New member, “New” ranger, manual swap?

[MRC406]

Hi I’m new to the forum thanks for having me. I just bought a new to me 90 ranger 4.0 auto 2wd. The transmission is acting up and I’m looking at a 89 parts truck that had a 2.9 that should have everything I need to swap the manual over. I’m wondering where to post the question about what I should expect or watch out for moving forward with this swap
Thank you

 

[pentode]

Welcome. There's a transmission forum down in the help forums section. Lots of guys on here are going to be able to tell you exactly how to go about the swap. Good luck!

 

[RobbieD]

Welcome to TRS.

You've already made two good moves; getting a '90 Ranger, and looking at converting it to manual.

Check out the "Articles / Resources" link in the upper part of the page. Lots of good info in there. And, there is a ton of info you can find by using the "Search" function on this site.

The '89 parts truck is a good find; it's useful for all of the "annoying little bits" that you'll need. The clutch pedal assembly, steering column whole or parts, the wiring harness for the manual trans, and the floor plate and shifter boot. Unfortunately, chances are it will have the Mitsubishi FM-132 5 speed manual. For a 4.0 application, the Mazda M5OD is the preferred transmission. Even if it's still good, the FM-132 will "work" (i.e.- bolt up), but it probably won't last long with the 4.0.

You'll need a flywheel, clutch, and the hydraulic clutch parts. I'd suggest buying these new as good name brand, like LUK, and do yourself a favor and get the master / slave cylinders as a pre-bled set.

You current ECM will work, but it will have fault codes for an auto trans that it won't "see" anymore. The best option will be an ECM for a 4.0 with manual (you'll need to determine EGR or non-EGR).

What you are wanting to do, is easily done. There's a few quirks, especially for a Ranger noob, but you'll get good info by posting questions here. A lot of it is going to be determined by how you want to do the conversion- whether you want the minimum to just get it done and make it work, or if you want a proper manual conversion done so that all of it looks to be factory-installed.

Good luck!

 

[MaicoDoug]

When & IF you have the flywheel machined - resurfaced, consider a new flywheel instead mainly because for me clutch chatter is nothing to mess with & mine had it bad after my flywheel was resurfaced. I am real nice with my clutch, got 86kmi out of my '83 2.8L. Just an fyi.

 

[SenorNoob]

When I bought the clutch for mine, it was cheaper to buy new from RockAuto than have O'Reilly's turn it.

Is the FM132 the 2wd version of the FM146? Honestly not sure how that works. I know my (supposedly rebuilt) FM146 did fine for years.

 

[RobbieD]

When I bought the clutch for mine, it was cheaper to buy new from RockAuto than have O'Reilly's turn it.

I found the same thing, but the last clutch jobs I did on my fleet were before the pandemic made prices go crazy. Not sure how they compare now.

Is the FM132 the 2wd version of the FM146? Honestly not sure how that works. I know my (supposedly rebuilt) FM146 did fine for years.

Yes. They are OK transmissions, but the M5OD is stronger. The M5OD is what the 4.0 used, and it had slightly different gear ratios when mated with a 4.0, compared to the M5OD used with the 2.9 and 2.3.

 

[superj]

welcome!!!

 

[MRC406]

Thank you all for the replies. The adventure starts at O dark 30 tomorrow morning to go get the parts truck. I think it’s a Mazda M5OD because of the non removable bellhousing? Box and frame became a trailer (not included) but the cab, forward frame, transmission are all there and going to make sure to get the trans cross member and driveline.

 

[Rangervin]

Can a small block 302 or coyote v8 be put into a ford ranger I have seen a chevy s10 with a small block v8 has anybody done this yet Ranger vin I have a 2009 ford ranger sport rear wheel drive 5 spd standard with a 4,0litre sohc I love my truck it is charcoal grey I have driven this thing to the moon and back I am very curious about the Twin turbo v6 reliability if its available in the new Rangers

 

[Brain75]

Best to start your own thread instead of clogging up someone else's with stuff not related to their build... And yes there is a ton of folks here that did a V8 of one flavor or another in fact they have their own banners.