what to do?

[91xlt]

i have three bad (not driveable) trucks and i wanna make one good one as cheap and quickly as possible, like by september for bowhunting, but im still new to rangers and b2s so any help or input would be greatly appreciated... the trucks are
1984 b2 2.8 5spd 4x4 with a good tranny but tired engine and body damage








91 ranger 4.0 auto 4x4 with bad frame and 200k miles





and 91 ranger 2.9 5spd 4x4 with 80k miles and bad tranny

 

[91xlt]

if any more pics or info is needed let me know.. i wanna help you guys help me as much as possible

 

[nine-teen91stxranger]

i'm not 100% sure but i think that 4.0 is a pretty easy swap into that b2.

 

[Heavyfire14]

bolt the 4.0 to the b2 tranny and drop it into the good ranger. make sure you use the 4.0 harness. also put the roll/light bar from the bad ranger to the good one. and there you go. a badass huntin truck

 

[Tonka]

Yes, do what Heavyfire14 said. The 4.0 uses the same bolt pattern as the 2.9.

You'll want to take it easy on that 200k motor though.

 

[Heavyfire14]

ive seen rangers get 400k before

 

[Heavyfire14]

and you should bob the bed. from the pic it looks like the good ranger is a longbed. but that is just cosmetic

 

[Will]

They don't use the same block, though they do have the same bolt pattern.

These swaps aren't easy. Most likely, you will end up with 3 non-function piece of shits just like you have now. There is much more to it than simple arm gestures. Driveshaft length, radiator hoses, fuel line compatability, etc. A 4.0 and 2.9 and 2.8 are all different birds. They all have different fuel systems, among other things. These three trucks are all incompatible if you are looking for a quick way to merge them into a running vehicle.

I would sell the first two and buy a tranny for the third. There are two things to check with the '91. First, did the tranny die from the rubber shift plugs at the top leaking and running it out of fluid, and second, did the clutch pedal rip itself free of the firewall--a common failure that year.

In short, the truck with the bad body and the truck with the bad frame are out of the competition. None of those parts are easily swapped into the last truck. Fixing the last is the cheapest and best odds of getting any running.

 

[Heavyfire14]

if you want to be real simple take the b2 tranny and swap it into the good ranger. it should be the same tranny

 

[Will]

It's friggin NOT, that's what I'm saying.

 

[nine-teen91stxranger]

woah... calm down buddy. dont need a mod getting in trouble now. haha.

 

[Heavyfire14]

hahaha... im just sayin that would be the simpilest choice with what he has without sellin anything

 

[Tonka]

High mileage engines gotta be taken care of and not abused. At my age I could probably do it, my ranger might hit 400k on my 2.9 because I 'grew up" but with the driving habits I had when I was a teenager, ain't NOTHING gonna last long at all. (It's been 15 years since I blew the motor in my mom's 85 Buick Century and my parents STILL think it died of "natural causes".)

Ya know, why don't we settle this the easy way. 91XLT, grab a notebook and pencil and get underneath the B2 and the stick-shift Ranger with bad trans. Get the numbers off both trannies, then go back inside and report those numbers here. If we keep guessing and speculating, this Will guy is gonna blow a gasket. What Will is saying is that it's NOT as simple as taking the light bulb out of the hallway closet to use in the lamp next to the TV. He's saying they're NOT the same trans, but maybe we can figure something out once we get those numbers. On a Mazda trans like in my 5 speed '89 with 2.9L, there's a white tag on the drivers side of the trans.

What might end up happening is a trip to the junkyard to get a replacement trans for the 91 with the 2.9. If you've got a decent clutch to work with, good, but toss in a new throwout bearing. (There's a reason they call it a "throwout" bearing.) That's probably the best solution because a manual trans (excluding clutch and throwout bearing) will last forever if you don't beat the **** out of it and if you keep it full of good clean Mercon or Mercon V. So you'll have a decent 80k mile truck to use.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

If you have a lot of faith in the engine and trans in the second one they could be swapped into the third... but like mentioned before the right trans would be easier.

 

[Tonka]

If you have a lot of faith in the engine and trans in the second one they could be swapped into the third... but like mentioned before the right trans would be easier.

Are you talking about taking the 4.0 with automatic and putting it in the one with the 2.9 and the stick-shift? I don't think he's looking to get that much involved in a project. He just needs something to haul dead deer around with.