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Performance Upgrades - Maintenance - Modifications - Problem Solving - Off-Road - Street Trucks. Covering the Explorer, ST, Sport, Lincoln Aviator, Sport Trac, Mercury Mountaineer, Mazda Navajo, Ford Ranger, Mazda Pickups, and the Aerostar. Featuring H.I. - Human Intelligence.
i have a 91 ex eddie with a 4 spd auto. if it ever goes out how diificult is it to put in a manual?
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If that’s a typo and you meant 5 speed, it’s very doable and there’s several write ups here on doing it.
If you did mean 6 speed, anything is possible, how much money you got?
No
But a 6 speed manual maybe able to adapt to your engine with enough $$$$$
I would stick with the proven reliable and tough Mazda 5 speed that came in these trucks
A 6 speed manual does not really have advantages over a 5 speed, they still have similar 1st gears and overdrive, usually they add a "second second gear" so the $$$ needed outweigh the gains
Depends on the year. The Rangers that share the same TTB & SLA IFS as the Explorers, will be a direct fit with most everything. The engine plate spacer needs to come off a 4.0L, same with the manual starter. There is one engine in a Ranger that won't work, so to make it less of a hassle, search for a 4.0L.
The Manual PCM & Trans harness should be used from the same year vehicle being used. Rangers trans harness is different than the Explorers, but can be modified to work.
You would need to find a 4.0 Ranger donor... or one of the very elusive early 90's trucks with a 2.9 and M5OD (most of them came with junk FM-146 transmissions.)
In additional to the pedals, clutch, ECM, etc... keep in mind that the auto trans dash harness you have now does not have a clutch switch wired into it so you'll have to work around that.
I did a 4.0 swap in a Ranger using Explorer parts and overcame that issue by wiring the automatic's neutral safety switch into the manual trans neutral position switch...so the truck was able to start but only with the trans in neutral.
It's not a hard project to do. I've converted over two vehicles. My 94 explorer and my 93 aerostar with a 4.0. Since your explorer is a 91, look for a 91-92 explorer for a harness or PCM. The 93-94s use different wiring and have a different engine management system. Getting a PCM isn't a deal breaker. Yours will work, but you'll get a CEL for the trans solenoids missing. I wired in resistors on my van's trans harness to eliminate this issue. Although, I still get codes when hooked to a scan tool but no CEL.
The pedals from an 88-92 ranger/bronco 2 will work in your vehicle, and any 91-94 explorer. If the dash is the same, they will bolt into your explorer. Any M5OD-R1 from the 4.0 will fit. I used a 2001 Sport Trac trans in my van. The trans for a 2.3, or 3.0 will not work. The internals are the same, but the case is different. A 2.8/2.9 trans will work but not all bolt holes line up and I don't think they are very common.
All Explorers had the clutch connector wired into the main harness except for the 93-94 limited editions. They use an entirely different harness altogether. The ranger should be similar and my van had it there as well. I just plugged the switch into it and it worked just fine.
If you need any wiring info, I have EVTMs on all years of the first gen. It's really handy info to have, especially when doing a conversion such as this. Check out the aerostar forum. I have a conversion thread there that has info applicable to this swap as well. It may help you out.
I used a 1994 Explorer XLT dash harness when I did a 4.0 swap in an '89 Ranger and the Explorer harness did not have anything remotely resembling a clutch switch plug. I have several Explorer dash harnesses in my attic and will have to check them, that's good information.
I used a 1994 Explorer XLT dash harness when I did a 4.0 swap in an '89 Ranger and the Explorer harness did not have anything remotely resembling a clutch switch plug. I have several Explorer dash harnesses in my attic and will have to check them, that's good information.
It had leather seats and a lot of power options but it had XLT emblems on the fenders. No sunroof, no DRL, and had the normal grille and sawblade wheels... nothing to make me think it was ever a Limited.
It would sure be easier to just plug in a clutch switch than go the route that I went... but I had it, cost me nothing and I just had to prove that it would work. 2nd gen Ranger 4.0 harnesses are considerably harder to find than Explorer ones.
It had leather seats and a lot of power options but it had XLT emblems on the fenders. No sunroof, no DRL, and had the normal grille and sawblade wheels... nothing to make me think it was ever a Limited.
It would sure be easier to just plug in a clutch switch than go the route that I went... but I had it, cost me nothing and I just had to prove that it would work. 2nd gen Ranger 4.0 harnesses are considerably harder to find than Explorer ones.
Very very interesting. My 94 is an Eddie Bauer with the electric group option. DRL, keyless entry, auto dimming mirror, etc. Perhaps the late production 94s had some changes more than cosmetic and a 6 digit odometer? Could yours be a late build? Anything is possible especially with mass production involved.
Who knows. I wish I still had the info off the door tags or at least the VIN number. It was in godawful shape and I crushed it after pulling the engine and some other stuff.
Odd that you mention the 6 digit odometer. This one in particular had a 5 digit odometer. Probably was swapped in at some point. Come to think of it, I am fairly sure it did have the auto dimming mirror, but no wires running to it! It came off the reservation so I'm sure lots of weird things were done to it... poor thing.
