89 F150 manual transmission noise

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Hank - 05 Jul 2007 22:12 GMT

Hi,

The truck is an '89 F150 4WD with 302 and a 5-speed manual
transmission. I'm assuming it is the Mazda tranny (Mazda M-50D, would
this be R1 or R2?), since I did find a picture of the ZF-5 unit and
that does not look right. Mine doesn't sound like the typical Mazda
problem though, in that it has not been low on fluid. The symptoms
are a terrible sound (like a washing machine full of ball bearings) in
3rd gear. Fourth and fifth are fine, but third sounds ugly. Is this
a common problem with these? All I find on usenet is the draining
issue and references to it being a bad/weak transmission with no other
specifics.

I'm also seeing references to the ZF-5 as being "bullet proof" but was
told that they cannot be (easily?) swapped. Is this true? I'm
guessing that major transmission work would exceed blue-book on the
truck, but do like the truck other than that. Anybody know any other
options? I'm in the midwest so manual transmissions are in short
supply (so a junkyard tranny probably can't be found even if I would
trust it) and I don't know of a major rebuilder (such as Jasper)
within a few hundred miles.

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Jeff Strickland - 07 Jul 2007 05:02 GMT

> Hi,
>
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
> trust it) and I don't know of a major rebuilder (such as Jasper)
> within a few hundred miles.

I do not know what transmission you have, but I doubt it is the Mazda unit.

I think the F150 is far too demanding for the Mazda unit, especially in the
4WD truck. The 4-spd transmission in the F150 and F250 was for a very long
time the NP-435, this is a very stout 4-spd unit with a granny low 1st Gear.
I _think_ the 5-spd transmission was the T-5, and I might be mistaken, but I
was thinking Borg-Warner instead of Mazda.

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david m - 07 Jul 2007 14:03 GMT

>> Hi,
>>
[quoted text clipped - 26 lines]
> low 1st Gear. I _think_ the 5-spd transmission was the T-5, and I might
> be mistaken, but I was thinking Borg-Warner instead of Mazda.

The T-5 was not used in the F-150. My 1989 F-150 4x4 I6 (which has long
since been sold) had a Mazda-built transmission as I recall. I believe
the V8 models used the ZF transmission.

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Joe - 07 Jul 2007 23:28 GMT

>> Hi,
>
> I do not know what transmission you have, but I doubt it is the Mazda
> unit.

Shows you where you can be wrong! It's the mazda unit. The first three
words in your reply are the key. To answer the OP's question, the ZF unit
will fit, and it was optional on F150. There are 3 versions, the 460, the
diesel, and the windsor. Obviously he'll need the windsor version. They
claim it sometimes has problems with reverse getting worn out, and popping
out of overdrive. Those would be the things to look out for on an old,
worn-out ZF.

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Hank - 09 Jul 2007 03:44 GMT

> >> Hi,
>
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> out of overdrive. Those would be the things to look out for on an old,
> worn-out ZF.

Thanks. Would a ZF be a better bet than another Mazda unit? (or
rebuilding this one, I'm not actually sure I can find either.) I know
where a ZF is, but I think it's hooked up to a blown 460. Would that
just require a bell-housing swap, or do I need the small block
version?

Were the 4 speeds an overdrive those years? What would I be giving up
if I went w/ one of those?

Thanks

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