4x4 v8 swap

[theblueranger]

has anyone done a v8 swap into a 4x4 5speed?? its an 89 and everyone ive talked to said they cant do it because of the front end and the transfer case wont bolt up to any trans from a full size truck. what do i do???

 

[Teddyzee]

You read this very forum and find out that everyone you talked with is wrong to some degree.

 

[stegomon]

i used a trans from a 88 f-150 and a t-case from a 78 full size bronco. every thing went in nice and tight just like an OJ Simpson glove!

 

[Slipknotyk]

has anyone done a v8 swap into a 4x4 5speed?? its an 89 and everyone ive talked to said they cant do it because of the front end and the transfer case wont bolt up to any trans from a full size truck. what do i do???

My personal recommendation is ditch the 5 speed. They generally do NOT fit Rangers without an extreme degree of modification. Plus, you would have to use a different T-Case than is used in the Ranger.

The easiest swap is the 5.0L Explorer V8, with the trans and t-case all from the Explorer.

An other route could be using the 5 speed that came with the 3.0 V6 and bolt up a Ford Taurus SHO V8.

 

[ChrisR1S]

You should find people who know what they're talking about... There are several v8 4x4 trucks on here. Just scan the build section or do a search.

And yeah to an extent they are right; you cant bolt your existing tcase up to a fullsize trans. You either need to buy an adapter to mate your case to the v8 trans or just use a fullsize t-case.

Im using a np435 4speed trans with bw1356 t-case. IMO the biggest difference between this swap and a 2wd one is header selection and that i had to "massage" my frame for the transfer case to fit.

 

[freerider6_9]

i have a 5.0, zf 5spd and np205, fits great, just needed a conv. u-joint to go from the tcase to the driveshaft.

 

[red rocket]

im doing the same swap i got a 89 extended cab using 92 302 mazda 5speed and np 205, get a 3 inch body lift will make alot of room and a bit easier

 

[cammeddrz]

it is generally the most painless to use a donor vehicle that has a full-size transmission already married to a t-case, and no matter if you found a t-case with the same driveline yoke because you'd need both drivlines length modified so adding a different yoke to the driveshaft at the same time is no hassle.

a wrecked late-80's truck with a v8 is often $500 or less, it has all of the parts you need (including engine, trans, t-case driveshafts, radiator etc.) , and then after you have raided it for parts you send it to the shredder and get another $150-$200 back