What does a 4bt swap take?

[mason_411]

Ok so my 4.0 is out of my ranger and im having a hard time finding a good 4.0... but ive always wanted a 4bt ranger and my buddy has one sitting in his backyard. i know its a lot of work but my question it what all does it take? its a 94 4.0 v6 5 speed. what tranny do i need?(i want to avoid the struggle of finding a adapter plate... so does someone knows where to get one?) what t-case? do i need to change driveshafts? if so to what? since its like 300lbs more does it need to be straight axled? i really dont know what all it takes to do this but i know its a hell of a lot of work and i want to do it eventually... my buddy with the 4bt i can buy is really good with mechanicing and has put a 4bt in a toyota before so ill have help from him. but other than that im lost haha

 

[Snoranger]

Look for a thread by Cummins_Ranger. Dave did a 4bt swap on his 93 or 94.

What trans adapter plate is on the 4bt? It can have a Ford, Chevy, Dodge, SAE, or maybe others for an adapter plate. These engine ALL need adapter plates.

 

[mason_411]

What trans adapter plate is on the 4bt? It can have a Ford, Chevy, Dodge, SAE, or maybe others for an adapter plate. These engine ALL need adapter plates.

im pretty sure the motor is out of a kamatsu loader or a skid steer... so i dont think it have a useable plate. and i have read that entire forum several times but because he started with 2wd its kinda confusing haha i want to find a plate to adapt my m50d-r1 to the 4bt... i know the torque rating isnt good on that trans but im on a serious budget and thats good enough for me lol. do you know where to find a m50d-r1 to 4bt plate?

 

[Snoranger]

im pretty sure the motor is out of a kamatsu loader or a skid steer... so i dont think it have a useable plate. and i have read that entire forum several times but because he started with 2wd its kinda confusing haha i want to find a plate to adapt my m50d-r1 to the 4bt... i know the torque rating isnt good on that trans but im on a serious budget and thats good enough for me lol. do you know where to find a m50d-r1 to 4bt plate?

M5OD-R1 behind a 4bt... Thats a good one. They dont make an adapter for that for a good reason, it wouldnt last 10 minutes.



Komatsu likes to use one of the SAE bell housings, I dont recall which one it was. You'll want to swap that out for an adapter that works with the trans you want to run. (Not a M5-R1, the R2 will work.) The Ford and chevy ones usually go for about $800-$1200 (flywheel housing, flywheel, starter,etc.), Dodge are a little cheaper (They are the same as the 6bt...dime a dozen), and SAE are dirt cheap.

 

[mason_411]

yeah i found that out after i posted that... like i said i have no idea on what it takes and i also said i knew the torque ratings were quite a bit different haha. but ok and if i went with the r2 should i change t case or get an adapter for mine? i belive its a BW1354

 

[Snoranger]

yeah i found that out after i posted that... like i said i have no idea on what it takes and i also said i knew the torque ratings were quite a bit different haha. but ok and if i went with the r2 should i change t case or get an adapter for mine? i belive its a BW1354

Get rid of the Ranger stuff.


M5OD-r2 or ZF-S542 trans.
NP205, 44-06, or np208 T-case.
Explorer 31 spline 8.8 rear axle.


Did you read my swap thread yet?

 

[mason_411]

sounding a lot more expensive then i hoped... its gunna have to hold off for a while then. ill put another 4.0 in and the do the 4bt somewhere down the road
and yeah i read yours but for some reason i always thought there were ways around needing to swap the whole drive train... i thought people just swaped the whole thing to "do it right the first time"

 

[Snoranger]

Go over to 4btswaps.com and read a bunch of build threads. It can be done relatively inexpensive, but there are a lot of places you cant cut corners.

 

[mason_411]

gotcha... ive been doing a lot of reading on the subject and i found that the best (cheapest) way to do it would be the 4bt to a m5r2. but im having one hell of a time finding a 4bt to m5r2 adapter "kit" (because i will need the starter and flywheel aswell... maybe a clutch too???) but if you know where to get an adapter for that set up it would be great help!!! that and a adapter to my t- case is all im missing to be able to do this swap! ive checked on advanced adapters and ebay but cant find one

 

[Snoranger]

Use any SBF adapter. They came stock on bread vans with the t18 trans... they are fairly common. Use a 7.3l starter, they will fit the SBF adapter and are much smaller.


Forget about the T-case adpater...Use one of the cases I listed above. The adapter will cost more then a used T-case and you will still have a comparatively weak t-case. I can find 205s for under $100 on CL all the time.

 

[kryptonitecb]

Why not use the stock trans that comes with a 4bt? Or will that not allow a transfercase?

Sent from the road while ignoring traffic

 

[mason_411]

Why not use the stock trans that comes with a 4bt? Or will that not allow a transfercase?

Sent from the road while ignoring traffic

thing is i dont have the trans that came with the 4bt... just the motor no adapter or anything.

and thanks so much for all your help snoranger. sorry if im sounding retarded about this stuff haha. i think what im gunna do is put a 4.0 in my truck for now just so i have something to drive, and piece together my 4bt on the side so is it ok if i PM you with questions as i come along??

and one more question... if i go 4bt to m5r2 to a 205 tcase do i need to change/ build my drive shafts to fit my axles??? eventually ill do a 9 inch rear and a d44 up front but as for piecing it together now id like to get things that will fit the stock axles. (and as for gearing im at 3.73 now but im going to be putting 33's or 35's on so im not worried about dropping to a 3.06 or something like the other guys use)

 

[mason_411]

oh and it would of course need to be a ford np205 tcase to bolt straight to the m5r2 right??? because im finding a lot of variants of the 205 (chevy, dodge) so what one bolts straight to the m5r2???
thanks again so much guys!!!

 

[Snoranger]

Why not use the stock trans that comes with a 4bt? Or will that not allow a transfercase?

The most common you would find is a 2wd t18.

thing is i dont have the trans that came with the 4bt... just the motor no adapter or anything.

and thanks so much for all your help snoranger. sorry if im sounding retarded about this stuff haha. i think what im gunna do is put a 4.0 in my truck for now just so i have something to drive, and piece together my 4bt on the side so is it ok if i PM you with questions as i come along??

and one more question... if i go 4bt to m5r2 to a 205 tcase do i need to change/ build my drive shafts to fit my axles??? eventually ill do a 9 inch rear and a d44 up front but as for piecing it together now id like to get things that will fit the stock axles. (and as for gearing im at 3.73 now but im going to be putting 33's or 35's on so im not worried about dropping to a 3.06 or something like the other guys use)

Dont worry, I was new to it once and had all the same questions. It took a lot of reading to learn what I know.

Slowly piecing it together is the best way to do it, unless you've got deep pockets. When you have everything, then pull the truck off the road and build it.

Yes you will need to mod the shafts for any T-case (even the stock case with an adapter), the lengths are going to change.

I wouldnt bother with a 9" unless your going to build it. A stock 31 spline 8.8 (Explorer) is usually stronger then a stock 9"... Most 9" came with 28 spline axles. If you need any more axle then that, go with 1 tons.

The D44 is a good upgrade.

oh and it would of course need to be a ford np205 tcase to bolt straight to the m5r2 right??? because im finding a lot of variants of the 205 (chevy, dodge) so what one bolts straight to the m5r2???
thanks again so much guys!!!

Yes, a ford NP205 is needed.

 

[mason_411]

ok sweet thanks sooo much man... i need to sell one of my other cars and then ill run to the junk yard and get some of the peices!