Volvo Forums - Volvo Enthusiasts Forum - S40 / V40 F5M42 transmission / gearbox replacement

Hi,

I am new to this forum and I don't drive a Volvo (please don't kill me), never-the-less I think I am in the right spot to ask for help. I asked around in Mitsubishi forums and I hope to gather some more information regarding the F5M42 that I assume is component shared among Volvo but also Mitsubishi cars, or at least that's what I suspect. Would be cool to get some answer from you guys here. Thanks in advance.

I drive a Lancer Wagon Sport CS_W from 2004.
Engine: 4G63 2.0 DOHC 16V naturally aspirated
Gearbox: F5M42-2-R7B4 manual 5 speed
https://proxy.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=h...kb1g6b.jpg&f=1

The car has 220k kilometers (136k miles) on the clock and the gearbox has started to be quite noisy. Once you press in the clutch the noise goes away, as the transmission stops turning. I assume the bearings have gone bad. The syncro rings are also near to their end-of-life as I have to double-clutch certain gears.
Because I really grew fond of this car I will try to fix the transmission / gearbox (hereinafter called gearbox). I am thinking about different options but firstly I need to know some details about the gearbox.

So here are my questions, I would be very glad if you guys could provide some answers.
Thanks alot!

Question 1:
F5M42 stands for 5 speed manual, gearbox "family" number 42
There are many F5M42-x-xxxx gearbox types, e.g.

F5M42-2-R7B4
F5M42-1-F8B6
F5M42-1-F7B5

They differ in gear ratio / final drive ration /speedometer drive ratio. At least that's what I found out from workshop manuals and spec sheets. My simple question is, please forget about the ratios for a moment (see later questions below), can you exchange any F5M42 gearbox with another F5M42? Meaning: bolt pattern, spline, linkage, flywheel/clutch hub, sensor connector are the same.

Question 2:
Assume the answer to question 1 is "yes" and you are starting to follow up on the part numbers on partsoup / proxy-parts etc. . You will find that the following Mitsubishi models had these F5M42 gearbox:

Lancer
Grandis
Carisma
Space Runner
Outlander
Galant

(sorry but I couldn't find a good and correct source to match these model names to the non-Europe / JDM naming like Siron, Mirage, Montero, Strada, Dion, Toppo (? WTF), Diamant, Tredia etc. )

You will also find that the following Volvo models match also:

I couldn't find any spec sheets for the Volvo F5M42 gearboxes.
My simple question is: Is the F5M42 gearbox from a Volo V40 or S40 the same as from a Mitsubishi (forget about the ratios for a moment)? (I know this is a Volvo forum, but hey, I asked the Volvo question in a Mistubishi forum and survived it, if there is just one single dude who knows, it will be worth the hate I will get for that)

Question 3:
Where can I find data on the F5M42 gearbox after 2001. You can find tables with gear ratios etc. from nearly WW2 till 2001, then it stopps. Where can I find more recent data i.e 2001 - 2008 on F5M42 gearbox?

Question 4:
I don't have data on the F5M42-2-R7B4 gearbox but in 5th gear the car runs 120 km/h (74.5 mph) at 3000 rpm (at least there isn't a silly imperial conversion when it comes to rpm). I hooked up the OBD2 port for all diagnostic data and measured fuel consumption for any speed btw. 80 and 160 km/h. Assume any F5M42 gearbox fits, and assume I have all charts and data on the ratios. Further assume you would like to optimize fuel consumption for speeds btw 120 - 140 km/h, top speed isn't important. Is there any other potential problem you could think of in picking a F5M42 transmission with higher gear and/or final drive ratio?

I have many more questions but I think it gets boring and maybe it doesn't make sense to ask futher questions in advance without having at least some answers to the questions so far.

Maybe just a quick spoiler, it seems that it is much more easy to get a Volvo gearbox (at least here in Europe), buy a rebuild kit with bearings and syncro rings, rebuild the gearbox and replace it with the original faulty Mitsubishi one.