I've replaced the shift bushings and changed the ATF yet my tranny in my 92 is the worst shifting manual I've ever driven. The shifter literally feels like a plunger handle stuck in a bucket full of of gravel. I've driven one other M5OD and it shifted crappy as well.

Is there something I'm missing?

 

My 96' shifts smooth as silk but she only got 85,000miles on her so time will tell.

 

Right now my f150 has 150,000 on the clock.

 

Mine hates second. and third. and fourth. and sometimes fifth. lol! I've owned two vehicles with Mazda manuals (a bronco II and an f-150, at least I think the bronco's transmission was a mazda) and they weren't the smoothest things on the block.

My truck will run pretty smooth if I go easy on 'er, but I push the pedal she gets cranky. Keep in mind, though, that I've got 105xxx HARD miles and the original clutch.

P.S. The plunger handle in gravel is the BEST description I've heard...

 

My M5OD has 150K and shifts smooth as silk. I did have to replace the pilot bearing because the tranny was shifting bad.

 

Mine has a strange feel when in first ... like there is some slipage, and not from the clutch. It surely is not as tight shifting as my dub. I have 107K on the meter.

 

There can't be any slippage in a manual tranny except from the clutch. The best gear to feel clutch slippage is in 4th or 5th.

 

Could the synchonizers in the tranny be getting worn out???

 

My old '90 had 225K on it when I sold it. It was hard to get into 2nd for the last 75K but other than that it worked fine. I needed to do some work on the shift cover but I just never got around to it. I want to convert my current '91 to manual and I would take another Mazda trans no prob.

 

Could very well be the sycronizers in the tranny.

I've driven three m5s....my buddy's truck had about 50k on it when I first drove it (has about 80 now). It should be fairly smooth and not geary/notchy when going in each gear.

It's not going to be as smooth as a mustang or other car type tranny. This is a truck transmission, the ZF is even "worse".

On an old truck tranny, you can't always expect it to shift like silk.

 

It's a hard to describe kind of slippage .... it feels like it is slipping ... but no performance problems ... could just be the difference in gear ratios between 1st and 2nd compared to other manual tranny cars I drive. Doesn't seem to be a Syncro problem, don't get the grinding that usually causes.

It is not the clutch, pulls like mad in all gears, I have worn out a few clutches in my day, and the Bosche Dual Mess clutch that came in the VW went around 54K .... slipping in gears 1 - 5, but still beat a 40thAnvGT on the highway. So I am used to seeing the Tach go toward redline and Speedo just creep up slowly.

 

My Mazda shifts great aside for i shift

going from 2nd to 1st is a problem if i'm doing greater then 30kph

once im a while i get a notchy feeling going into second from third.

truck has 181,000 Km on it. i bought it with 170,2xxkm on it in may

when i got it i changed out the trans fluid and got no noticable change in shifts

i hardly ever use 5th gear though its geared way to flipin high. generaly run 2200rpm on the road and get better fuel millage then if i use 5th



1996 F150 XL
4.9I6
M5od
2.73's
235/75R15's

 

My truck has 300,000km and my M5OD isn't too bad

 

Mine shifts like a truck, not a sports car, but other than that, it's OK. If you're having shifting issues, it sounds like the clutch isn't releasing fully (leaky slave or bypassing master cylinder?). I had to put a clutch in mine at 130K (replaced original). Actually, I had a dealer do it because I didn't have a jack, any time, nor any inclination to handle that tranny by myself.

I had a '98 Ranger with a 5 speed, though, and that little bugger was slick. You're not going to speed shift the M5OD. It ain't built for that. It's built to move a 5000 pound truck. If you try, you're probably going to ****** some teeth off. When I had the fluid changed the first time, a nice big chunk of metal came out on the magnetic plug, which looked like a piece of a bearing cage, and looked like it went through some gear teeth. I haven't done anything to it since, other than keep the fluid changed every 30K-35K. But, other than when I was having clutch issues, it's never failed to shift, nor growled when it did.

Check the front edge of the bell housing, and see if it looks wet. If it does, see if the fluid there smells like brake fluid. If that's the case, you've got a leaking slave. If it's never had a clutch done before, chances are at 107K, you're getting real close. If it has had the clutch changed before, odds are that only the disc was replaced. When I had mine done, I went with new master, new slave, net pilot, new pressure plate, and had the flywheel resurfaced. It should be good to go for another 135K, barring complete failure of the bearing that apparently started coming apart at about 30K. It ain't making any noise, or giving me any problems, so I'm leaving it alone.

 

I had 2 Rangers I bought new with the M5OD. On the first I blew a couple of transmissions. They don't like running low on fluid. On one of the replacement transmissions I had difficulty shifting. I replaced the top cover (the thing the shifter goes into and has the shifter rods in it) because it was worn and it shifted great after that. It isn't the smoothest shifting trans I ever drove and it did take me a while to figure out how to shift it without the clutch.