Automatic E40D Swap to 5 Speed (Mazda M5R2)
 

Project Vehicle: 1991 F150 300 i6 4x4

Parts needed for conversion:

• Front and Rear Drive Shafts (Replace U-Joints)
• Cross member (From the Manual Trans truck)
• Transmission (In this example, Mazda M5R2, Make sure you have the right one obviously)
• Fly wheel for your Engine
• Clutch Slave Cylinder (I purchased a new one as it is an internal mount)
• Clutch Master Cylinder (Again I purchased a new one as the junk yard one was full of water)
• Clutch Hydraulic line from the Clutch Master Cylinder to the Slave cylinder
• Shifter (Inspect it for wear and bushing wear, replace bushings as needed or buy aftermarket Hurst shifter)
• Clutch Plate, Pressure plate, and throw out bearing (Fail point so buy this new)
• Backing plate behind the flywheel (Metal plate between the flywheel and motor, the one for an automatic will rub on the flywheel)
• Wiring from firewall to transmission area and to the rear end @ speed sensor (You can use the wiring from your automatic but there are a few things you have to do, I will cover that below)
• Computer from Manual truck (Only grab this if you are replacing the wiring)
• If you pull all of this yourself make sure you grab all the spare bolts too
• Starter (There is a difference between the Manual and Automatic transmission Starter)
• Clutch/Brake Pedal assembly (If the neutral safety switch is on the piston rod on the master cylinder then you will need to grab the proper wiring harness to connect it or you will need to bypass it, Mine is in the transmission)
• Floor pan cover from Manual truck (Pull the carpet back after the shifter is removed and there will be some bolts holding down the pan)
• Brake Clean, PB Buster and 1 Box of Large band aids

Removal:

• Start by Removing your front and rear drive shafts (Block the wheels first)
• Unhook your speed-e-OooO Cable from the Transfer case
• Unhook any and all wiring on the transmission and transfer case
• Remove the linkage rod from the 4 wheel drive shifter to the Transfer case
• Remove the bolt holding the 4 Wheel drive shifter onto the shifting mechanism bolted to the side of the transmission (This is a "Shoulder" Bolt that goes through the mechanism and the shifter, 15 mm head I think)
• Use a pry bar to pop the shifter out of the top of the knuckle it is probably stuck in
• Unbolt the transfer case from the transmission and remove it
• Remove the Cover at the front of the bell housing and remove the Torque Converter nuts (You will need to turn the motor over to get to them all)
• Remove the starter
• At this point everything should be unhooked from the transmission
• Place a Jack with a wood block under the transmission (Use a floor jack or if you have access to one use a transmission jack)
• Get a firm pressure on the transmission with the jack and remove the Nuts holding the transmission mount to the cross member
• Use a wrench and remove the two bolts holding the mount on the transmission
• Jack up the transmission until the mount is free and remove it
• Remove the bell housing bolts Note that the top two will be shorter then the rest
• Now remove all bolts in the cross member and remove it (Your transmission should not be touching the cross member at this point)
• Lower the jack just a bit to release any pressure so the transmission is not bound up on the motor any
• Slide the transmission back from the motor Be careful not to let it fall on you (Band aids won't fix broken bones)
• Remove transmission from jack and take it out from under the truck
• Remove the Flex Plate and the metal plate from behind the flex plate
• OPTIONAL - Remove the wiring harness that goes from the firewall area to the plugs on the transmission, also remove the one that goes back to the speed sensor on the rear Differential. (I did not remove mine so I am not sure whats what in this part, If you want to use your old wiring I will explain below how to cheat it)
• Now everything under the truck should be ready for re installation so go up top inside the cab and remove your 4 wheel drive shifter and boot
• Pull your carpet back from front to back, you can stop at the seats
• You should have a floor pan in the center hump held down by some bolts, Remove it
• Remove your steering column completely Take care when doing this as you could damage something
• Remove the front trim panels if you have not already
• Unhook the speed odometer cable from the back of the instrument cluster (It is routed through the pedal assembly you are about to remove
• Remove the 4 nuts holding the brake pedal assembly and the 2 bolts in the top of the assembly
• Remove the brake piston rod that is attached to the pedal and the break light switch (Don't lose the clip holding it all on)
• Pull your Speed odometer cable out away from the pedal assembly
• Pull the pedal assembly out completely
• Just above the gas pedal there is 2 nuts holding a plate on which is where the master cylinder will be mounted, remove them and the plate

Everything should be out and ready for your 5 speed to go in. At this point drink a beer and doctor up the cuts and scraps with the band aids.

