3.0 4x4 Tranny in a 2.9 4x2

[Katalyst]

Well that title should attract enough attention

Ok so here is my situation, I have a 1990 2wd Ranger with the 2.9l. As of yesterday my Mitsubishi fm132 tranny locked up on me, now I need my truck back pretty fast, and I should probably just order a reman'd Mazda r1, but that will take too long. So I found a truck at the local yard, its got a 3.0 in it, with the tag on the tranny saying F57a da. As far as I can tell, that's the M5R1, the Mazda one. Now I know that if this truck was 2wd it would be a direct replacement (thank you extensive tech library). My problem is that its 4wd. If I pulled this transmission, could i find a tail housing for it and just pull the t-case off and put the tail housing on? I know there are issues with the output shafts being different lengths, so I guess I'm asking if this will work or if I should just pull the tranny, t-case, and drive shaft from the truck in the yard and swap them all in with the t-case just acting as a dummy? Or if that idea is dumb too. You guys all have more experience then me so any advise or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. The mitsu fm132 is a crappy tranny, thats why I would rather have the Mazda, and none of the yards have 2wd rangers in them.

 

[exbass94]

This question has been asked a million times before....

The 3.0 has a different bell housing bolt pattern than the 2.9. That trans will not bolt up to your engine, and M5ODs have non-removable bell housings. You need a trans from a 2.8, 2.9 or 4.0. If it's a 4wd trans you NEED to swap the output shaft and the tailhousing. Or I suppose you could do the dummy t-case if you want.

 

[Katalyst]

My mistake, I must have read that a little too fast. As for the Mazda not having a removable bellhousing, that doesn't really matter, unless you were thinking of keeping the bellhousing from the original tranny and bolting up the donor tranny to that(could that work?). And also my mistake for asking a question that's been asked before, I must have missed it Anyway, thanks for the quick response, I think I'm gonna limp it along with the dummy t-case until I can get a re manufactured, or rebuild the one thats in it if its savable.

 

[exbass94]

Exactly how do you plan on removing a bellhousing that's NON-removable and reuse your existing bellhousing?

 

[Explorin94]

Exactly how do you plan on removing a bellhousing that's NON-removable and reuse your existing bellhousing?

Sawzall....nuf said!

 

[Katalyst]

Oh I was thinking of using a torch and just eyeballing it.... Come on really? I was trying to think of a reason you would even bring up the fact that the mazda has a non removable bellhousing. But nevermind, i've given up

 

[Explorin94]

Oh I was thinking of using a torch and just eyeballing it.... Come on really? I was trying to think of a reason you would even bring up the fact that the mazda has a non removable bellhousing. But nevermind, i've given up

Because it is a fact, the M5OD-R1 does not have a removable bell housing. The bellhousing to the end of the main body is one piece. And if you happen to have one please post a picture of it. Cause I will throw the at it. What more can be said about this?

 

[Katalyst]

Sigh..... I KNOW IT DOES NOT HAVE A REMOVABLE BELL HOUSING. Not trying to be an dick but sheesh. All I'm saying is you pointing out that it cant be removed is like stating that you don't have anger issues at a PTA meeting. I didn't ask if it could or not, and I already know that its one piece. As to your other question, there is NOTHING more that can be said, so stop trying to start an argument over nothing because you think you know more then everyone else like every other time-has-forgotten-me mechanic on the internet, because guess what? You do know more then me, I have my masters in computer science, its not like I'm ASE certified here. So how about next time you act a little nicer, considering YOUR the one with the experience, not me, and stop acting like I'm asking dumb questions. If I knew the answers then obviously I wouldn't be on here asking you.

 

[stmitch]

The 3.0 trans will not bolt to your 2.9. They are completly different engines. If it had a removable bellhousing, then you could just do the swap as you've already stated, but it's a one piece trans. The only transmissions that will work on a 2.9 come from 2.8, 2.9, or 4.0 OHV equipped rangers since those engines are all part of the Cologne engine family. The 3.0 Vulcan shares no compatible parts with any of the Cologne engines, Transmission included.

 

[Explorin94]

Sigh..... I KNOW IT DOES NOT HAVE A REMOVABLE BELL HOUSING. Not trying to be an dick but sheesh. All I'm saying is you pointing out that it cant be removed is like stating that you don't have anger issues at a PTA meeting. I didn't ask if it could or not, and I already know that its one piece. As to your other question, there is NOTHING more that can be said, so stop trying to start an argument over nothing because you think you know more then everyone else like every other time-has-forgotten-me mechanic on the internet, because guess what? You do know more then me, I have my masters in computer science, its not like I'm ASE certified here. So how about next time you act a little nicer, considering YOUR the one with the experience, not me, and stop acting like I'm asking dumb questions. If I knew the answers then obviously I wouldn't be on here asking you.

Calm down Skippy...you are the one who kept asking the same question over and over. Not trying to start an arguement but your thick skull won't let the answer sink in. You said that you are a Computer Science Guy? So you should have the smarts as to what you read when EXBASS explained it the first time. You will need to find a transmission that fits a 2.9 or a 4.0. No other will work and with you wanting to use a 4x4 trans won't cut it either. There would be some fabricating on your part. Keep looking, if you can't find one I have the parts to make one..

 

[Katalyst]

Well I'm sorry if it seemed like I was asking it over and over, I never had any intention of trying to remove the bell housing on the mazda, I knew it was a one piece design. I would, however, like to know what you guys think of the 2wd's FM132 mitu transmission. I have heard its not worth rebuilding, but it looks like either one of the bearings exploded or one of the gears, I only got like 30 seconds to look at it before I had to go to work. Would you resurrect it or would you throw it out and upgrade?

I'll take some pictures tomoorrow once its light and upload them, to give you a better idea of what kind of shape its in

 

[Explorin94]

Well I'm sorry if it seemed like I was asking it over and over, I never had any intention of trying to remove the bell housing on the mazda, I knew it was a one piece design. I would, however, like to know what you guys think of the 2wd's FM132 mitu transmission. I have heard its not worth rebuilding, but it looks like either one of the bearings exploded or one of the gears, I only got like 30 seconds to look at it before I had to go to work. Would you resurrect it or would you throw it out and upgrade?

I'll take some pictures tomoorrow once its light and upload them, to give you a better idea of what kind of shape its in

The mitsu transmissions are junk. they are hard to rebuild, require special tools and are best used as a boat anchor. I have been in the 4x4 version of it and they are not any fun. I can rebuild an M5OD in about 2 1/2 hours with all the parts and could spend days on the mitsu trans'. Definately throw that trans to the curb...hell take it to a recycler and get some of your money back. I would find the mazda trans and never look back.