I just bought a 1989 ranger 4x4 that has a 2.9 v6 with a 5 speed trans. Engine is week and I found a man parting out a.93 ranger with a 3.0 in it. Will this engine mount up to my 5 speed trans or will I need to get conversion kit or is it even possible?

 

Two different bell patterns. Best to just get a trans for the 3.0 as I doubt you will find any conversion kit or adapter for that change.

 

Nope won't swap over. The 2.8, 2.9 and 4.0 share the same pattern.

3.0 is on it's own.

Then you have the small 4-bangers.

You can't snag the 3.0 and transmission together?

Which 5 speed do you have, the Mitsubishi FM145/146 or Mazda M5OD? The Mitsubishi units suck, can't wait to get rid of mine.

Josh

 

Edit: Eh, just ignore most of the following. I misread the original post and thought you were swapping the transmission, not the engine! If you are grabbing a 4.0 engine from a later ranger or explorer, you will have to find a way to make it work with the electronics of the '89 (most likely bring the wiring harness and computer over from the donor vehicle). Although the original 5-spd from the 89 (w/ 2.9 engine) will bolt up to a 4.0, the 2.9-mated transmission will probably not live too long behind the power of the 4.0L engine, so ya might as well bring over the 4.0 with a mated 5 spd while you are at it. You could (maybe) grab a 3.0L engine/transmission combo, but would have to import the wiring/computer as with a 4.0 L.


Bullit's right; you need to stick to Cologne family motors (2.8, 2.9, 4.0) so the bellhousing will bolt up. Also important is you need a 4wd transmission to fit your '89 (don't have direct experience myself but searching other threads on trans swaps indicates not only do you have to lose the tail section of a 2wd to bolt up to your transfer case, but you would have to swap in a 4wd output shaft which would require pretty much requirecomplete teardown/buildup of your trans)

Good news is there is a whack of 4.0 L 4wd explorers out there, some with manual trans (in addition to rangers as potential donors) And also Bronco IIs (2.9 motors I understand is what they all had)

 

Thanks for the info guys. I can get the entire truck, it is a roll over, to donate the engine and trans into my 89. Just that it was going to save me a lot of money to buy just the motor. I guess since the motor won't mount up to my trans the best thing to do would be to buy the whole donor truck, pull the motor and transmission and all the wiring harness and computer to get the job done right. Just scrap the rest of the donor truck. Any idea how much it might cost me to get a shop to do all of the wiring for the 3.0 swap from my stock 2.9?

 

Sorry no clue what a shop would charge for the wiring. It's going to be a picky process - some of the cab wiring changed up between the gen ii (89-92) and gen 3 (93-97) (eg: the wiring for stuff like power windows and locks goes through relays in the driver's side kick panel instead of routing up front through the engine compartment). But the real important stuff like the computer stayed put (passenger side kick panel) as far as I know.

So you're going to want to have a real good look at both trucks before you start tearing stuff apart and photograph/label major wiring harnesses like the charging system, starter, power distribution box etc. Chilton manual has a pretty good set of wiring diagrams (wire colors, what is connected to what) for gens I, II and II but OMG you're going to need some magnifying glasses and a bottle of aspiring cause it's pretty tiny print. If you've got a good shade tree mechanic who'll take it on on a flat rate basis that would be good 'cause you don't want to be paying shop rates for someone to trace this all through. (All the same, you don't want someone enthusiastic but uniformed jumping in there with a set of side cutters and halfway thru walking away from the resulting rat's nest).

If you got the time, work your way through slowly. Label everything, and don't cut/disconnect wires unless you know what they do/connect to (If you can't figure some of them out, then get somebody in to identify them WHILE THEY"RE STILL IN PLACE)

Anyway, if you're going to tackle this, having both vehicles to work with, preferably side by side, would be real handy. Plus then you'll have all the little pieces (eg: engine mounts, alternator brackets) when you you realize you need them, and can get rid of the extra pieces AFTER the project is done. You may have to do some creative wiring to get power to some of your accessories, but if you've gone slow and documented things, at least you (or worst case someone else) have a much better chance of diagnosing and correcting any whoopsies.

Good luck,
Bill

PS: Buying the rollover truck won't necessarily leave you with just scrap at the end, either. Depending on how smushed up it is, you'll end up with some spare tires/rims, a rear end, fuel tank/pump, brake parts, maybe some interior parts etc (plus your original transmission) that you may be able to part out and defray some of your cost. Just a thought.