Installation of 5 Speed and all components needed:
Note that most of these parts are the parts from the above list and not your old ones, unless indicated. Before installation remove the shifter from the transmission via the three little screws that hold the retaining plate down. MAKE SURE THE SHIFTER IS IN NEUTRAL POSITION BEFORE REMOVING IT!

• While the transmission is out and on the ground remove the 2 bolts and install the new Slave cylinder
• Install the plate then bolt your Flywheel to the motor. You should use some lock tight on these bolts
• Install your new clutch, pressure plate and again use some lock tight on the bolts (These bolts should be recovered from the salvage yard when you removed the fly wheel, if not the kit calls for grade 8 5/16 18 x1 in and you need 6)
• Slide the transmission in place on the jack and install it, bolt it in with the 6 bolts you removed from your old transmission. Again the top two are shorter then the rest
• Install the cross member and mount in reverse order of the removal (Now you can remove the jack) Note: the Cross member will bolt to a different spot on the frame, no drilling should be needed.
• Install Your transfer case that was removed earlier, make sure to use a little RTV on the mating surface of the transfer case where it bolts to the transmission
• Do not reattach the 4x4 ****er yet or the linkage from the transmission to the transfer case (This will be done later)
• Install both of the drive shafts you got (I suggest changing the U- joints first as they are cheap)
• Install the speed odometer cable (We will cover wiring later)
• Now under the hood install the master cylinder onto the firewall where you remove the plate
• Install the Hydraulic line from the master cylinder to the slave cylinder
• Inside of the cab you will need to install your clutch pedal assembly in reverse order of removing the old one, except this time you will need to attach your pistion rod onto the pedal assimbly
• Reinstall the speed odometer cable
• Install the Steering column
• Re install the trim panels you removed
• Now re install the shifter into the top of the transmission
• Install the floor pan you got (It should have a nice size hole cut in it for the shifter
• Pull carpet back over and cut as needed to adjust for shifter and boot - Install the shifter boot
• Re install your 4x4 shifter and boot
• Everything inside the cab should be done now. So go under the truck and attach the 4x4 shifter onto the knuckle and tighten the bolt (We did not attach it at transmission install as we needed to be able to move the shifter forward to get it in place)
• Re attach the linkage from the shifter to the transfer case
• I suggest replacing the fluid in the trans before moving forward with bleeding the clutch system
• Bleed the clutch system (You will need help with this part)

Wiring

If you plan to use your old wiring then there are a few things you need to do.

• Remove the MLPS from the side of the transmission (Your old E40D)
• Place it in neutral position by lining up the alignment marks on it
• Plug it back into the plug and tie it out of the way on the frame rail of the truck
• Reattach any wiring to the transmission transfer case area

You should be able to start your truck in any gear with no worries. The CEL will not come on either as the computer thinks the automatic is still in and in neutral. I have yet to have any CEL on the transmission.

However... You will have no Neutral Safety nor back up lights with this Method

If you got the wiring from a donor truck and the computer then just install it all as well as the computer.

If this information is not correct or missing parts please feel free to correct me.

Unless I missed something or got something wrong you should be able to go test drive at this point.

I did not go into great detail in any part of this so if you have any questions on any part please ask. I will do my best to answer anything you might want to know.

:-X25

Great stuff. Thanks for posting. This should be put in the tech info.

I second that. Sending rep points.

Thanks,

I wrote it for the sole reason of anyone searching the forums would have a general idea of whats involved.

I just wish I would have taken pictures as I went to add to it.

Going to write one up on the rear disk conversion I am about to do later today, I'll get pics this time!

Here are some questions for you. :)

Did you install a pilot bearing in the crankshaft?

Did you install thread sealer on the bolts that hold the flywheel to the crank or just use loctite?

