09/00 to 01/02 Differences?

[BigVWman]

Hello, New to TRS at least with this login and I have no idea what old one was. Long story short my 02 is getting tired. Keeping track of a low mileage drivetrain but it is slightly older. What am I overlooking that could make what I perceive as a super easy swap trouble? Any thoughts...I'm thinking Engine, trans, transfer case swap
Current daily is build bate 01/02 and potential donor is build date 09/00 both 4.0 4wd

 

[Uncle Gump]

If I'm not mistaken... the 02 should have a 4.0L SOHC and the 00 would have a 4.0L OHV. Completely different engines.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

If engine/drivetrain etc is good, just tired, I would just freshen it up with a rebuild....keep it original. Engine rebuild kit and take the trans to a shop for R&R is what I would do. Maybe throw in some new ring and pinion(s).

I've had a few Rangers, both in the 100k+ mile range...Mostly had to do transfer case and transmisson rebuild/replacements. Thankfully my buddy owns a transmission shop down the street, and there's a decent rear end shop around the corner...although sometimes I do the ring and pinion myself.

 

[gw33gp]

The 4.0 SOHC came out in the 2001 model year for the Ranger. I don't know when Ford started building the 2001s. You should check to see if the engine is a SOHC. Even if is an OHV, the transmission will still bolt up to your 4.0 SOHC. You will just only be able to use 7 bolts instead of 8 to bolt it to your engine. I understand that should not be a problem though.

I got a replacement remanufactured transmission for my 02 from Zumbrota under warranty with the wrong trans housing. I did not realize it until I went to put the last bolt in. I needed my truck and was too tired to pull it out and reinstall my old trans. I completed the install, and it worked just fine for me for about 4 weeks while I waited for them to re-manufacture another one to replace it. They tried to convince me it would be no problem with only 7 bolts, and I was kind of leaning that way. Then I thought about how much I spent on that remanufactured transmission and did not want to settle for something less than what was supposed to be in there.