what will work?

[MICHAEL BURGESS]

I have a 91 Ranger with a 4.0 in it with a manual tranny. My question is which year models are interchangable. I have a 96 model engine from a Explorer with a auto tranny and i know i would have to change the upper intake but other than that will it work?

 

[MAKG]

If you get a 96 manual transmission, you can make it work by swapping top covers.

If you get a 96 auto transmission, you get to swap the electronics and several wiring harnesses. Not for the faint-hearted. That is, if you want a 4th gear.

 

[MICHAEL BURGESS]

What Is The Difference In The Two Tranny's? Are The Bell Housing Bolt Patterns Different? Which Year Models ENGINES Are Interchangable With Just Minor Changes?

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

all 4.0's use the same bell-housing bolt pattern, so ANY 4.0 tranny will physically bolt to your engine. its the fact that the 95+ tranny's are entirely electronically controlled that creates a problem. your '91 computer doesnt know how to "talk" to a 95+ tranny.

same deal with the engines. in 1995, ford switched to OBDII, which uses many additional sensors and parts over your EEC-IV controlled '91. if you wanted to swap engines, you'd need the complete engine wiring harness and PCM out of the donor truck.

 

[Bird]

same deal with the engines. in 1995, ford switched to OBDII, which uses many additional sensors and parts over your EEC-IV controlled '91. if you wanted to swap engines, you'd need the complete engine wiring harness and PCM out of the donor truck.

The only different sensor on the 96 engine is the additional cam position sensor which you won't need if you want to swap it into your 91 truck - the rest of the sensors are the same and your existing harness will plug right into everything fine. I've done this swap more than once. You can use your flywheel, clutch and manual tranny out of the 92 also. The 96 auto tranny won't swap over with the existing electronics in the truck.

You can't just swap in the engine harness/PCM out of a 96 (unless you want a fubar'd setup after many hours of wiring nightmare) - it's ODB-2 and will require the complete wiring harness/dash, etc out of the 96 vehicle to operate properly.

Bird