3.0l transmission in a 2.5l Truck

[mindninja]

Hey guys! Newbie here. Just had my VW TDI blow up on me so i'm a transfer from the TDI forums as i've just purchased a 2001 2.5l 2wd Ranger. I apologize for the stupid question as i'm coming from a whole other world over there and starting all my knowledge from scratch.

I know i'm going to need to rebuild the transmission eminently so i'm looking to see if i can find a donor transmission that i can rebuild in my spare time and just have ready to go to swap into the truck when I have the time and am ready. I am struggling to find what donors will actually be the same. I know 4wd transmissions are out unless I replace the main shaft and some other things which aren't worth it. But can i put a transmission from a 3.0l or 4.0l into my 2.5l truck as long as it was also a 2wd?

Sorry far in advance if I just missed this information somewhere. There is a guy selling a tranny that needs to be rebuilt for $100 but it came out of 3.0l. Just need to make sure it would work.

Thanks so much guys!

 

[rusty ol ranger]

No.

Youll need a 2.3/2.5 transmission. The 3.0 and 4.0 both use different bellhousing patterns.

 

[mindninja]

No.

Youll need a 2.3/2.5 transmission. The 3.0 and 4.0 both use different bellhousing patterns.

Thanks for the quick clarification!

 

[rusty ol ranger]

A 2.3 LIMA transmission. One from a 2.3 duratech (01+) i believe are different. One of the 4 banger guys can clarify more.

 

[mindninja]

A 2.3 LIMA transmission. One from a 2.3 duratech (01+) i believe are different. One of the 4 banger guys can clarify more.

I just kept telling myself that there's no way they didn't just make them interchangeable. It couldn't possibly have been as cost effective as if they would have just made an interchangeable bell housing or something. Buuut it sounds like that is exactly the case... they're pretty much all different. I'm sure somebody had a good reason and they must have been far smarter than me.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

I just kept telling myself that there's no way they didn't just make them interchangeable. It couldn't possibly have been as cost effective as if they would have just made an interchangeable bell housing or something. Buuut it sounds like that is exactly the case... they're pretty much all different. I'm sure somebody had a good reason and they must have been far smarter than me.

Ford does all kinds of stupid shit.

The 2.8/2.9/4.0 share a bellhousing, the 2.0/2.3/2.5 share a bellhousing, the 2.3 duratech is different too, and the 3.0 matches up to nothing either.

 

[adsm08]

Now.... here is where things get screwy.

That 3.0 transmission you were looking at.... the guts are all the same. You could buy that one, rebuild it, and have the internals just sitting there waiting for you to be ready to install them.

The actual rebuild process takes me about a day and a half, at home, with sub-par tools and a shop press. The assembly portion of that, from having the main shaft all together to having a working transmission is a lazy afternoon. So you could still use that 3.0 trans, it just won't be quite as quick a turn around as you were hoping for.

It's also too bad you are on the wrong side of the country, I have a Lima case just hanging out in my garage waiting for something to happen to it.

 

[RonD]

Its actually cheaper to cast one case than to cast a separate case and bell housing, M5OD-R1 was cheaper to make because of this

The M5OD-R1 manual transmission(what you have) was used on Rangers from 1988 to 2011

There were 5 unique castings for the M5R1
Lima, fits 2.3l or 2.5l Lima engines
Vulcan, fits 3.0l Vulcan engine
Cologne, fits 2.9l, 4.0l OHV and 4.0l SOHC
4.0l SOHC, HD model, added an extra bell house bolt hole, but compatible with Cologne engines above
Duratec, 2.3l DOHC Duratec engine

Each M5R1 came in a 2WD or 4WD version, except Duratec which was 2WD only

The 4.0l used a different gear ratio set than the 4cyl or 3.0l Vulcan


Automatics have a separate bell housing because it needs to be removed to rebuilt it, its the front side of the main pump