I went to a few salvage sites and am having a hard time finding a transmission (3.08 rear end tag) for my straight 6 engine. any suggestions?

is it possible to use a 3.08 from a different engine?

 

First, welcome to FTE.

Secondly, I am having a heck of a time trying to figure out what you're asking.

If we ignore the stuff about gear ratios, any transmission from a 300, 302, or 351 will bolt up to your six. Some of the later trucks have electronically controlled transmissions, so be aware that if you put an E4OD in, you will either need to swap computers or get a standalone tranny controller.

Also, if you swap to a different tranny, your driveshaft(s) will need to be modified to fit due to the different lengths of the various transmissions available.

 

Yeah this is a little confusing.

The number "3.08" is not in regards to the transmission as far as I know. It's typically in regards to the rear axle's gear ratio. The rear axle will have gear ratios, typically 2.73, 3.08, 3.55, etc.

A transmission has more than one gear ratio where as a rear axle has 1.

Can you clarify what you mean?

Are you looking for a transmission or a rear axle?

 

i'm confused by the questions i get from some of these guys over the phone. when i called the yard they did not have a transmission from a 4.9 liter but it supposedly was the mazda manual 5 speed (not the ZF) that i need to replace; but they didn't want to ship it since it came off a different engine (maybe the v-6, but i didn't ask) then they wanted to know if it had a 3.08 or 3.55 ratio.
i guess the ultimate question is "what is the critical information" i need to make sure i can swap without a hassle. does the engine matter or the ratio or maybe something they haven't asked yet.....................help the rookie - thanks.........

 

Ok, so your truck has a manual transmission, and you're looking for tips on what to look for in finding a replacement transmission. I'm assuming you have a ...i duno...250/350 with a 5 spd and looking for a ZF? You didn't originally say what but that is what I'm guessing.

If you have a manual 5 speed transmission it's either an M5OD or ZF S-42 transmission. The ZF's were in the heavier duty trucks, 250/350 (cept 5.0L), and very rarely in F-150s, which had the M5OD standard. I've seen a few people say their F-150 has a ZF in it, but you can pretty much guarantee an F-150 has a M5OD.

You didn't mention what size truck you have so that info should be helpful no matter what.

Here is a picture of a ZF S-42.



Notice the PTO plates (there is 1 on each side), and how from the middle, the top and bottom are about as high as the rest of the transmission (the gears area is large). Where as the M5OD doesn't have those PTO plates on the side, and the case comes much further down on the back of the bell housing and is "thinner" because the gear box inside is much smaller. Also, look at the top of the transmission case, starting from the shifter, to the right, towards the tip of it where the driveshaft would go. Notice how there is a step in the case, and it's obvious that the middle part of the transmission is beefy. The M5OD's gear case is so much smaller, that there is no big step between the shifter and tip of the case. Size is definitely different between the two.

So if your looking for a ZF, look around for any 300ci, 302ci, or 351ci engines with a heavy duty 5 speed, F-250 or F-350. There are also 460 V-8s that will not fit, or the diesel, that doesn't fit either. Just any ZF 5 spd out of a F-250 or F-350 with a 300,302,351 will work.

By 3.08 or 3.55, he was asking you what rear axle ratio you have. I'm not sure why that is a relevant question to ask but that's what he was asking you for, the rear axle gear ratio, not anything to do with the transmission itself. There is a tag on your rear differential cover, with the number stamped in it. Clean it off and in the lower left corner you should see a number like 3.08 or 3.55.

 

dang mustang where can I find one? My m5od is kinda sloppy!

 

You can get a ZF outta the junkyard or get a rebuilt one and throw it in, but I wouldn't use it with a 5.0L if anyone has one...

I got mine by buying the F-250, $800. I drove it around and found the trans was fine...so I bought the truck and took the trans out of it, put it in the F-150/393 and took the M5 outta my F-150 and put it in the F-250 to get it working again. I've driven the truck a lot while my F-150 has been parked, so it worked out well.

The 5.0L was never put behind the ZF, my belief on that is because the 5.0L doesn't have the low/mid range torque that the 300/351 have. That ZF has wider gears because first is a granny gear. So you basically use 2-3-4-5 as if it's a 4sp. So if you take off in 2nd, get to about 2000 rpm, and shift to 3rd, the ZF's 3rd would bring you down to about 1200 rpm where as the M5 would bring you down to about 1500 rpm. That 300 rpm difference to the 5.0L is a big one and it would struggle more to hold at 1200. The 300.351 are ok with it, so they used the ZF on it. Makes sense to me...

 

took all this info from everyone and think i found the answer............
check this link - http://www.smartpartsauto.com/ford_transmissions.htm
they list a M5R2 rebuilt (guessing that is M for mazda and 5R2 for 5-speed, reverse, 2-wheel) for 1988 thru 2000.
not really the same as M5OD (Mazda, 5-speed, OverDrive ?), but wouldn't you think that's the same animal???????????????
anybody deal with this vendor before? any comments on this vendor for reliability? price seems good (even after shipping it's $795) may be a better gamble than a bone yard.

 

Two different names for the same thing. I've never heard of the vendor before, but their prices are very, very cheap. You get what you pay for.

 

Yeah, M5R2 and M5OD are the same.

That's cheaper than most, but who knows about quality...a high dollar rebuild doesn't necessarily mean good quality either...more often then not it's the opposite. Hard to really know either way...

 

They are not listed in ripoffreport.com, either. Unlike their counterpart in Phoenix, who I considered buying from, but ended up being glad I didn't.

 

Does anyone have another source for a rebuilt M5OD for this truck?