FM145 to 146 Will it Work?

[moto-Leo]

I have a 1987 Ranger with a FM145 E67A 7003 FB Transmission. I trashed it.
I have been looking in the pick and pull and found some possible options.

Prospect#1 FM146 E97A 7003 MA
Prospect#2 FM146 E87A 7003 AEB

Will one of these work for me?

Could there be a problem mating my 1350 transfer case?

Could I have trouble with the shaft connecting thru the clutch disk and into flywheel?

Are there any other unknown issues I could encounter making this swap?

I really appreciate any information you could provide about this issue.

Thank You all, Leo

 

[4D55 Performance Inc]

I have a 1987 Ranger with a FM145 E67A 7003 FB Transmission. I trashed it.
I have been looking in the pick and pull and found some possible options.

Prospect#1 FM146 E97A 7003 MA
Prospect#2 FM146 E87A 7003 AEB

Will one of these work for me?

Could there be a problem mating my 1350 transfer case?

Could I have trouble with the shaft connecting thru the clutch disk and into flywheel?

Are there any other unknown issues I could encounter making this swap?

I really appreciate any information you could provide about this issue.

Thank You all, Leo

All the internals are the same but the FM146 is about 3" longer than the FM145. The shifter is in a different location as well. To swap in the FM146 you would need to pick the driveshafts as well, but I recommend just picking an FM145. Regardless of the part number, all FM145's are the same.

The clutch, slave, starter, and flywheel are all the same. No real known issues other than the driveshafts and shifter location.

I personally would not go with a used tranny because all you're buying is a 20+ year old tranny with 20 years of abuse and wear. While these trannies aren't bullet proof, they are solid and reliable with proper maintainence and driving techniques. Do yourself a favor and get a rebuilt FM145.

Its kinda funny when people complain that there FM145 crapped out on them after 250K miles and I am sure the never changed the oil in it. What do they expect. No matter how old a vehicle is, you still need to change the fluids regularly.

 

[Dusty_Ranger]

i put the fm146 from my 88 into my 86, it was easy and pretty straight forward

 

[moto-Leo]

Funny

It is funny you mentioned the maintenance.
I have abused that transmission. I was caught in a blizzard in Las vegas New Mexico. 5th gear was howling at the offramp. There was too much snow falling and no place dry Just deep snow. I gassed up crossed my fingers and headed for Roswell NM. I made it there it was warm and dry. Just before autozone closed I threw all the juice in the trans. It was dry. Totally dry. I lost my rear seal. I drove to Monterrey Mexico and Back to Denver. hahahaha. Putting gear lube at gas stops. I made it a couple of blocks from home and that was all it could do. I have a 4.0 in front of that old tranny. No complaints. In fact I have traveled many trails in the Colorado Rockies with that setup.

 

[Hotrodlincoln]

Stick with a 145, or get a TK. The 146 swap is doable but you need a too much other crap to make it work. Why spend the extra money on driveshafts when you have 2 already that are just fine? Also be sure to get a transmission with the same type of slave cylinder as what you have. It will make things easier.
I got a TK5 out of an 84, had an external slave cylinder. The 145 in my 85 had internal. I had to go back and grab the slave cylinder and hydraulic hose out of the junkyard (luckily they were still there) to finish my swap.

 

[schmoo]

the external slave cylinder is a good choice-
20 minutes to change instead of three hours.

 

[4D55 Performance Inc]

I hate internal slaves as well, but I think the FM145 is a better tranny than the TK5, but that's just my opinion.

 

[88 Red Ranger]

I have a 87 reg cab 2.9L 4x4 with a FM145 and a 88 ext cab 2.9L 4x4 with a FM146. The
FM145 crapped out and the 88 engine wire harness shorted and burned up. I know the FM146 will bolt to the FM145 engine but is there a difference between the "bell housing mounting flange to engine block" TO THE transmission mount for the cross member??
Will I be able to use my original rear drive shaft??