ZF and Mazda tranny question

What is the difference in the ZF s542 and the Mazda mg5 tranny? I am told that the Mazda was never put behind a diesel so they consider it weaker. I was also told that the trannies are perfectly swappable. I guess there was a problem pre1991 with the Mazda 1st and 5th gears being weak.Can I use this Mazda in place of a ZF it is $500 cheaper and a lot easier to find? Does any one have the torque ratings also?

The problem with the mazda's is that the input and output bearings wear too easily. Most people I've talked to wouldn't give a plugged nickel for the mazdas. I'm not positive, but I also believe the zf's have a lower first gear. They came in "some" towing package equipped F150's , but mostly in F250's.

The mazda tranny is not as strong That may not be a factor though i guess. It also has some querky oil plug it it somewhere that i guess tends to fall out and allow your tranny to burn up. I don't know the gear ratio's. does it have granny low? I guess it might work for you if you don't wheel that hard or don't need the granny low. I think it might be a slight bit smaller in gerth to. Anyway if they say its a direct swap i guess the adapters will probally work to. Also are you talking about the m5r1 i couldn't find any refrence to a mg5. I mustuv be luckly cause the first place i went to had the zf that i bought and about a two weeks later i found another one. good luck on the search and please post any more info you find on the mazda tranny.

I have the Mazda 5-speed in my '98 F-150 with 96K miles and have no complaints. Am marginally familiar with both it and the ZF unit and am curious why it is shunned on for Bronco applications. Grated, it does not have as low a 1st gear as the ZF. But it's a big improvement over the stock 3-speed. Regarding capasity, the 4.6 in my truck is 220HP which is greater than any stock, Bronco 302. Not to mention GVW ratings between the vehicles. Guess my point is, the Mazda unit is less expensive, much lighter and smaller and seems plenty strong enough, so why's the ZF so popular?

I went thru 2 Mazda 5 speeds in a 92 Explorer in less than 100K miles. Shifting between 1 and 2 starts getting difficult (hard to move the lever) and next thing you know, the input shaft broke. No warning at all, except for the hard shift from 1 to 2 when cold.

I talked to a guy that worked for Ford for years and now rebuilds these trannies in the evening for a large salvage yard in PA. In 91 they made the front bearing slightly bigger, fixed the syncronizers for 1st and 3rd, they both come with two different choices for ratios, they reccomend synthetic lube in it now, slave cylinder is inside bell housing, there are three rubber stoppers by the shifter that dry out leak fluid and burn up the tranny, he replaces them with 9/16" freeze plugs, there are passages by the throw out bearing that get filled with silicone by mistake and blocks the fluid flow. They are also lighter in weight, then he had to take care of customers before I got to ask more.