Guys this is truely getting old.
I can't explain to you the feelings I am having right now. You would know if you have ever experienced them before, but I think they are feelings few have experienced. Its the feeling of intense rage combined with love. I've had my truck since a year and a half ago, had it on the road since a year ago, and nothing but problems after problems. From shifter forks, to front axle, to fuel tanks, to speedometer, to shifter bushing/pins, to starters, to alternators and finally to a gear box. I don't know what failed in my M50D but forward motion caused quite a racket, loud clunking, sounded like gears, reverse was a trip, nothing but extreme bucking and surging, and clanking. Totally out of the blue this all was too. The crazy part is when I had my shifter plate off to replace the forks, the gears looked very very good. Never a sign of catostrophic failure. So I don't have a gear box to replace it with, I've scarred my new paint with either my foot or the tool in my hand, and it hurts my feelings. The gear box won't come out, I've had it out like four times, or more, and now one of the bolts holding the tranny mount is spinning, no way to get it out, unless I torch it or something. Then the two bolts holding the mount to the tranny, are absolutely not moving. Its Bull S**T! I love the truck, the amount of heart I have put in her is like nothing else, but it keeps failing on me, and I seems never ending. I can't bring my self to destroy it, not after I rebuilt the engine, and fixed all the crap on it. But I swear this thing isout to destroy me. Anyone ever felt thing before? By the way just for your interest, its an 89 150 XLT Lariat single cab long box, 302, 5 spd 4x4.

 

You are not alone, I have had SEVERAL vehicles that always had a new problem once the old one was fixxed. Things that should never go bad do so violently.
One thing I can maybe help with is the bolt stuck in the gear box, try using a bottle jack or something to lift the trans slightly and then with the other bolt out of course slowly back off the bolt in your gear box. The added pressure might help it back out of there.

 

Don't feel too bad, that is why they call them "Fixed or Repaired Daily."

My 89 F150 4x4 has been a killer on my wallet. I use it as a work truck, so at least it does make me money. But the repairs are never ending:

I have replaced my motor, Mazda 5-speed transmission, front end parts galore, master cylinders, slave cylinder, brake lines, wiper motor, EGR valve, IAC valve, reverse light wiring, other assorted wiring and three sets of emergency brake cables - it seems to like eating these.

I just snapped my twin traction beam on the driver's side. That was another grand I had to sink into this thing. When I took it the shop for the repair, then the alignment place, they both told me the twin traction beam is the worst front end ever invented.

Next I need to replace my steering column. It cannot be repaired - too worn out. I've owned about 30 vehicles, and never had to replace a steering column. It seems Ford made them out of Silly Putty or something.

Maybe Fords from other years are OK, and we just bought a horrendous year for the F150. Who knows?

Just count on having a lot of money on hand to keep your truck on the road.

 

damn brother. dont feel bad yet. just wait till you do a performance motor job, just for the truck to not crank until you put a new ecm and fuel pump in it. then after that you drive it a few days only to realize that your trans is going out. SO pay 1800 buck to have a piece of **** trans rebuilt just to have it take a big ol' dump on you 30 miles later. sound ****ty? happened to me days ago. sometimes i want to unload a machine gun into the side of my truck, but im not gonna give up now, ****. dont let it whoop you man

 

The truck is 17 years 0ld, this is to be expected, think of the money you are saving by not owning a 2005! Payments on a new truck are typically 400 to 600 dollars a month , just to do the same thing you can in an 89 truck.

Cancel whatever your other plans were, and fix the truck. I know sometimes we only work on the truck when we feel like it, or if it is something easy. But, sometimes you have to grit your teeth, stay focused and tear it up again. Sometimes you even have to blow off an entire weekend and call in sick on Monday to get something fixed. Don't go in half-cocked either, it will only make things worse.
Spray the tranny crossmember bolts with "PB Blaster" I love that stuff, and I don't own stock in the company. Someone else mentioned jacking the tranny up to loosen the bolts, that can't hurt. Try vise grips on the stripped bolt, pull the bolt while you are turning it. Does the stripped bolt thru-hole stop inside the engine or is the hole drilled and tapped all the way thru the engine? Maybe you can fix that with a new nut and bolt, or large helicoil, and a new bolt.
Good Luck, we know you can do it!!

 

I feel your pain and its one of the worst things in the world. All the time, work, and money i put into my truck this makes me sick. Just like you ive had my truck for a year and a half, and last summer is when the mazda slushbox took a crap. Paid 950 for a rebuild. After that truck went through 3 yes THREE sets of shift forks. First set was covered under the 2 month warranty, the 2nd and 3rd i was on my own. The manager of the shop even had me drive him around to make sure i could operate a stick! After all that work it still feels like the shift forks have 300,000 miles of hard wear on them. Shifting is very sloppy and very often hard going into 1st 2nd and reverse (no grinding, just wont slide into gear). At this point im afraid to drive it because of whats going to happen. Dont wanna fork out all the extra cash for a rebuild and have the same problems, but i also dont wanna pay 350-600 for a junkyard used trans and go through all the work of swapping them and have the same problems. Cant sell it, i have way too much money into it, and it would be impossible to sell with the trans acting up. No i do not ever beat on my truck and i take very good care of it. Before the 3rd set of forks i flushed and replaced fluid, as well as the filter. If anyond knows why this is happening please let me know what im doin wrong.

 

I sent you an e-mail.
I'm in Indiana and have an M5OD you can have cheap.

 

I feel you too. I bought my truck for 800, and have put a load into it for parts fixing the damn thing. First got it, needed a new rear-end. Put that in, then the junk mazda 5 speed went out, so had to put a C6 in. Had to put new ball joints in because the alignment was off and it ate up my new tires. Then the battery died on me one day, so I had to take the alternator off, replaced it for the next one, just to fry another battery, just to figure out the voltage regulator was dead, so i got another one of those. Then the rear-end I put in it blew up, so i had to put another in. When I put the body lift on, the radiator hose had to be jerry rigged, and it has slipped off twice, causeing me to go 50 mph over the speed limit to get home before she overheated. fixed that permenently after investing a load in antifreeze. I've dropped a load on the exhaust trying to get a V-8 sound, that was a huge mistake, now it's quiet again thank god. also the fuel sending unit was bad, so my truck died right in the middle of some off roading, yea dad really liked that. almost got my a** beat for that. so I had to pull the bed off, pull the old fuel pump/sending unit and put in a new one, just to find out auto zone is a junk dealer, (the fuel pump i bought was junk), so i took it back, and went to napa to get a new one. putting in the CD player was fun too, this truck is an electrical nightmare, and I fried 1 cd player my self, and the guys at best buy fried 2. had to get a volt meter...

I'd hate to say this, but my ford hasent been too reliable in the past, but Im pretty sure she will be reliable in future, since Ive replaced every damn thing on the pile of scrap metal. OH, knock on wood, my tranny is starting to slip shifting from 1st to 2nd.

Oh well, the damn thing is 17 years old, stuff like this is gonna happen.