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HELP . 4r44e to 5r55e swap


Lonewolf

Active Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2009
Messages
34
Vehicle Year
98
Transmission
Automatic
anyway my questions are pretty basic if you can help thanks.
Should I fill the torque converter with fluid and put the torque converter on the trans before i stab it back in ? then bolt it to the flex plate
should I buy a new torque convertor ?

is there anything special to do when bolting the pump back up ? I am being careful with the little O-rings on the bolts and re-using the gasket which stayed in place and looks clean

can I put the 3.0 final drive splines and pump still bolted to the bell housing right in the other trans ? everything seems to MIC out identicle






98 Ranger 4x4 3.0 4r44e trans, burnt rear one way clutch. 140,000 miles
Trans shop est . $2000 ++++++ (you know the story)
truck is only worth $3,000
I decided to spin the roulette wheel for $200 and found a crash yanked 5r55e complete with Transfer case from a 2002 4x4 4.0. The guy said it had 40,000 when he rolled it and it sat in the garage 4 years.
My odds may be good because it looks like new inside the pan and all the lines and wires were snipped sort of confirming it was a crash yank out and the guy seemed pretty honest


I welded up a rig for my floor jack to hold the trans and got the trans out and I am in the process of swapping bell housings right now. Took me about 8-10 hours to get this far.
I got a new front seal , is the pump hard to get out of the bell housing to change the seal ?
It looks like another PITA


98 Ranger 4x4 3.0 4r44e trans, burnt rear one way clutch. 140,000 miles
Trans shop est . $2000 ++++++ (you know the story)
truck is only worth $3,000
I decided to spin the roulette wheel for $200 and found a crash yanked 5r55e complete with Transfer case from a 2002 4x4 4.0. The guy said it had 40,000 when he rolled it and it sat in the garage 4 years.
My odds may be good because it looks like new inside the pan and all the lines and wires were snipped sort of confirming it was a crash yank out and the guy seemed pretty honest
I read on a ford ranger website that I can swap bell housings and everything fits right up


I welded up a rig for my floor jack to hold the trans and got the trans out and I am in the process of swapping bell housings right now. Took me about 8-10 hours to get this far.
I got a new front seal , is the pump hard to get out of the bell housing to change the seal ?
It looks like another PITA




everything looks identicle externally from the plugs to the linkages
I got a shop manual and will look up the bolt torque

I gotta lot of respect for you mechanics, this is a very difficult job and my first auto trans , I've done about a dozens clutches and even repaired stick shift trans (pre-90's , did a clutch in a Kenworth all by myself once, but the auto trans is strange and these newr trucks are whacky to work on.
Wish I had some help !

I'll buy the beer

everything looks identicle externally from the plugs to the linkages
I got a shop manual and will look up the bolt torque

I gotta lot of respect for you mechanics, this is a very difficult job for me and my first auto trans , I've done about a dozens clutches and even repaired stick shift trans (pre-90's , did a clutch in a Kenworth all by myself once, but the auto trans is strange and these newr trucks are whacky to work on.
Wish I had some help !

I'll buy the beer
 
im shure the computer is diffrent between the 5r and the 4r and the 4r computer wont know what to do with 5 gears and no the seal is easy also check the bushing they also go out to no need to fill the tc it will just be a mess lol
 
OK thanks, yeah I figured it out a lisle seal puller made it easy and the TC needs to be in place before lineup
Some sort of manual would be nice
 
im shure the computer is diffrent between the 5r and the 4r and the 4r computer wont know what to do with 5 gears and no the seal is easy also check the bushing they also go out to no need to fill the tc it will just be a mess lol

The 5r does not have 5 gears, the computer just locks the TC in 1st gear to "create" a second gear, and the second mechanical gear becomes 3rd gear, etc.
 
The 5r does not have 5 gears, the computer just locks the TC in 1st gear to "create" a second gear, and the second mechanical gear becomes 3rd gear, etc.

exactly , except it does not lock the torque converter in first , it simply applies the overdive band to the front sun shell , the only time the converter is locked is in overdriven 3rd ( 4th in a 4r , 5th in a 5r ) , the only difference between the two is one line of code in the PCM
 
Hey thanks evereyone,
so heres the drama
I got it all in there and it all went smooth. I botched the first poke and it would not make that last half inch. So I took it out and rechecked the TC to pump mesh and it went right in the second time.
I was working on it after work again getting weary and it was late then went to hook up the last thing , the drive shaft.
Then I realized the 02 has a different driveshaft so the yokes are different on the transfer case .( I got a complete trans and transfer case)
I wish I had noticed when I had it out of the truck.
It might be tough getting that yoke off . I'll need to make a holder tool and heat up the green locktite and hope my little 100 pound maybe compressor will give enough hit to my 1.2" air impact, Or I may have to go to the BFH method ( Big F'n Hammer and chisel impact)
and hope the splines are the same , the nut and shaft are the same
figured I better call it a nite
 
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does anyone know where my speedometer pickup is ?
is it in the trans or transfer case ? will there be any speedo issues with this swap ?

And do I have it wrong ?, I read the list again and I think it says '98 up had 5r55 ?

so am I swapping a 98 5r55 with a '02 5r55 ?
 
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rather that trying to pull your yoke off, you could swap tcases, it'll be easier than trying to remove the yoke if your impact gun won't break it loose...as for as VSS, not sure, but check your old trans and tcase and your new setup, this should tell you
SVT
 
Good luck with getting the yoke swapped.

Your speedometer is driven from the VSS on top of the rear axle, so it'll work just fine.
 
Good luck with getting the yoke swapped.

Your speedometer is driven from the VSS on top of the rear axle, so it'll work just fine.
Hey thanks !

I got it done and it seems like I lucked out on the gamble of buying a used trans and T-case
it s all working excellent so far knock on wood.
I test drove it on the mountain roads around here and I could only get up to about 50-60 but it pulled the grades with no slipping and shifts excellent

However, I am pretty sure that i put in a 5r55 from a '02 ranger 4.0 4x4 but not sure what trans I took out of the '98 ranger 4x4, now I think it was either a 4r55 or 5r55 , I never counted the gears
 

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