Looking to swap in a 5spd wandering which to go with. Either the zf5 or have heard the mr5 r2 would work but I'm not sure if it will hold up to a 302 being more for the 2.3 rangers.

 

M5OD-R2 would be fine. That's what they came with anyway. The R2 is the beefed up version used in the F150s/Broncos.

 

The f150 302 trucks had the M5R2 as an option as mentioned. Take it a step further, ive ran an efi 351w M5R2 combo for a while now, zero issues and do not baby it in any way.

 

I agree. I have a M5OD-R2 in my '91 F150 with 230,000 miles on it with no issues. Mine is behind a 300, but they are rated at the same torque as a 302.

 

My next question is availability, I know would depend more locally on that. But seems the zf's are harder to find.

 

Under normal use you most likely will not have a problem. If you speed shift and are hard on transmissions it will not matter what tranny you put in there you most likely have problems.

 

Main use will be highway driving, with occasional towing on a 16 ft trailer. So would one be better than the other factor in gas mileage to. I'll probably change later but from the tag it has a 3.25 rear end. Being that the truck is a 360 auto at moment

 

I think the ZF is a stronger transmission, but the M5 will probably be easier to find. I'm not sure what the overdrive gear ratio is in either of them, but I would expect them to be similar... so I would expect similar mileage. I get 15 - 17mpg with my 300/M5/3.25 combo... but I've heard of some guys getting as much as 18 or 19mpg with a 302/M5/3.55 combo.

 

The ZF was made by Spicer (Dana) and is stronger. The M5R2 was made by Mazda and will work under F100 style of hauling or towing. If you use your rig like a F250 then I wouldn't do the M5R2.
One note of caution. On the back of the shift tower on top of the M5R2 trans there are 3 rubber plugs. With age they shrink and fall out. Then some of the tranny's oil comes out. I don't know if this is from splash or if it's because the oil is being slung all around in the tranny. Eventually enough to burn up the tranny. So all that have M5R2s out there check your plugs. All that are going JY hunting, make sure the tranny you're buying is still full of the old oil. If it's pretty low stay away. Then replace with fresh oil of course.

 

Good to know. I'll have to check mine. Thanks for posting this.

 

If you check into Gavin's F100 build

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...s-f100-16.html

he did a MR swap behind a 6cyl but did all the legwork for getting the hydraulic clutch set up installed.