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351w ranger swap, 5 speed or nothing


nesralyrrej

Well-Known Member
Ford Technician
RBV's on Boost
ASE Certified Tech
Joined
Jun 23, 2014
Messages
360
City
Arvada Crawlarado
Vehicle Year
1990
Engine
4.0 V6
Transmission
Manual
My credo
Make it fast, Make it loud.
so im looking to swap a 351 fuel injected into my '90 ranger extended cab 4x4.
I want to keep it a 5 speed. that is a must. as far as I can tell there is no t-5 tail housings being made anymore. so can I use a f150 or 250 tranny and t-case? im planning on a 3" body lift to help with clearance issues. if I cant have a manual I don't want the truck honestly.
 
I want a v8 because I went camping a few weeks ago and I took the ranger, coming up the steepest hill on the 4 hour drive I had it to the floor in 3rd gear at about 45-50 and I got passed by a mid 80's Toyota Tacoma size truck pulling a 25 foot hard sided camper.. I was barely loaded, 2 coolers, a tent, some clothes, a full tank plus 10 gallons in the bed..
 
4wd T5s are weak.
stick with a Mazda or ZF 5 spd from a fullsize . the fullsize case is pretty wide but an NP205 is a bolt on to the ZF for sure, have one. if you are going to beat on the truck definitely go with the ZF. since you have a supercab ranger driveline length should not be an issue for you.

have seen the ZF behind inline 6 efi and 5.8 Efi , have never seen one stock behind a 5.0 .

good luck with your conversion, hopefully you already have the dana 35 and 8.8............................:beer:
 
what years and models does this transmission/ tcase come from?

I believe I have the dana 35, I know I have a 7.5 rear though. but I have an explorer rear end that will go in after the motor is in
 
looking into the np205, they seemed to have 6 different input splines available, 10 spline apparently is for manual. what one should mate to a zf trans??
 
well it seems like ill be going with a 302, as I didnr realize how massive the zf trans is... (I have one in my bronco) the m5r2 sgould bo okat I guess. I beat my truck so hopefully it will survive.
 
M50DR2 is okay but sucks for towing. First gear is too high. You will smoke the clutch when starting out. More like a car than a truck ratio.
 
well it seems like ill be going with a 302, as I didnr realize how massive the zf trans is... (I have one in my bronco) the m5r2 sgould bo okat I guess. I beat my truck so hopefully it will survive.

did someone swap in the ZF? never came in any broncos, they all got the M5OD mazda.

smallblock ZF 5spd is 87-97 F350/F250HD 4.9 or 5.8, 87-96 F250 light 4.9 or 5.8.
many of the 87-96 light duty F250 came with the M5OD as well. but the M5OD never came behind a 5.8. its pretty obvious why when you see the trans side by side:D

NP205 I used behind my ZF was from a 78 F250 supercab, minor mods to the back flange of the ZF but nothing to weaken in IMHO. still lots of mating surface .:beer:
 
the reason for a zf being behind a 300 6 and 351 is torque range in terms of rpm, and it simply fits the gearing and packaging for them. in truck form and tune at least. the long strokes make good low end. no mystery there. the 302 needs the normal 1st gear of the m5od to get rolling in stock form, the second gear in the zf....which is essentially its 1st gear, is a wee bit tall for a oem tune 302's tiny little stroke for daily driving duties.


so in oem tune....the 3 engines are great when geared accordingly. and the transmissions are easily interchanged to suit needs.

anybody that thinks the 300 has the hd trans because of its excessive power...has never driven anything with excessive power. they maxed out at 250-270 ft pounds for shits sake.


so, plainly......its not because its containing excessive power, just fat where it needs to be. the 351 is no power monster either...just fat where it matters.

conversely, a stroked 302 will break both of the transmissions with frightening proficiency.


and conversely further....a trd toyota will still blow away a stock tune 351 windsor head to head.


i totally understand where your at, because the only reason i put a v8 in my truck was to be able to keep up with toyotas off road on my favorite hi difficulty level trails. back then those lil buggeres would go like dirtbikes where i was barely keeping up.

it is a vicious cycle of parts murdering hell the last 20 years with my platform:D

but i love it anyway.
 
As far as toyotas beating me, my bronco has been built (by me) it's got a stroked 390 that put down 487 horse and 501 lbft of torque on a stand. All I want is to be able to go up a hill and not need to downshift into third at 45-50. If I get passed by a Toyota again, I've got a 76mm turbo that I'll be stuffing Into my bay.

On one of the more gnarly trails I've taken this ranger on I kept up with a squad of jeeps, I had to stop and wait at points where they'd be stuck until I got fed up and went around them(with dumbfounded looks on their faces)
 
As far as toyotas beating me, my bronco has been built (by me) it's got a stroked 390 that put down 487 horse and 501 lbft of torque on a stand. All I want is to be able to go up a hill and not need to downshift into third at 45-50. If I get passed by a Toyota again, I've got a 76mm turbo that I'll be stuffing Into my bay.

On one of the more gnarly trails I've taken this ranger on I kept up with a squad of jeeps, I had to stop and wait at points where they'd be stuck until I got fed up and went around them(with dumbfounded looks on their faces)

a stroked 390? now that's one I've never heard of, show and tell please!
need that on FSB please.:popcorn:
 

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