trans for a 2.3 diesel

[dryice000]

I have a 86 ranger with the 2.3L turbo diesel Mitsubishi 4d55 engine and my trans is making a strange noise and you can feel a bearing is gone more then likely. I hear the input bearing on the fm145 goes bad almost always so I am wondering how much trouble it is to change that bearing? also what options do I have for swapping in a different trans, i assume that the bell housing pattern is different then the gas engines in rangers so I would have to use my current bell housing so what transmissions will bolt to the bellhousing with no or little modification.

 

[4D55 Performance Inc]

I have a 86 ranger with the 2.3L turbo diesel Mitsubishi 4d55 engine and my trans is making a strange noise and you can feel a bearing is gone more then likely. I hear the input bearing on the fm145 goes bad almost always so I am wondering how much trouble it is to change that bearing? also what options do I have for swapping in a different trans, i assume that the bell housing pattern is different then the gas engines in rangers so I would have to use my current bell housing so what transmissions will bolt to the bellhousing with no or little modification.

The first thing you need to find out is what tranny do you have. The easiest way to tell is to count the bolts on the bottom pan of the tranny.

12 bolts = Mitsubishi FM145
14 bolts = Toyo Kogyo TK5

After you identify what tranny you have then it is easier to assist you with some of your questions. It is also important to Know if you have a 2wd or a 4wd vehicle.

The input/throwout bearing is a very common failure on the FM145/TK5 because it is flimsy and cheap. I usually throw away the input bearing that comes on a new slave cylinder and I install a heavy duty CenterForce throwout bearing. When you compare the CenterForce Bearing to the other aftermarket bearings there is no comparison. Since it takes 4-5 hours to replace a throwout bearing, I think it more than worth the extra $100 for the Centerforce bearing.

There are several differences and similarities with gas and diesel drivetrains. The 2.3 mitsubishi turbo diesel used a diesel specific starter, flywheel, and bellhousing. The parts that are compatible with the 2.8, 2.9 gas rangers are the Clutch, pressure plate, pilot bearing, throwout bearing, slave cylinder, hydraulic clutch hose, transmission, Tcase, driveshafts etc.

So as long as you have your diesel specific starter, flywheel, and bellhousing you are good to go because all the other parts interchange with the other rangers.

The FM145 and TK5 are interchangeable, but they do not share any internal parts. I am partial to the FM145 but that's just me. I have had good luck with the FM145.

No special modifications are neededto swap a 2.8 or 2.9 gas tranny into your 2.3 diesel as long as it is the same transmission, same drive(2wd or 4wd) and same manufacturer. If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

Spence

 

[dryice000]

mine is 4wd, not sure how I forgot to mention that. so basically any ranger transmission out of 4wd ranger will fit ? what about the mazda m50d dont thay have a non removable bell housing ? are they a common trans ? I hope not becasue it doesnt seem like they are any good to me.

 

[4D55 Performance Inc]

mine is 4wd, not sure how I forgot to mention that. so basically any ranger transmission out of 4wd ranger will fit ? what about the mazda m50d dont thay have a non removable bell housing ? are they a common trans ? I hope not becasue it doesnt seem like they are any good to me.

The M5OD will not bolt up to the 2.3 Diesel because the M5OD does not have a detatchable bellhousing. More likely than not you have an FM145 tranny but any (FM145 or TK5) 4wd tranny from 85-87 will bolt right in. Ultimately your best option is going with the same tranny that you currently have and having it rebuilt by a reputable shop. If you buy a used tranny from the junk yard you are just buying 25 year old tranny with lots of issues and an unknown history.

 

[dryice000]

if I'm going to spend money on the current trans I will do the work myself, there is no trans shop in my town so I would have to get it shipped out witch I'm not doing. I'm a heavy equipment mechanic by trade and I'm also a backyard machinist , welder , fabricator etc. my hobby is building tractors from scratch and rebuilding old ones. my current homemade tractor has a toyota diesel. and if I get a dodge cummins next summer as I have planned then the ranger will be scraped and the engine will either go into my 82 jeep cj7 with a sm 426 transmission or the engine will go in a tractor. so I only need this truck to last the winter so I don't want to sink a lot of money into it, I bought it for the engine and to use for the winter. so can you change the input bearing on the fm145 without taking apart the trans or can you pull it out and press in a new one without pulling apart the whole thing? I know next to nothing about light transmission's as you have probably noticed.

 

[Oranger]

If you have a puller the bearing is easy to change and you don't have to take it apart, just remove the front cover and pull it out,remove the bearing and press on the new one.When I took mine to the dealership they took the whole thing apart and there are some internal torx bolts that they stripped that are no longer available from Ford.I had to get bolts elsewhere and repair the trans myself.1987 Mitchell manual has pics and instructions.