This is the most comprehensive thread I can find referencing the same problem. Unfortunately, it doesn't reach a resolution.

I've installed a donor manual from a '95 2.3L Ranger 4x4. Removed top cover and inspected internals and they all look good. I rebuilt the shifter bushings with Dorman 917-551. Shifter can firmly select all gears.
However, in neutral, you would expect the shifter to spring back to a rest position between 3rd/4th. My shifter springs back strongly from the right (5th/reverse), but has basically no return-to-center at all from the left (1st/2nd).
I have limited access to another Ranger from the same generation (I can't take it apart or anything), and this other truck's shifter has equal return-to-center on both sides, so some sort of return-to-center mechanism in my trans. is clearly damaged. Again, I have already rebuilt the shifter bushings, and there is no slop.

So, I'm trying to figure out exactly what part(s) are responsible for the shifter's neutral return-to-center so I can service them. I've found a couple of threads like the one above where other people have this same problem, but none of them ever go anywhere.

I found a comprehensive exploded view of the similar transmission M5R2, which I've uploaded below. The parts I've circled in red appear to be a sideways-oriented spring and its housing attached to the 1st/2nd shift rail, completely separate from the gear-selection detent springs that people seem to be more familiar with (7234 in this diagram).
Googling 7N120 shows part# E7TZ-7N120-A, which is definitely a spring involved in some way in gear selection. I'm sure there are some differences between the M5R1 and M5R2, but I also have alldatadiy for my truck (a '94), and the exploded view of a manual trans shows that there exists a complete assembly part# E8TZ-7272-C, the "1st/2nd shift rod end", which resembles the parts I've circled in red.

Does anybody out there have any idea what I'm talking about? If these are the correct parts that deal with the shifter's return-to-center? Has anybody ever heard of weak return-to-center being repaired? I'm almost definitely going to have to drop the trans again to remove the top cover and access the shift rails, so if I'm on the wrong track and I'm not going to able to repair the shifter action with these parts, I'd rather avoid dropping the trans again for no reason. If nobody chimes in and I still end up figuring it out, I'll also come back and update this for the sake of anybody else who's searching later.

Thanks!

 

Okay, update time. I ended up having to drop the trans anyway when the oil pan gasket started leaking. So, I pulled the top off, removed the 1st/2nd shift rod end, and took it apart, and there's a spring inside that presses up against the bottom of the shifter from the right. So, in a general sense, the parts I was curious about do in fact center the stick. So, I grabbed a bag of the springs I was looking at for $10.

Problem is, it turns out the E7TZ-7N120-A is not the right spring for my '95 M5R1 trans. Maybe the difference is between M5R1 and M5R2. Maybe it's even more granular by year. I could always go back and buy the entire gate with the part number from alldatadiy, but it's $80, and it bothers me that the ford parts websites tell me that part number doesn't fit my truck either.

Does anybody have access to a GOOD exploded view of the M5R1, or can otherwise help me figure out how to track down one of these springs? Thanks so much.



EDIT: I need this truck driving ASAP, so I'm going to be working on this on-and-off all week. Additional thoughts:
- It looks like I typo'd the part number for the entire gate from alldatadiy. I can't seem to edit the original post, but it should have been E8TZ-7279-C.
- There exists a 7N120 with the full part# E8TZ-7N120-F, which obviously shares the same prefix as that gate. Is this the right part number for my trans? I'm still not sure. I found a picture where it looks like this spring is shorter than the E7TZ-7N120-A, but still has the same outer diameter, which is too large. In any event, the E8TZ-7N120-F is discontinued/NLA.
- Because I need this done, I've gone ahead and measured my spring with calipers and ordered a handful of three similar springs from a spring supply company, each with different rates. They should be here this week, and assuming they fit, I plan to use the one with the spring rate that most closely matches the feel of the 5th/reverse gate.
These are the dimensions I'm measuring:
OD: 0.258"
ID: 0.196"
Len: 1.26"
Coil#: 14.5
This is the Results List from the spring company on the front page of Google with the lowest order minimums.
I'll edit this again when I have everything back together, or if these parts don't work out.

Thanks again to everyone who took a look!

 

Sorry can't help on this one

 

No problem at all Ron, I appreciate you taking the time to take a look.

I'm going to close this out by reporting limited success. I would still prefer the centering action from 1st/2nd to be stronger, but the stick does now center itself, whereas before it basically didn't snap back at all. Details below:


So, from left to right, these four springs are the CSC CC-57, the original spring from the 1st/2nd gate, the original spring from the 5th/rev. gate, and the Ford E7TZ-7N120-A.
As you can see, the springs from the two gates, which control centering the stick from the left and right, respectively, are completely different. So, the M5R1 centering action was always going to be stronger from the right (on top of the bigger spring, that gate also contains a detent). The E7TZ-7N120-A that I ordered is extremely similar to the 5th/rev. spring, and could probably be installed in its place, although it would be much stiffer, which I'm not really looking for.
This is subjective, but of the three springs that I bought from CSC, I want to say that the one with the spring rate of 6 lbs/in was a bit weaker than the stock spring. The CC-57 in the picture, with a rate of 9.9 lbs/in, was a bit stronger, although not by much.

I'm going to go ahead and conclude that the CSC CC-57 is a solid stock-equivalent replacement for the 1st/2nd gate's centering spring, in cases where the stock spring has gotten a little tired and worn out from overuse. In a perfect world, I would continue searching for a spring of similar size with an even stiffer rate, but it isn't worth the time or money to keep screwing around with it right now.

Thanks again to everyone who swung through!

 

I am looking for this same spring. Where did you buy it from?

 

https://www.centuryspring.com/catalo...lar&id=CC-57CS

This company IIRC charges a $15 fee if your order total is under $40. The other spring companies from the first 2 pages of google results just have $40 or $50 order minimums. Good luck

 

So..

You offer no help..
Right on. Thanks

 

You wonder why nobody cared to respond to your thread.

Look out for yourself.

 

Not sure what your problem is, but post #4 has the part numbers, and post #6 has the link to the place he bought them from.

 

I guess it's possible that where he comes from, "good luck" is dismissive, rather than encouraging. Vollmer, I'm sure it's stressful that your truck is down. I hope you feel better once you get it fixed

 

That is not a viable option for purchase. The point is moot. This is not a community. Why didnt you buy 10, make your purchase worthwhile, and help others by shipping them out in small envelopes to like minded people?
This place is unproductive as hell. I can buy a new transmission, damn near an entire one of these **** trucks for $50.

Every man for himself. I stuck a shim under the spring and its fine. Renob

 

Why should he have bought 10?, he didn't know if they would work.

Now that we know they work, Why didn't you buy 10 of each so you can help others with the same issue ?

 

Okay, I'm fairly surprised this is still happening.
With the fee and shipping from CSC you'd pay what, $25 for 1? So $32 for 3. That does feel like a lot of money for a tiny spring, but if ford still made them, they would charge you $33 for a bag of 3, maybe $23 on sale, so I'm not really sure why CSC isn't a viable seller. It's even possible there's a spring company out there with lower fees.
I see now that you'd PM'd me asking if I had extra springs. I didn't see that right away because unlike thread replies, it didn't ping my e-mail. Honestly even if I had mailed you an extra spring, I would probably expect you to paypal me $10 or so for the spring, bubble mailer, and trouble, so it seems like an awful lot of fuss to kick up over a $15 difference.

In any event, I'm glad you got your truck fixed. I experimented with shimming my spring, but I had trouble getting it all to fit together without shifting around or binding up. At least now that you've been successful, anybody else who finds this topic later can consider the option of shimming a weak spring as well, so that's been helpful