doing a tranny swap, need info...

[84ranger2wd]

I have a 1984 ranger 2wd 2.8 with an A4LD transmission and 3.55 gears. After owning this truck for 7 years the auto trans is starting to fail. Rather than spend the money to rebuild the auto trans, I want to convert it to a 5 speed manual gearbox. (my left foot is bored and desire better petrol economy) questions are this:

are 4 cylinder and V6 manuals the same transmission?
are the gear ratios the same?
do the bell housings have the same bolt pattern?
are the starters the same ?
what about the trans cross member?
are the crankshaft 'ends' the same?
anything special I need to know about doing the conversion?

Any information you can offer will be most appreciated.

 

[RangerX]

This link might have some of the answers: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/InterchangingTansmissions.html

 

[84ranger2wd]

This link might have some of the answers: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/InterchangingTansmissions.html

Thanks Bill,

the link answered most of my questions, I appreciate your willingness to help. The questions it did not answer are these:

are the 4 cylinder and V6 manuals interchangeable?? I believe they are the same ratios, but it appears from the link that the bell housing bolt patterns are different. Is this correct? And one more question: are the input shafts (between 4 and 6 cyl) the same or different, and do the transmissions have unboltable bell housings or are they cast in one piece with the transmission case?