit it?

 

you would be better off havin another bronco for parts,would need the shifter,cable, speedo gear right for the gears in the truck,ect ,also,the auto's are much more sluggish & power robbing & worse gas mileage,everyone that has the auto in the BII says its a dog,no power & shifts too quick

 

Don't go there! Besides being slow it cost me $1200 to have mine rebuilt.

Stan

 

Ok, screw the auto, thanks for the info.

Is it at all possible just to have the fourth gear fixed/replaced? Seems senseless to scrap the whole thing.

 

Good advice..fordcwazyguy,,,, exelent post my friend!! thank you for spending the time to do all that work and letting us know here in this forum..great job!!!i'm gonna print that ..just som i know,,thanx again my friend!!!! BM

 

Please do yourself a favor keep the manual transmission . I've had 2 manuals that served me very well now I have an A4ld nightmare I'm swicthing it out for a manual in my 87 B11 . Also it would be a good Idea to replace your clutch slave cylinder while your in there sounds like it could use it. Keep it on it's wheels , gnfshn1218

 

my mazda 5speed cost 700$ from b&d transmissions of spokane wa. shop around & save. bob

 

Ok, couldanyone tell what all vehicles' transmissions would be compatible? So far there's Bronco II, Ranger, and Mazda. Is it only the transmission for one engine size, or are there other engines with the same tranny?

 

Good price Robert,did that include any shipping or core charge?Or was it close to your homestead?
Your welcome baddmove,i love these kind of forums,very imformative from people who have gone thruogh the same problems you are,you can always get good advice in these forums,not like calling a shop & all they tell you is,"well,just bring it in,we'll check it out & tell you whats wrong",costing you a pocket full.
You can pretty much find a good forum on any subject you need info on,& it cost you NOTHING eccept for your monthly internet fee

gnfshn1218,good advice too,i replaced mine too,if you dont,the old clutch slave cylinder is worn acording to the old cluctch,good possiblity with the new cluch & plate with good pressure,the seal will blow then you will be pulling the transmission back out again,not fun,just gotta share a little story,,i went to work,had the transmission all ready to go in,my 17 yr old son said,"ill get it in while your at work pop,",i was happy about him wanting to do it but,got home ,cluctch was slippin,ended up tearin it back out,son put cluctch plate in backwards,lol,cant get on him for the mistake,we all made mistakes ,,Live N Learn,lol

 

830$ CORE & SHIPPING

Bob

 

yea..your right fordcwazyguy..this is a GREAT place..i have fixed some probs. on my BII and it has cost me very little..everyone..KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!

 

Hey Robert Ruth

Does your Mazda Tranny eat front bearings like there is no tomorrow? I bought a new BII in 1984 and went through 3 sets of bearing before I hit 11,000 miles and a 4th set at 15,000. Sold it back to Ford in a trade-in rather than repairing it.