Crossmember Question

[old409]

I have an 1989 Ranger super Cab with a 2.9 engine and A4LD trans. The crossmember that the rear mount is on, the one that connect to the trans. rusted and today I went to the local yard and found one in excellent shape. It was from a 1989 with a 2.9 engines and 5 speed man. trans. We compared it to one that had the auto trans in it and we couldn't see any difference.

When I got it home and cleaned it up, I noticed it had the word manual stamped on it. I got under my truck and tried to compare them. They both looked the same, same holes, same place, and same length. I also looked in my factory manual and they only have one crossmember listed for the 1989 Ranger with the 2.9 engine. Does anybody know if they used a different crossmember for the manual trans and auto trans? If it wasn't for the manula stamped on the one I got today, I wouldn't have any question about it working.

It's not that I'm too lazy to tear the old one out and compare it etc. It's that I'm old and crippled up and if I can save myself a couple times of crawling under the truck, I save myself a lot of pain and maybe a couple sleepless nights.

 

[90rangersuper]

when i switched my tranny from the a4ld to the manual m5od i used the same crossmember, mine bolted to the outside of the frame rail

 

[old409]

Thanks for the reply. This new crossmember I got looks just like the original rusted out one but of course the tape measure wasn't in the tool box when I got it. It mounts outside the frame just like the original and it does match with those bolt holes. I'd tear the original off but my truck is sitting at a local garage waiting for state inspection.

If you used the same crossmember when you did your swap, I'm probably safe.

 

[metalmacguyver]

Where is "manual" stamped on your crossmember? I just cut the one out of my parts truck and didnt see it stamped anywhere.

 

[cocoasranger]

Like 90rangersuper, when I swapped from auto to stick, I reused the same cross member and trans mount which waere an exact match. I vaguely remember "manual was stamped on it, but it was a while ago; regardless, it's an exact match w/o any mods.

 

[cocoasranger]

Like 90rangersuper, when I swapped from auto to stick on my 89 Ranger, I reused the same cross member and trans mount which were an exact match. I vaguely remember "manual was stamped on it, but it was a while ago; regardless, it's an exact match w/o any mods.

Sorry, accidently double posted when trying to correct spelling.

 

[90rangersuper]

hope your luck is better than mine with the x-member, the bolts were siezed in that metal sleeve in there, tried everything to get that out, ended up cutting the bolt out and just using a 5/8 bolt to hold it back up there

 

[old409]

There's an arrow pointing the direction to mount the crossmember and right beside the arrow is where it is stamped manual. The letters are approx. 3/4 in high. We crawled under another Ranger (automatic) at the junk yard and compared it and we couldn't see any difference.

About the bolts being stuck,,,,not on this one. This thing would almost pass for new, bushings etc. are in excellent condition. I can't understand my original being rusted up so bad because other than the area around the rear whell wells, there is no rust anywhere else on the truck. The original paint under the truck looks almost brand new.

Thanks for all the input on this, I really appreciate the help with something I wasn't familiar with.