transmission swap

[mr.steve]

i have a mitsubichi 145 from a 1987 bronco2 2.9 4x4 and want to put it in my 1984 ranger 2.8 4x4. the original in my ranger is toyo 4 speed. will these 2 transmissions interchange? the clutches and pressure plates are the same. the bronco2 had an internal slave and my 84 ranger has the external slave. that won't be a problen. the center drive shafts are differant lenths - will it work anyway?

 

[MrShorty]

I'm sure it can be made to work, but I don't know the specifics.

It sounds like you've figured out the clutch hydraulics.

2.8 and 2.9 (and 4.0 for that matter) all share the same bellhousing pattern, so the FM145 should bolt right up to your 2.8.

I expect the two transmissions are different lengths. It seems that Ford didn't make any of their RBV transmissions the same length during that era. This will mean that you need to lengthen/shorten driveshafts. You may also need to move the transmission crossmember.

Manually shifted transfer case, I presume?? I don't know if the linkage will be the same, but I suspect it is.

Nothing else comes immediately to mind as far as making this work.

From what I understand, the main problem with the Mitsubishi transmissions was the input shaft bearing. Can you detect any problems with the FM145 (before going to all the trouble of fitting it in)?