Manual to Auto Swap

[drueg]

Greetings,
I currently have a '97 Ranger ext cab, 4.0L and a 5 speed Manual trans truck.
Due to a bad leg, I need to swap the manual trans to an auto.
If I can find a complete truck at the wrecking yard I know I will need to gather the following parts:

Transmission 5R55E
Torque converter/flex plate
Computer
Drive shaft
Radiator/oil lines
Shifter assembly for the floor
Crossmenber?

Will the computer to transmission wiring be in my truck or will that also have to be gathered?
Where is the OD off button on these trucks?
Any other parts I need?

Thanks
Dan

 

[4LO 4.O]

Greetings,
I currently have a '97 Ranger ext cab, 4.0L and a 5 speed Manual trans truck.
Due to a bad leg, I need to swap the manual trans to an auto.
If I can find a complete truck at the wrecking yard I know I will need to gather the following parts:

Transmission 5R55E
Torque converter/flex plate
Computer
Drive shaft
Radiator/oil lines
Shifter assembly for the floor
Crossmenber?

Will the computer to transmission wiring be in my truck or will that also have to be gathered?
Where is the OD off button on these trucks?
Any other parts I need?

Thanks
Dan

You will need an pcm from a auto equipped ranger.
The od off switch is located on the column shifter.

I'm wanting to go the other way, switch my 5r55e for a manual, if you were close enough I'd be willing to trade everything out with ya.

 

[engdept]

Transmission 5R55E
Torque converter/flex plate
Computer
Drive shaft
Radiator/oil lines
Shifter assembly for the floor
Crossmenber?

You will need the following parts:

- Transmission (5R55E)
- PCM for that transmission and your engine
- Transmission wiring harness (it unplugs from the back of the engine harness)
- Flex plate
- Torque converter
- Torque converter bolts
- Engine/tranmission spacer
- Steering column out of an automatic Ranger
- Gauge cluster out of an automatic Ranger
- Brake pedal assembly out of an automatic Ranger
- Floor pan cover from an auto Ranger


The drive shafts are the same from the auto to the manual.

The OD button is on the gear shifter which is located on the steering column.

You MUST have the PCM and the automatic wiring harness.

 

[Ranger44]

Where are you located?

Also, after reading the 4.0 article, the manual camshaft is slightly retarded, and may cause a bit of a problem with the torque convertor. This may be something that you'd want to look into.....

 

[engdept]

Where are you located?

Also, after reading the 4.0 article, the manual camshaft is slightly retarded, and may cause a bit of a problem with the torque convertor. This may be something that you'd want to look into.....

The camshaft isn't retarded, it is the timing. The timing is set in the auto and manual transmission PCM's. The 4.0 cam shafts are the same for the automatic and manual transmissions.

 

[Yellowsplash]

Not quite....he's not referring to ignition timing, but rather cam timing. Somewhere during the years there were manual transmission vehicles that came with a cam that was advanced 10 degrees. This essentially moves the power curve down some for quicker pickup. I dont see where this would become an issue should you swap transmissions.

 

[Ranger44]

I was reffering to the cam timing. This a direct quote from the 4.0 Rebuild:

"The FOTZ-B is very similar to the FOTZ-A, except that the timing was advanced 10° to move the torque curve around in order to make it feel a little better with the manual transmission, so the FOTZ-A should work fine with a stick; the difference is so slight that it probably won’t even be noticed. We wouldn’t recommend using the F0TZ-B with an automatic, though, because the extra advance in the cam may affect the way the engine behaves with the torque convertor, so you should throw these cams away if you’re going to consolidate all of these engine applications."

But after reading further I discovered this was only the early 90-92 4.0's. Ford later consolidated the 2 into a single cam. Therefore this wouldn't be a concern for drueg.

 

[drueg]

Where are you located?

Northern Colorado.

Dan

 

[Ranger44]

Northern Colorado.

Dan

Well shoot, If you were closer I'd be happy to take that tranny of your hands....lol.

 

[rockinranger]

I have a 96 super cab 4x4 4.0 and had the 5 speed. I swapped for an a4ld from a 94 explorer, and made my own flip switch for the overdrive and lock-up. I put a b&m shifter in, and it was pretty straight forward. been running 5.13's and 37" beadlocks like I stole it for about a year, no problem. I had to weld up a bracket for the shifter linkage, and replace the gas pedal, direct bolt up from an explorer auto.
No problems at all, but only swap for the 94 a4ld, it has better guts in it.

 

[drueg]

I have a 96 super cab 4x4 4.0 and had the 5 speed. I swapped for an a4ld from a 94 explorer, and made my own flip switch for the overdrive and lock-up. I put a b&m shifter in, and it was pretty straight forward.
No problems at all, but only swap for the 94 a4ld, it has better guts in it.

Did you swap the computer as well?
Only the '94 a4ld? no other years are comparable?

Thanks
Dan