will any t-case bolt to any trans or are they specific to a particular trans?

[Dav]

will a t-case from a 2.3 bolt to a 2.9 4x4 trans? if so, are they as well built? (in the 60's we trashed a lot of 6 cyl trans by using them behind 8 cyls). and are t-cases from manual trans the same as t-cases from autos (same motor)

 

[Snoranger]

Pretty much.
The Ranger came with a few different t-cases (if you include all the slight variations). You can take a manual 13-50 from an '84 and bolt it to a 2008 4x4 trans., etc. The big differences are 13-50 vs 13-54 and e-shift vs manual. (A lot of the internals are interchangeable between all of them.)

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

And if you get to mixing and matching too hard some later transmissions do not have provisions for the manual shift linkeage, like post 2000+/-.

 

[adsm08]

The 1354 has hardened internals and a fixed front output yoke. Other than that they are basically all the same.

A few minor variations over the years but nothing nasty.

The biggest issue you would run into with a mix n match is if you put a 1350 into a later truck it is hard to find a factory front drive shaft that is long enough. The 1350 with the slip yoke was often used with shorter transmissions.