M5OD Ford truck Transmission Warning.

Is your motorcycle hauler a Ford Built truck with the M5OD Transmission? I found out to late about a serious problem with this transmission but maybe I can help you save yours. This transmission is made by Mazda and used in a variety of Ford trucks both large and small and if it fails will cost you plenty. This is the 4 speed with overdrive also known as a 5 speed. There are three rubber plugs on top of the transmission that leak fluid only when the truck is in motion so when parked there will be no tell tail signs of a leak. You can replace the plugs yourself or take it to the dealer and have them check it for fluid lose and replace the faulty plugs but it's not cheap. Thing is, the seals are going to fail and if caught to lateas in my case cost you a bundle. The cost to replace this transmission is around $1500-$1900 used including labor. So, you can imagine what a new replacement will cost and all because of $10 of parts that are plastic plugs. Another set back for theback yard mechanic is the bleeding of the slave cylinder. If not done exactly correct your clutch will not work no matter how much you bleed it. Bleeding the slave cylinder, which is inside the transmission and not on the outside like older ones, relies more on gravity to bleed and not pumping. It's just a big pain in the ass actually and it will test your patience.
To my knowledge, there has not been a recall on this problem as there should be as it is a defective issue and could cause a crash. If you were to be be hauling a trailer or on the interstate in heavy traffic when it failed, this could be deadly. You will lose all pulling power suddenly, such as in my case, and won't even have a gear to get you out of harms way. I was lucky because I was just exiting the interstate when my transmission popped and was also lucky the transmission did not lock up causing me to skid. Had I been hauling a loaded trailer going onto the sharpe curved exit ramp I probably would have flipped and rolled.
My advice is to take your truck to your dealer now before it is to late or go to this site if your handy with a wrench which tells you how to replace those seals:
www.ford-trucks.com/article/idx/9/059/article/_m5OD_mazda_design_manual_five_speed_transmission_preventative_measure.html