Double post from the trans forum I know, but many more viewers in this forum.

Got a rebuilt M5OD and after installing in the 93 Explorer I noticed the 3/4 shift rail does not stop when you put it in 3rd or 4th. The stick shift will move up and hit the dash or down and hit the center floor counsel. So the shift fork is getting pushed a little further than it is supposed to in either direction. 1/2 rail is fine. 3/4 will stay where it is supposed to, wont pop out of gear. I can feel a slight resistance where maybe the detent ball might be resting in it's limit hole but with little effort I can push it past that point. Seems like maybe the spring pushing on the detent was left out.

Anyone know if this condition is dangerous? Can the shift fork get pushed past where it should be a hit a gear or ruin the synchros? Rebuild shop, the owner, told me it can't cause a problem...second opinions?

 

Whether it can cause a problem or not, it's not right. If you've got a warranty on it, insist he fix it now, before you're warranty's up & you've got a problem

 

hey jeff is this the tranny from phoenix hard parts? if it is i'm stumped as to why they would have given you a tranny with problems. sorry i cant help you with the problem as i dont know a gosh darn thing about these complicated messes... heh

 

Yes this is from Phoenix Remanufacured Transmissions, phoenixhardparts.com

This transmission was a mess when I got it. The bell housing face to the engine was all marred up and painted over. I belt sanded it clean and filed down all the burrs from it being tossed around on the ground. The 2 starter holes were stripped out - ran a screwdriver over the threads and the metal just turned to dust. So I had to go buy a $30 helicoli kit to fix that. The extension housing off the back was gunked up with old silicon. All the bolt holes had to be cleaned out. They painted over all the dirt on the outside - didn't even try to clean it. Oh, and there is no extra port in the top for the nuetral safety switch - just one for the back-up light.

Yes there is a 1 year warranty and if they put up any fight at all on this I would simply refute the payment with my credit card company. But the owner called me back this morning and he's willing to do what ever necessary to fix it - get me a new top cover for the switch... But I don't want to have to pull it out again. He said, and this is his opinion, that this problem will not hurt anything inside. I just don't know if that is true. I wish I caught this before it went in but it's not really something you check for right? I dealt with the fit stuff and fixed the started bolt holes and at that point I just wanted to get the truck back together.

So at this point, I'm not going to rip it out just to have them put a spring back in place if nothing is seriously wrong with it. It's not a matter of principle but my time and aching back. So this thread I hope will tell me if it's worth to pull it out again.

Anyone know if this problem is a real bad thing?

 

I would have them send you a proper transmission, with the neutral safety switch hole, etc... sounds like they screwed up that one, no telling what else is wrong with it.

 

Sure one could surmise that if this much is messed up then the whole thing is questionable. I opened up the top cover and the inside looked fine. All new brass, seals...And since it's been in the car for 2 weeks now and runs fine, I'm not too worried about it. There is no need for the nuetral switch. And through this little exercise I have found out that the dealer(s) had swapped the connectors on the nuetral switch and reverse lights. Since I now have no nuetral switch, I just soldered the 2 wires together so that I can run KOER tests and get into 4W low. But then my back up lights were on all the time. Cut the wire and they go off. So one of the times the dealer had the tranny out, they somehow swapped the connectors. Both switches wires had been hacked into - this is obvious. I guess they dropped the tranny without pulling the connectors off and ripped the wires apart - who knows what those idiots do! Anyway, I don't need the nuetral switch since everything works without it and the clutch pedal 3 position switch provides nuetral starting safety.

So it's just this stick shift excessive movement that I'm worried about. I could answer my own question, sure, drop the tranny and open it up again to see what happens when the shift fork moves a little more tha it's supposed to. But I don't really have 2 extra days just lying around in my schedule for that PITA job.