More of a trade than a conversion

[Shaggy]

Howdy

The powertrain in my 92 is getting a bit ragged after ten or so tears and about 180000 miles, so I am looking at some options to revive it. The motor is still strong and not giving me too much grief, but the tranny/clutch/whatever is nearing death. I tend to beat the poor thing hard and figure a big boom and a ton of smoke are in the near future. I know of a rolled mid 90's 4x4 ranger with less than 9000 miles on it. The little truck got rolled young and has been collecting dust for most of its life. The only magor problem I see in a powertrain swap is I've got a 5 speed and the ranger has a auto. Both are 4.0 powered. The price of the ranger is quite good - and as a bonus it's still got the original ATX firestone rubber. Recalls are a wonderful thing...

A few questions now for those of you in the know:

Is it a good idea to loose the somewhat rare 5 speed in a 4 door 4x4 XLT? What really major problems, if any, are there in swapping trannies?

Will the electronics be a nightmare?

The ranger has been parked for over 5 years - could there be any serious problems with letting stuff sit for so long without use?

And most importantly, what am I overlooking?

Thanks ya'll

Brian

 

[Kris Guilbeaux]

Hey Brian,

I am not so sure this would be the best Idea. I would not really try to put in a A4LD in the place of the Mazda 5-speed. I am thinking Tranny upgrade in the next few months myself. My goal is to swap in a T-5 Mustang Tranny. I just found one in Austin for a good price.

 

[Shaggy]

I might not have been clear... I'll swap the motor, tranny and mabey even the t-case. Price is the main thing - I think I can pick up the whole truck for about $1000 bucks. The rubber alone is worth almost $400 at any firestone dealer, making the overall price of the truck pretty damn good.

 

[samtheham]

Hey shaggy, I think that what kris is trying to say is that from what I have read and party experienced the two trannies that were availible for the explorer are pretty much junk. The mazda 5 speed seems to hold up a lot better than the auto. From my own expericne and reading from what others say, the auto is fine on the street but will pretty much self destuct after a short life towing of off road. even with the auxillary tranny cooler they seem to get way hot and crap out. As far as your swap, I am not nearly an expert but assuming that the ranger sharred the exact power train with the x, there shouldnt be that much of a problem since you want to swap it all in together, it should come with the PCM and all related componets. But I think that most people would recomend that you swap the motor and sell the remaining parts. That tranny could fetch a fair price since a brand new one is something like $3000+ out of the box. If I were you I would see if I could sell those tires and everthing else but the motor and put that money toward a beefer tranny like the T-5 or possibly a rebuild on your currnt tranny.

 

[Kris Guilbeaux]

Shaggy,

Samtheham said it a bit better than I did. The Ranger might be a great buy plus you can use that engine. The Problem is I would not replace the 5-speed with a A4LD(I saw too many destroy them self in moab) Use the Enigne part out the Truck and Buy a new tranny with the Money from the Parts. The one thing I would hate to see you put in the A4LD and it Dies on you. And when they go they go Bad and $$$$. even with Low miles that Tranny is just not the tranny you want in your Explorer plus your Performance will drop.


But if you do deside to do this Let me know and I will see what I can do to help you.