What was the cost for the swap?

My guess is if your auto trans. is in good shape you could sell all of the parts you swapped out and break even.

Are you going to swap the dash cluster for one with a tach?

For safety reasons, I think you should wire the clutch pedal interlock switch properly. ;)

Of course I installed the Pilot bearing. And yes I used thread sealer, else I bet I would have a nice oil leak about now. Reading back I missed the sealer part but said to use loctite when in fact I only meant to say use it on the pressure plate bolts. Also missing the part about the the pilot bearing which is important.

I was lucky and my cluster had a tach in it already. As for the neutral safety switch... well it is not a feature I really need. But if anyone else drove my truck I would not hesitate to wire it correctly.

I only need to get the computer to have mine all set up correctly. The wiring is all laying in the shop.

My total cost overall was about 600.00 but I added a few components new instead of used.

I only paid 55.00 for the transmission. And 20.00 per drive shaft (I have more then that in U-Joints per drive shaft). The rest was little things ranging from 5.00 to 15.00 each.

Every thing in the clutch system is new. My total cost also included cleaning stuff and paint.

I saved all the parts to resell. The E40D is busted but I intend to rebuild it. (Never rebuilt an E40D) So if I get it right I might sell it too and if not I have one giant paper weight.

Very nice post!

Did you notice any differences now that you have the standard tranny, how about mileage now?

I am confused on one thing though.

A link from this same website says that the transmission needs to be in 1st not neutral in order to remove the shifter.............

https://www.ford-trucks.com/article/...e_Measure.html

Well I read that too... But when I left the transmission in first and pulled the shift I played games getting it to neutral so I could put the shifter back in and the transmission shift correctly.

I hope some beastly ford guru will chime in and let us all know the correct way rather then the way that worked for me.

As for mileage, it dropped some in town but still decent on highway.

Make sure you don't forget any seals like I did. And beefing up your firewall at the clutch master cylinder is a good idea also.

My swap over should be fairly easy as I have a donor truck which is a 96 model with everything on it. I will let you know how things go too.

I recently did a chip for my truck and in the software I have the option to turn off the trans for a stick shift and choose between like 5 different trannies using the automatic ecm. So that part will be easy for me. I will let you know how the fuel economy goes as I now am getting 18.4 in the city. I haven't had anywhere to go to check the hwy mileage yet, but will post the results....

Thanks for this post too!

I put mine in 2nd when I pulled the shifter on my M5OD (R2) to put in ATF in the tranny via shifter access.

Had to pull it because of a welded shut fill plug on the tranny. :-arrgh


Came out fine, went in.....took me three tries but I knew it was in 2nd (told my wife in case I forgot) and finally got there. Just can't force it.



/Ricache

gauge cluster
 

how hard and what parts are needed to swap clusters

I have an E40D that is dying, and was looking at a manual swap. My concern was the ECM, this answered my questions, thank you.

If your doing a manual swap why not a ZF? I wouldn't swap to a Mazda 5 speed, since its not really that tough.

i just obtained a "91 ford bronco full size" the E4OD that is presently in it is is cracked and this swap sounds interesting. (allready toying with the idea) I do have a few questions tho.

the adapter that joins my E4OD to the transfer case seems incompatible with the M50D that i have as a spare, where could i obtain one to match? (aside from running around every wrecker in the area till i find a compatible 4x4)

what is the length difference for the drive shafts? 3-4" inches? and are there any suitable donors for this bronco?

is there a manual transmission that would swap without the difference in length?

would the ZF be a better choice for someone who tends to tow or off road on a regular basis?

any more detailed information would be greatly appreciated

The E4OD was the longest trans put into this particular year of truck. The two five speeds listed are approximately the same length, and you should get the 4wd transmission. You can adapt a 2wd to a 4wd, but you will have to have an entire donor trans to do it. You cant mix and match parts between autos or manuals unless it is between a 2wd version and a 4wd version.

The older T-18 4spd, NP-403, C-6, and AOD are roughly the same lengths, within an inch of one another, ZF and M5OD are roughly the same lenght as long as we are talking about the S42 (small block version) and the M5OD, and then the E4OD was significantly longer.