Just bought a 4d55t truck, some questions...

[ericlerouge]

front cover removed from the fm145 tonight...

 

[Oh2Ranger]

Alright man! ya! The race is on!

looks great!

 

[ericlerouge]

I knock on wood but i think the worst part is done.If the weather is nice, i think i'll be able to drop it in next week end. Some veterans here told me that swap could be done in a week end... well, i'm not this fast! I work alone without torches, too. But i like it that way.

I think that truck will be my first and last swap. I'm selling the house to go back to a cheapest rent. Hopefully, the truck will get me to some nice camping trips here in Quebec and maybe south of the border a couple times.

I think i'll start to play with motorcycles. I dream about a bobber project, the appartment i rent in june have a small garage.

 

[Oh2Ranger]

You do have the benefit of having a complete parts truck, which by far is the way to go.. although that doesn't always make it easy. There will always be snags. Even if I had a diesel parts truck to pluck from, I doubt it would make it much easier. (although I brought on a lot of my difficulty going to a different gen ranger).

I'm without torches too, so far at least.

I hear you on the motorcycles. Although I'm more of an enduro guy. My last project was a 1984 XT600 I bought for 300$. Couple bloody knuckles, cans of spray paint, brakes, chains, and love and I got 2300$ out of it. Sure turned out nice and I miss it a lot now.

This 4d55 keeps me busy though!

 

[ericlerouge]

Nice bike!

Honestly, i won't be able to do a swap like that without the donor. I just bought a small mig welder, but i never experienced it before. All the fab part it requires to do a swap like yours is out of my league. But, i really enjoy working on my trucks.

Here was my first project, an old dodge raider that i paid twice its value at the time. rusted and neglected. fixed it all up, did the body work with pop rivets and painted it.

 

[ericlerouge]

 

[Oh2Ranger]

I've always thought that the Montero/Raiders were pretty neat little suv's. You did a real nice job on that thing, I don't see any reason to be afraid of any project with that kind of craftsmanship.

Oh, and your post about how all the fab i'm going to do is out of your league.. made me laugh. I haven't touched a welder yet! If I was any good with one, maybe but I don't have a wire feed, I have a buzz box and all I ever do is make a mess out of whatever I'm working on. I really hope to be able to get a thread started soon, I should have a replacement screen for my laptop on the way in the next little while.

I enjoy the electrical, making everything work.. electric fan, gauges.. etc.

The truck your putting the diesel into had a 2.9 right? Fuel Injected. Does it have a pump in the tank or inline? on my 94 I had to remove the bed and gut the pump. I don't think the lift pump on the fuel rail would appreciate trying to pull through it.

Does your rust bucket donor have a diesel tach? Or the instrument cluster without?

 

[ericlerouge]

yeah, the truck has the 2.9 and these trucks have an in tank pump and an inline pump. the diesel is the same but the pumps are different (not the same pn) probably way less pressure. I think it needs 4-6 psi for the diesel, but i'm unsure.

I will switch everything up.

i have a tach and will swap it too. look at dakota digital, they make an adapter for your tach.

Well, if you don't weld very well, my advice is have someone else weld your motor mounts. you can prep them and have them weld at a welding shop. Your welds can sometimes look good and not be penetrated enough. that's the little bit i know about it.

 

[ericlerouge]

i'm swapping bell housings, change the clutch and motor mounts and drop it in place tomorrow. wish me luck!

 

[Oh2Ranger]

Should be a breeeeeeze! Take pictures!

Are you going to do anything else while its out and easy? Oil pan gasket.. etc? or Feeling pretty good about that stuff? Maybe add an intercooler while your wiring / plumbing everything up? Boost / Pyro?

Do you have power steering?

 

[ericlerouge]

Well, i tought about the pan gasket, but it does'nt leak. I ordered a valve cover gasket, witch leaks a bit and the oil mess on the other side comes from the oil cooler lines. I will change those tomorrow. the power steering hoses are there and are plug'n play.

Right now, i'm on a time restreint. (i just sold the house, moving before june first)

I need the engine in there before i move. Even if it's not running, i can have it towed to my new place to continue the job.

I will change the timing belt and install gauges after she's up and running. I tought about doing the belt while it's out but if i have a no start issue after everything is done, i don't want to have too much stuff to rule out.

the intercooler i'm using is top-mounted, it'll be another project by itself.... i'll have to change piping sizes to match, make brackets and put a working hood scoop.

 

[ericlerouge]

Well, it isnt a breeze!!! took me two hours to remove the passenger side motor mount on the 2.9 truck. My neighbor complaint about the noise early this morning, and i'll have to drill a hole in the crossmember to fit the diesel bracket to the actual crossmember to have a solid motor mount.

transmission covers were actually a breeze!!!!

can't get pictures my camera is out

 

[ericlerouge]

update:
motor mounts installed
fuel tank is down and drained.

hope things will go smoother tomorrow. I plan on removing the old fuel lines and pump from the truck before i put in the bell housing, do the clutch and drop the engine in.

 

[Oh2Ranger]

Glad to hear progress, hopefully tomorrow you will be able to drop her in and let her sit on your mounts. I had to mess with the same bracket and drill it out to fit along the cross member. Installing the clutch and the transmission wont take long. are you going to drop it in as a unit? Thats how I've always done it.

I was going to go with a top mount intercooler, but I couldn't find any that I thought would fit (except 4d56..$$$). I think I'm going to have a pretty crowded bay. I just ordered a VW / AUDI type intercooler and think I'll mount mine opposite to the oil cooler on the front. Still have much to do before I get that far, but I'd like to have it on hand and ready to go.

Good Luck!

 

[ericlerouge]

the transmission still sits in the truck. the intercooler i will use comes from a t/c t-bird. i started looking at wiring yesterday night.... mmmmh. that'll be fun! (but i won't be in a hurry to get that part done)