Couple of Questions

[Odin's Chosen]

I have a 1990 Ranger XLT 5 speed. I can no longer put it into 4th gear without it grinding, I can still put in 4th, but I have to slam in there. I was told that it may be the clutch going out, it could be metal shavings or the transmission fluid may need to be changed. I don't know, as of now since it is my daily driver I just skip 4th. Anymore ideas on this would be appreciated.
I also am planning on restoring and I'm wanting to put a 5.0 in it. I figure that I'll also have to switch transmissions. If I found an f-150 with 5.0 in it would I be able to take both the engine and transmission or would I have to find a different one?
I'm not too mechanically savvy, but I know enough and have good enough friends that I should be able to pull it off. However the engine swap is a project for down the road.
Any help is appreciated!

 

[adsm08]

For a 5.0 manual trans there is no one best donor to get all the parts from. The best engine for fit is in an Explorer. The best trans is from a 4.2L F-150.

The F-150 intake is a no-go in an Ranger, it's just too tall, it doesn't fit under the hood.

 

[Odin's Chosen]

OK, I'll be sure to keep that in mind when I'm starting to get serious about the swap, I'm planning on waiting till the transmission goes out or gets closer to going out before I start looking to start that project.

 

[adsm08]

If it's just 4th gear I would suspect that the syncro is worn out. Double clutching may help, if it's really bad try revving the engine up a bit as you pull it in to gear. It helps if the gears are moving at matching speeds.

 

[Odin's Chosen]

OK that was another idea that I was told that I forgot to mention but I'll see if that helps. If it is the synchroniser then will I have to replace it?

 

[Odin's Chosen]

Another question I forgot to ask was, what kind of fabrication should I be expecting to make the 5.0 fit? I know that it'll take at le ast a little bit but I'm not sure just how much will be needed.