Transfer Case Swap Question

[bprutter]

I have some questions on transfer cases and swapping them. I have 2 Explorers (or 1 1/2 might be more accurate). Both are 1997 XLT's, but mine is the pushrod 6 with a manual transmission, and my wife's is (was) a SOHC 6 with a slushbox, er I mean automatic. My wife's, with 210,000 miles of New Jersey and upstate New York winters, is done. Starting to get major tin-worm, the breaks are shot, etc. etc. However, the 4405 Transfer case is good, at least as far as we can tell.

Mine has much lower miles and is basically in good condition. However, about 4 weeks ago the Transfer case S**t the bed big time. (Of course, this was about 2 weeks after I had finally finished installing a new clutch and slave cylinder, and finding someone to bleed the sucker). It appears to me to have the 1354 transfer case, although I did not check any tags. It is certainly different looking than the 4405 my son and I pulled out of my wife's Ex. (Is there such a thing as an ex-Ex?) I have to go over to the friend's shop where it was towed to verify, but as I need to be presentable at work that might not happen right away.

So here at long last are my questions:

• Did manual transmission 97's come with 1345's? My son did some research that leads him to believe everything in 97 had the 2204
• Assuming we are looking at putting a 4405 in where a 1354 had been, how much of a PITA is that going to be? I know the electronics are different, and I believe we grabbed all the electronic goodies we need.
• On the other hand, we are talking about going from what seems to be a generally popular T case to one that is more electronic, and nothing can go wrong..go wrong..go wrong. The replacement case also has 210K miles on it.
• Would it make more sense to find a 1354 in a junkyard, and do more of a straight swap?
• Is there anything else I need to know about this process? As Clint Eastwood said, "A man's got to know his limitations", and mine are fairly high in this area, although my son has a fairly high degree of expertise.

I am grateful for any thoughts, comments, or suggestions. In answer to the inevitable question of why I am putting a 4405 in place of a 1354, the answer is "its free".