Transmission troubles.. Convert 4x4 trans and transfercase in a 4.0?

[Jeff213]

So I just got my headers that I welded up put on my 98 mounty, sealed up, no leaks from headers, then the transmission on my 4.0 manual started making a grinding noise when in every gear except 4th. I pulled the tailhousing and swapped the rear countershaft bearing, the noise quieted but did not go away, so I dropped the whole trans, and sure enough the input shaft bearing and front countershaft bearing are toast as well.

I loaded up the trans into my truck to go to junk yards to try to find a trans, and no joke, the torque converter started acting up in my 98 mounty. Truck stalls out when stopping unless you really feather the brake, then it will unlock the torque converter MOST of the time... (I have a spare trans for this one, if its more than just the solenoid i can just swap the trans).

Anyway, I was looking around at the wrecking yard for a tranny that would fit my 4.0, and there was a 4x4 manual that had a very shiny looking (freshly rebuilt?) tranny on it. There is absolutely no grime on the tranny but the engine and the transfer case have a ton of grime on them. It really looks like they put a rebuilt tranny on it rather recently.

I am now without a driveable truck, relying on my buick regal to get around. I am wondering, can I just go pull that 4x4 tranny, transfer case, and driveshaft, and throw them on my 4.0 to get it back in action? I will probably convert it to a 4x4 later on but I need a truck now and I think this could get me going again.

 

[Rick]

I don't see why not. You would need the driveshaft from the donor vehicle as well as the length will be different. Might as well take the front shaft as well if you plan on doing a full conversion at some point.

 

[410Fortune]

Yes you can do that
Just leave the front shaft out until you can complete the conversion

 

[Jeff213]

Shiny transmission. It took 3 hours for my friend and I to pull it, it should have only taken an hour and a half but pick n pull doesnt allow you to use any kind of jack because lawyers... this includes transmission jacks. So they don't let you use something to make the job safer, because they don't want to get sued.. anyway, I just got done doing the rear main seal, going to do the oil pan gasket as well, new flywheel, clutch, pilot bearing, slave cylinder.

What is the wiring exactly to get it to shift to 4 low? I want to rig up a switch to give me a 2 low for launching my boat.

 

[410Fortune]

The neutral safety for the starter,
Cruise control, and 4 low shift wires all run through the clutch 3 position switch that mounts to your clutch pedal

Your truck likely has the wiring for this switch already in place.
From the factory automatic trucks will have a jumper installed
You simply remove the jumper
Install clutch switch

There maybe a few wiring changes to make at the old auto harness to convert it over to 5 speed

 

[Jeff213]

My friend and I got the trans bolted up today, we did it with the transfer case attached, that was way heavier than pulling the old 2wd trans.

My truck is not an automatic, it is a manual. I am only doing conversion to a transfer case for now, I will do a full 4x4 conversion at a later point but I need the truck to pull a small trailer across the country in a few weeks.

It also isn't exactly a 2nd gen explorer, it is a 93 ranger, but the donor vehicle is a 95 explorer so I figured I would be alright posting questions about the wiring here.

 

[Jeff213]

Transmission is in, everything is bolted up, I am not used to driving a vehicle with a fresh clutch, haha it really grabs. Now I need to figure out the wiring for the transfer case to give me a 2 low in the meantime until it is converted to 4x4 completely.

Manhandling in that trans and transfer case laying on our backs in the driveway was a 2 man job. I left them bolted up together, I didn't want to take them apart if I didn't have to, and I didn't have to.

 

[410Fortune]

93 ranger the wiring for your clutch position switch is there under the dash

When you installed clutch pedal you should have also installed a clutch 3 pos switch
This will give you the wires for the low range shift neutral safety

The rest of the wiring is done at the old transmission harness,
Which you have already modified some of you have the truck starting and running

Bolting the 5 speed in with the t case is not easy… good job

 

[Jeff213]

I didn't install a clutch pedal, truck was already a manual, I just put a 4x4 trans / transfer case into a 2wd truck. Clutch switch is wired in already, there doesn't seem to be a neutral safety switch on the new trans, there was on the old one but I really don't need this, I have experience with the clutch switch going out and I know how to bypass it.
I didn't have to modify much of anything except for the longer speedo cable that I got out of a 94 4x4 explorer, the new driveshaft, and the transfer case.
I didn't do any rewiring to get it running, I need to figure out how to switch the 4x4 by tapping into the wiring on the transfer case and setting up some kind of switch. I will dive into the wiring diagrams later and figure it out. I also need to try to tie the sensor into the 4x4 lights.

 

[410Fortune]

The neutral safety on a manual transmission is the clutch 3 way switch

It is called a clutch 3 way switch because there are 3 circuits that pass through it

1. Starter enable. Clutch depressed allows starter to run
2. Cruise control shut off. Have cruise control on and you press the clutch in, disables cruise control otherwise the engine would over rev
3. ( the one you want) low range shift. Press
Clutch in the 4 low shift is allowed to occur

Sorry i got my threads confused, usually people remove auto trans and install a manual

The wires for the low range shift should be in place even on a 2wd truck! If not you can add them when you install the 4wd gem module or stand alone 4wd controller

The only sensor on the later model 5 speeds (Mazda m5od-r1) is the reverse sensor.
The clutch switch handles the rest

You could also try to find a manual shift transfer Case and then no need for all the electrics and shift motor

 

[Jeff213]

I was hoping to just make a stand alone controller for the 4x4 with some relays and a couple switches. Is this out of the question? I have some experience doing electrical controls.

If this isn't an option can you point me towards a standalone that would work with that transfer case?

 

[410Fortune]

2002+ ranger or sport trac
They have the “motorolla box” which is the 4x4cm
The wiring for the box is posted and is really quite simple
It works with the factory 95-2011 dash switch and shift motors for the 1354 transfer case (non control trac, ranger sport trac 2wd, 4hi and 4 low) it also works with factory wiring that is usually already in place on the vehicle

I often convert control trac 4wd explorers to non control trac using a 1354e t case and motorolla box

I also use this same box to wire up 4406e t cases when we do 5.0l v8 conversions into these trucks. The 4406 t case from the f150 uses a similar 4x4cm, dash switxh and transfer case shift motor