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not to long ago I purchased a 1996 f150 5.0 with the m5od manual trans. Truck has always ran great with no issues. A couple days ago when the cold weather hit the truck was having a hard time going into first and sometimes 2nd. Sunday night I got in the truck and it had a real hard time getting in gear. Got it in, came to a stop put it in nuetral and went to put it in gear again. It went into first but was acting like it was still in nuetral. I somehow got it back in gear and parked it.
The next day I drained the fluid and noticed a few small large shards of metal. Now the truck goes into 1, and 2 but will not move. It acts like it’s in nuetral. But will move under 3,4,5 and reverse. I’m thinking the worse and going with the clutch fork is bad and needs a rebuild. But friends are telling me maybe just to bleed the clutch??? Any suggestions. I have a video of what’s going on if that would help explain better lol
OK i will just give my experiences to this situation. It indeed sounds like there might be multiple issues, especially when shards of metal are involved. In my quest to fix up my pickup I had a new clutch and slave cylinder put in. Later I had a new clutch master put in after the hose popped out of the slave and I broke the pushrod trying to push in the clutch (dumb me).
The system worked fine for a while but I ran into a problem slightly like you described - it was unusually difficult to get the truck into 1st or 2nd gear. Reverse would consistently grind. What I'd figured was that the clutch was not disengaging enough. I replaced the line from the master to the slave and it solved my immediate issue. Don't get me started on the whole system though - mine is still FUBAR for sure, the engagement point is like human fingerprints, never the same! But at least it will disengage fully.
So in summation, maybe you started out with a clutch system issue and now it has progressed to a shift fork problem. Hopefully some old heads will pop in and give you a better run down!
My first thoughts are the shift forks since you found metal in the fluid. It is very easy to pull the carpet back and take off the main transmission cover. Then put the shifter in neutral (important) and take the 10 bolts out of the transmission cover and just lift it off and take a look at the forks and rails. If you question the fork condition, post a picture. You should be able to accomplish this task in about 30 minutes. Also there is a rubber gasket for the trans cover and it is reusable. Be careful of loose pins and ball bearings that may have slipped out of position when this happened. Sandy
Firstly, I think you should do everything Sandy suggested. The presence of metal shavings in the trans indicates a larger issue. However, once you've got that problem fixed bleeding the clutch wouldn't be a bad idea. There's instructions all over the internet about the most effective way to do it - I've personally never done it.
So your saying to remove the shifter and take the top half off thru the hole of the floor for the shifter? And kinda just put it aside? Doesn’t look like I would be able to pull the cover up out of the top half.
So your saying to remove the shifter and take the top half off thru the hole of the floor for the shifter? And kinda just put it aside? Doesn’t look like I would be able to pull the cover up out of the top half.
We may take it off later but if you can get the 10 bolt cover out with it on, leave it. There is a cover or pan over the transmission you remove first with screws and pry up because of the sealant around the mounting area, then you have access to the 10 bolt cover. If you have to take the shifter off take the shifter nut off and put the bolt on the opposite side and use the nut and turn it until it lets the shifter come out. You will have to remove the screws that surround the shift boot. There are four. Remember to have the shifter in neutral. Sandy
Here is a picture of the ten bolt cover after removing the pan cover. You can also see the shift bolt I referred to about the shifter removal. There is one electrical connection to unplug when you take the 10 bolt cover off. It is for your reverse lights. If you don't get the full picture, click the top of it and it should show everything.
Below is a picture of a good one and a worn one. I would say from your pictures yours are worn. In the picture the fat part in the rail on the left is much thinner than the right one. The rails fit inside the two pieces in the transmission that are slotted. When they get thin and you shift they start sliding over the slotted area disengaging them. At least that is my understanding. Your most worn one is 1st and 2nd gear which is used more and the source of your issue. You need to replace both of them.
While you are ordering them, pull your shift lever off as I described above and check the shifter parts. I am posting a video of how to replace those parts and it is easy and very effective. I would be more sure about the installation of those parts than what the video shows. Should be available on youtube or from where you order them. My guess after seeing your pictures is those are the pieces you found in the fluid drain. I think they are under 20 bucks.
I would not attempt to remove the forks until you get the new forks so you can get it done while memory is fresh and the sequence makes sense. Let us know when you get them and we can give you some installation tips. There are some parts in the cover you need to be aware of and how to remove them. In the meantime, you might as well get a center punch for those shift forks also.
If you have to use the truck before your parts get to you, you can. I would use a 1st 3rd shift pattern and have a friend on standby. Sandy
One last thing. If you decide to use the truck and you haven't put new trans fluid in, just remove your fill plug and have someone dump the new fluid in the transmission while you watch the fill hole before putting the cover back on. The pan does not need to be on but it will be loud in the cabin. You do not have to remove the fluid when the work is being done. This is one bright side to make this process easier. Sandy
So everything went back together fine and the truck shifts great now. But a couple days after I noticed a fair amount of transmission fluid leaking and took it apart again. Everything was tightened down gasket Is not broken. Is there a pattern I should bolt it back in? Or any specific torque specs? You all have been a great deal of help so far.
So everything went back together fine and the truck shifts great now. But a couple days after I noticed a fair amount of transmission fluid leaking and took it apart again. Everything was tightened down gasket Is not broken. Is there a pattern I should bolt it back in? Or any specific torque specs? You all have been a great deal of help so far.
The the three rubber plugs you pulled out are known to leak. I cleaned mine up and then put RTV on them. I have had no issues since. I was going to tell you about this when I mentioned tips. Some use freeze plugs but I didn't like them. The rubber plugs are no longer available. I really gooped up the plugs on the outside and just a thin layer where they go in. The plugs leak when driving and the residue is what you see. Sandy
Dang lol. I put it all back together after cleaning everything up and it was still leaking. I’ll be sure to take it apart again in the next couple days. I put more fluid into it so it should be fine.
