Cummins Ranger


USMCredneck

15+ Year Member

Joined
Oct 12, 2007
Messages
26
Points
3,101
Age
39
City
Clearwater, FL
Vehicle Year
1997
Transmission
Automatic
Officially started my project today. Got about half the engine pulled out. Probably going to get the other half out when I come back up for X-mas. Unfortunately it's probably going to take a while since I still have to find a job down in Tampa and find the motor I'm looking for. :annoyed:

Anybody need anything off of a 97 2.3?
 
I'll be putting a 4bt in it. I won't have as much cutting to do to make it fit.
 
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If I can get my hands on a chevy version then I'll throw a 700r4 behind it so I can have the overdrive. Im not sure what tranny came in the ford versions though, so if the ford tranny is more desirable then Ill probably wind up going with that instead.
 
No Ford auto is desirable over a 700R4.

The 700R4 came in light-duty 3/4 and 1/2 ton GM diesel pickups without turbochargers. Those are 150hp/250ft# motors. The trannies can be built up to extremes though. I had one in a 2500 with a Banks turbocharged 6.2 and I towed my B2 all over the place with it. I wouldn't get too crazy on turning up the motor though. For example, a 5.9 Cummins with a 190hp rating has the pump set to deliver 89mm^3 fuel per stroke and a GM 6.5 with a 190hp rating has the pump set at 60mm^3 per stroke. Having less cylindes means you have to burn more fuel per combustion to achieve the same power. A 4-cylinder is even worse and it's going to beat on parts if you turn it up much. A 700R4 is used to seeing about 46mm^2 of fuel out of a naturally aspirated 6.2 at 150hp. I see a 4BT tag on a motor on Ebay right now that is 120hp and has 86mm^3 per stroke. It's going to be twice the hammer on a 700R4 then a 6.2 is. I'm sure the TH400 lasts at that setting.

I would find out what other people are successful with. It's not the torque, it's the way the torque is applied. The more cylinders you have at a given torque, the smoother the motor delivers it and the easier it is on parts. I've dodged tomatoes for years advising people that the 6.2/6.5 is a better swap into an RBV than a Cummins.
 
Man that made me have flashbacks to physics classes. I understand what you're saying about the engine wearing the tranny differently, but I think it should hold up fine. The engine may not stay stock for long, but neither will the tranny. I'm also looking into having the engine balanced to lessen the vibration and all that good stuff that goes with it.

So far the favorite transmissions for a 4bt swap seem to be the 700R4, NV4500, and the TH400. There are a few others here and there that I've found but those three are the most common. The swaps Ive been reading havent mentioned any premature transmission problems yet, so it looks good so far.
 
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the problem with any automatic and that engine is gear spacing. everybody I have talked to with that engine and a TH700r4 all complain about being in the wrong rpm range. the engine either spins to fast or too slow. I plan to solve that with a gear splitter.
 
if you go with a 700r4 you will need a low stall converter, if you go newer like the 4l80 you need one out of a mechanical injected 6.2 or 6.5 and get the stand alone controller as the newer electronic injected motors have an ecm to deal with
 
If you check out bowtieoverdrives.com they have what you need for dealing with the computer.

Yes, the gear spacing wasn't great with the 700R4 and a diesel. The main issue is the overdrive is very high. it was done for to meet EPA econmy standards in the early 80s, but the distance between 3rd and OD is a big jump because it will slow you down on a hill--you don't quite have the torque to keep it in OD so you pull it down and the engine is spinning way too fast so you have to slow down. A splitter is great and if I go back to a 700R4 to get the lockup clutch, I'll keep the Gear Vendors for that very purpose.

Yes, you can upgrade a 700R4 to take the torque. The frequency is another matter. It's still going to derate the tranny 50% compared to a V8 diesel with the same torque.

Edit: the diesel converter is what you need. A gas converter won't work because the diesel flexplate has twice as many bolt holes.
 
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Thanks for all the input. I think I will probably wind up going with a TH400 since thats what most of the chevy bread vans come with. I'll just buy a gear splitter to put behind it instead of buying a 700r4 and a splitter.
 
you might check out www4btswaps.com there is a guy that has already done this in a ranger on there.
 
I'll be doing the same as mooktank did on the site you mentioned. I'll be running a ZF trans, and unsure of a t case as of yet. I have to confirm where my speedo reads from (rear diff or t case?) and I may swap to a 205, or 208.

-andrew
 
im going to be doing that to my explorer but i am going to be using a ford zf 5 spd. no chevy slushbox for me:stop::stop::stop:
 
Ive been looking around on 4btswaps for a while now. I lost count of how many project writeups I've read. Mooktank's ranger is definitely one I will be looking at a lot though.
 
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