ok changed tail housing. put new speedo on and ran gray/ black and pink/ orange wires shifts good now. just have to put everything else back together cause of the wire testing. for anybody else who cuts the plug and tries to run off the other sensor DONT DO IT! speedo wont work when fuse 10 is plugged in. and with fuse 10 unplugged or cruise control spedometer gets different signal and will read 160 kms backing out of the driveway. and your tranny will be in limp mode. shifting wierd in crappy slow tranny mode. if you cut and loose the original plug. when you replace plug. gray/black wire when sensor is plugged in is right side ( towards back of vehichle) and gray/orange is left side towards front.
i now beat etest, its not a hybrid but its still new 1987 ranger ext cab obd2. updated dash, seats,all body wiring, ceiling, trim,
1997 4.0 (50.000 kms) exhaust, abs, airbags, heater/blower, rebuilt 5r55e trans, 4r55e engine and trans wiring from 3.0 ( some minor modifications, change plug on crankshaft sensor, extend few wires to reach sensors,) better to find 4.0 though , cruise control, rabs system, original gastank, shortened fuel pump to work, 3 inch lift, on front, 6 on back..
some pointers and tips
cut out old firewall and replace with the obd2, for heater box, ac unit,
use brand new heater core while dash is already out,
mark all wiring on both sides of plugs,
you have to custom make your own brake lines or get adapters because new master cylinder is metric fittings, and 1992 and earlier vehichles were made imperial,
same with power steering, but i guess you can use your old pump,
2.9 ypipe is same as 4.0, but 1997 ranger has 3 oxygen sensors so take exhaust. 1987 i think has 1.
2.9 drive shaft keep from the 2.9 a4ld,
keep rad, trans clloer,
you have to move battery carriage to other side.
make hole and fabricate something for breather tube to fit in.
seat belts are different. 1997 adjustable, 1987 not.
you have to custom make and weld something behind door posts to bolt seat belt adjusting brackets to, or cut obd2 door post out and weld it in 1987. dont pot rivit dont think it will save you in an accident.
re position dome light,
a4ld trans and 5r55e has a different shift linkage, one has hole for rod and other has stem for cable, you cut off the stem, drill out hole and run the rod tthrough it to keep floor shifter. same tailhousing.,
1997 ranger rear tail lights are a 3 bulb system 1987 ranger is 2 bulb, what i did was got a trailer wiring harness, chopped and spliced it to be able to use my tail lights, signals and brake lights, the only problem i see with that is when you have your 4 ways on, and step on the brakes, they are in the same circuit so brake lights still flash as 4ways.
also your trim inside the cab the plugs are in different places to click it in so you have to drill some spots for the plastic rivits and other spots, you have to custom make some metal fittings built out with holes so rivits can plug in.
door skins i used out of a 1992 (1997 door skin cant put on door because different size. that were same colour. still havent figured ac but if i can use the evaporator from a 1987 that was made for r12 freon and connect it to the remaining system thats supposed to have r134a than im laughing.
i found this project nervracking,but very exciting to see the end result. if you have no patience and throw tools and smash things when angry, i would suggest you dont do it. ill never do it again. im not usually like that but i did do it quite a few times. while yelling at the truck treatening the junkyard. and had to do a few extra repairs because of it.
also in order to learn anything about both years i bought a obd 2 ranger took it apart and sold everything i wouldnt need.
visually inspected how everything came off. i was suprised i actually made money. and then used that to buy an obd1 ranger to strip and sell too. needed to know everything possible to be able to do swaps. all measurements from all angles to see if it would even work.
thanks to all that helped