Hello. This is my first post. Woo hoo!! So I have this 2002 F150. I have owned her for about three years now. Between the previous owner and I, we have made a unique piece of work. It's a standard cab short bed, two wheel drive. It's a factory 4.6 with the "dreaded" M5OD. I gravitate toward manual transmissions. I love manuals. Don't get me wrong. I have 205,000 miles on this transmission and it has 50,000 left in it. The M5OD is a decent tranny, at least this R2 version behind my 4.6 is. But I need a "sport car" transmission. My truck is lowered a bit using SVT Lightning parts. I have upgraded the brakes front and rear. I installed long tube headers, exhaust, etc, etc. This M5OD won't last forever even though I baby my shifting. Has anyone here ever swapped a Mustang transmission into an F150?? Yes yes. I have heard of T56 swaps. But is there a "2V SOHC" era Mustang tranny that would be a simple bolt in swap??

 

Do you plan to continue babying your trans or are you trying to find one to handle a built and blown 4.6?

 

I would like to find a tranny that can handle being shifted more aggressively. I am well aware of the synchro issues with the M5OD. My 1-2 and 3-4 shifts are becoming more hesitant. I feel like I have to wait on the tranny between shifts. Converting the truck to an automatic is out of the question. This truck is becoming a "sleeper" as the saying goes. I know that it's not Lightning (yet), but that 1-2 shift makes me look like a rookie with a manual. I have always driven manuals and will continue to do. I love shifting. It's all about the "driver involvement". I'd like to be able to rip thru gears more aggressively. The T56 is a great transmission, but that swap can get expensive. What about a T45??? The bell housing should be the same. But would my "truck clutch" bolt up to it??

 

I did a little reading on the t45 and it seems like a good trans. It is adaptable to truck and suv uses but its torque capacity is only 400ft/lbs. So that may very will limit you if you do so much as a pi swap on your top end.

 

You should get on a lightning forum man. A lot more experience per capita when it comes to customizing the mechanics of our trucks. This forum a lot of the members are more experienced in the making it look good aspect. Don't get me wrong there are guys here that know what they are talking about when it comes to internals but not as many as some forums. Not trying to talk bad on the forum just been here long enough to know your gonna get a lot more help a lot faster on a more mechanically geared forum. Lightning guys will be able to tell you exactly what to expect out of what trans cause they have done it a lot more than us stock guys.