what do i need?

[Dav]

have an 88 2wd ranger w/ 2.9 and automatic. i am considering adding a transfer case so i can tow it behind the land yacht.
the only 4x4 i have looked at (86 b2 in the u-pick) has a 2.9 manual. will the tail shaft housing from that bolt to an automatic? does the housing, and whatever connector couples the trannie to the t-case, have to come from an auto, 2.9 equip'd truck?
the u-pick special has a wrench welded to the back end of the shaft that the front drive shaft bolts to. there is a harness connector there not plugged into anything. would it be a reasonable guess that this had the electric engagement and someone did away with it? are the shafts readilly available?
can the newer system be removed and retrofitted with the manual shift?
how can i ID the case? are there numbers cast into the side or a tag like the differentials have?
lastly. the u-pick wants $160 for a t-case. is that good or outrageous?

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I don't know enough to comment on the trans and t-case.
I would keep a small tarp, wrench, black tape, and some tie wire in the truck. Crawl under and drop the rear of the driveshaft and tie it up to the frame. Tape the u-joint so the caps don't fall off. But I don't mind crawling under my truck.

 

[adsm08]

You can't just slap a transfer case on a 2wd trans. You either need to find a 4x4 trans, or get a 4x4 output shaft, tear your existing trans down, and install the 4x4 output shaft.

Then you need the proper extension housing.

If you want a transfer case just for the neutral tow function, grab a whole trans and t-case.

 

[Dirtman]

If im understanding this, your not trying to convert it to 4x4 but just want to use the transfer case to be able to put it in neutral to tow it?

Just take the driveshaft out when you tow....


No offense but what your proposing is absolutely insane and not even possible without way more work than you think. You need an entire 4x4 trans and transfer case. A transfer case cannot just bolt on a 2wd trans. You would also need the driveshaft from a 4x4 as well. Probably would need to change your exhaust as well.

You wanna go through all that to flat tow when It takes literally less than 5 minutes to remove a driveshaft....

 

[RonD]

As said transfer case won't bolt to 2WD transmission, so not a cheap way to do it

You can either get a tow dolly, tow it rear wheels up
or
Get a drive shaft disconnect

And even 4WD vehicles don't always have transfer case Neutral available, manual transfer cases do but not very common even on older 4WDs, 1985 and up
Electric shift transfer cases do not have Neutral as a selection, it can be added but not cheap for the kit, if you can even find it.

 

[Craig0320]

You wanna go through all that to flat tow when It takes literally less than 5 minutes to remove a driveshaft....

Yeah I thought I was reading op post right.

 

[Dav]

okay, that answers my questions. i did not know i could not bolt a t-case to a 2wd trannie. and since my 2wd trannie seems to be holding up well for 30 years of use, i'm not going to go looking for a 4wd trans
thank you for the info and imput

 

[adsm08]

.


Probably would need to change your exhaust as well.
.

No, the exhaust would be fine. The biggest difference there is that the 4x4 Y-pipe usually hugs closer to the bell housing so it can stay out of the front driveshaft's way. Not an issue if there will be no front driveshaft.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

okay, that answers my questions. i did not know i could not bolt a t-case to a 2wd trannie. and since my 2wd trannie seems to be holding up well for 30 years of use, i'm not going to go looking for a 4wd trans
thank you for the info and imput

You could check into a divorced transfer case. Not factory so it would need to be fabbed in though.