Okay so heres my problem i have had a 1994 F150 4.9 I6 with 5 spd M50D now for about 2 years. The truck is in pretty good shape except for some rust on the wheel wells. So here is my dilima, the transmission is starting to leak pretty severly and also doesent always shift into reverse well (Grinds gears when shifting into reverse.) so my question for you guys is would it be worth it to get a new tranny and or rebuild the old one or should i just finnish driving the truck into the ground and call it quits. Iam only 17 and i really like the truck but i don't have enough cash lying around to pay for lots so i could really use some advice on what to do, and i do have quite a bit of mechanical knowledge and my dad is a mechanic so he could help me if needed.

Thanks MItch

 

The Mazda tranny your truck has was not known as one of the better ones. It had more than it's fair share of problems ranging from easy to fix in a few minutes to costly repairs.

If it's leaking fluid, that could be the heart of your problems. That tranny is very finicky about it's fluid level and type. Too much fluid/too little/wrong type and you'll get hard shifts and other problems.

Try to isolate where the leak is coming from. An easy way to do this is to clean off all the fluid on the case and buy a can of that white foot powder spray. Paint the tranny in the spray and come back in the morning. Follow the wet line right to where it's leaking from and let us know.

If the truck is stopped and it grinds going into reverse(does it grind going into any other gears?) the clutch may be going/gone, or you have a problem with the clutch hydraulics. Check under the hood near/under the brake booster for a little tiny cylinder with a small bottle on top(similar to brake cylinder, but smaller). If the fluid there is low or gone there may be part of the problem. An experienced stick driver under normal driving conditions should get around 100k miles out of a clutch. If you tend to ride the clutch or shift too often you can wear it out pretty quickly. If the truck is over 100k on the clock and the original clutch, go ahead and replace it. If it's not gone yet, it's on it's last legs.

Try to fix the leak and do a fluid change. If that requires the tranny to come out, swap out the clutch as well. If problems still persist and you're confident in your mechanical skills, buy a shop manual and go for a rebuild. If you find a junkyard truck with a standard(that tranny was used for years...see the Transmission Info thread) you can take that one, give it a tuneup and stick it in.

That 4.9L motor was the best motor Ford ever made, it will run forever with surprisingly little maintenance short of oil and filter changes. People have over 300k miles on that motor with no major repairs. Shame it's mated to a POS transmission.