91 m50d to 98 2.5/ found a new truck

[Mr.Stoke_Me]

well may have found me a new ranger to buy, its a 98 2.5 5spd, with 230,000 miles on it...oil changes every 3k and garage kept..owner says its never leaked a drop..

its a ex cab style side, woodforrest green with a split window...hes asking 2100 for it on craigslist...seems to be in good shape.....

i do have a small question....the tranny in the truck suffers from the notorious 3rd gear fallout!!!!will the m50d from my 91 bolt up to the 2.5 in the 98??? i never had this problem with mine and im not sure of the condition if the clutch on the new truck...i know mine was in really good shape though....so can they be swaped out.....i want to do it if i can b4 the insurance takes my truck...id have to drop both trannys in one day i guess. then put the new one in my old truck then bolt up the old tranny to the new truck on another day...all this would have to be done by my brother and i...which we dont have alot of tools just laying around...we have a few soclet and wrech sets...but nuthin major...ive never dropped a tranny b4 so it would be a whole new world for me....

SO I GUESS THE QUESTION IS.....WILL A M50D BOLT RIGHT UP TO A 2.5????

 

[Mr.Stoke_Me]

nother question...since the 2.5 is a stroked version of a 2.3....will a set of 2.3 headers work on a 2.5??they should have the same size exhuast ports and same exhuast manifold pattern correct??cuz i cant find many performance parts for the 2.5....where as there were loads of goodies for the 2.3...even on summitracing...only things i can find for the 2.5 are intakes and throttle body spacers!!help me out guys!!cuz i dont know shit from shynola about the 2.5's!!!

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

i think headers will bolt on
what 3rd gear fallout? mine has never bitched with any gear, anyway the trans will fit i think
for 230k miles that engine may not have the same power it used to have
the 2.5 is similar in many things to a 2.3
a header wont give that hell of improvement, for what ive read the 2.5 exhaust setup is really good.
even with extcab(heavier body) and that high mileage u will feel it has more guts tha your 91's 2.3

 

[Mr.Stoke_Me]

idk about the guts part...my 91 only had 85thou on it...all stock. cat delete and intake mod...it had more than enough to get out of its own way. even with 1700 pounds of gravel in the bed, it still pulled a hill about 1/2 mile in 4th at 65, and had more to give....it wasnt sporty by any means, but would move if it had to! but the owner says it falls out of 3rd into nuetral if you lift on the go pedal..ive heard of quite a few doing that..im not toooooo worried about the shape of the motor as if most of them r highway miles and it seems to be well taken care of...oil every 3k(synthetic) garage kept..im just curious as to see what the truck has to offer as far as the go pedal goes...and if i can swap trannys to get rid of the that problem, then it means ive got a much better tranny behind that 2.5 cuz it only has about 84k i think on motor tranny and chassis..yeah my truck was basically used for a grocery getter, never driven alot.so if its not going to be anything major to swap trannies, then i may go ahead and do that if i decide to purchase it...pending on the test drive!!if you want to see the truck ill post up the link for it!

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

yeah show the link
and i think the trannys are the same

 

[scotts90ranger]

only difference in the tranny is the new one doesn't have a spot for the speedo gear, so you would need to leave the end of the cable in the tranny when you put it in the newer truck

 

[rurouni20xx]

ill put it to you this way, my 92 ranger had a busted tranny when i bought it, the trans thats in it now came out of a 97 mazda b2500. the speedo cable provision was there, the newer model uses a speed sensor. make sure you put the speed sensor from the 98 truck in the 91 ranger trans with the same speedo gear from the 98. this way your speedo will be correct in the 98 since you are reusing the speedo gear that matched the rear end gearing in the 98. cheers buddy enjoy the new ride! yes 2.5 exhaust and intake will swap from the 2.3, the dif is the pistons/rods/crankshaft its even a 2.3 small journal main block. since your new truck was a grocery getter and never really blown out you may want to do that while your at it...just my advice...then again you hav a lead foot like i do so im sure that will happen. if you do decide to buy the new truck and do a tranny swap, are you willing to part with the long block (oil pan to valve covers complete less intake and exhaust manifold)? my truck is tired and using oil and you say yours isnt using oil etc, just wondering if your going to be robbing parts anyway...

 

[Mr.Stoke_Me]

well.....the insurance company just came by friday..and looked at it...and i havent been able to get in touch with the guy im trying to buy the new truck from...so im in one hell of a predicament now..ive beenlooking around like crazy for a new vehicle..but i still dont even know how much im going to get out of my old ranger...idk....if they happen to give me a decent price for it, i may try and buy it back, and possibly part with it for a little extra dough...i could drive it just about where ever i please right now ifg the radiator wasnt busted...but other than that..it in really good shape,(cept for cosemetics)only has 84329 miles on it never been rebuilt, still has the stock factory spark plugs..loli was going to change those the day of the wreck!!but yeah...ill keep you informed, as far as what im going to do with the truck man!!

 

[rurouni20xx]

preciate it boss hope it goes down well for you.