If you're gonna do that kinda exchange, let's do some initial checking. Since you didn't reference what model he has, I've provided the following to ensure the tranny you're offering him will work properly in his car.


so you have an auto SOHC which means you have an MP6 tranny.
so the swap will only work properly if he's swapping your tranny into an SOHC car. Trying to put a MP6 into a a DOHC will confuse the crap out of the PCM leading to SES light, incorrect gear ratio error codes, and probably won't drive right either.

If it does match up and he does the swap I do believe he'll at least need to swap PCMs since the one for his manual car isn't programmed for talking to the auto trans.

Not trying to squash your dreams -- just trying to ensure everything goes smoothly for you so you don't get beat up in the parking lot a work because of fundamental incompatibility

Knowledge is power

Not offering him my car for parts, as I feared such complication... I want to offer to trade vehicles IN ENTIRETY... His manual trans car(not sure whether SL1 or SL2) for my auto trans car+ enough boot to buy him an engine... That way, he gets the automatic car that his GF can drive, and I get a stick shift car that I can enjoy...

On another note, the owner of the explorer contacted me today... It seems that the main issues are that it rides too rough for their liking, and they want an automatic... The body appears rust free, and they said there was none to their knowledge...

That frigging 4.0 in the Exlporers is a pain in the arse to work on. That is if it still has the 4.0. That's a Mazda engine and transmission and parts for it are NOT cheap if it's the 4.0. I'm not trying to bust your bubble, but I've worked on one of those and hated that thing. It belonged to a brother of mine at the time and I told him never again. He got rid of it about a year later.

OOPS

Me not read post correctly.

Well, anyway, the info for tranny swaps is at your fingertips should you need it.

My misinterpretation of your post led me to look for that tranny info, which was not in the swap guide sticky on our site. So I tried to go to saturnwiki.net and .com. Gone. I had tried a few weeks ago and it was down. Now it's apparently gone for good. Sad but true

So anywho, with tranny info in hand, I added it to our site s series swap guide.

So you were the driving force behind that.

Rube's been tinkering with autos for 40 years under a shady tree; his hands on experience advice carries a bit of weight for me anyway.


Food for thought.

I have only been touching a motor for about a year now. I listen to you guys more then anyone. If I was trying to figure it out myself, I would have probably been through 20 cars by now.

What issues in particular did you have with the 4.0? My ranger has one, and so far it's been great, nothing needed except to add fuel and change oil... I do understand that, like the 2.9 before it, the 4.0 can wear lifters, and can crack heads if you overheat it too bad, but those are common issues...Pretty sure that explorer has one, since they didn't use anything else until their second generation(95-01) and then it was a 5.0L v8 (302 SBF)... But I do have some familiarity with the ranger platform(and the Ex by association), so I'm actually less afraid of that one than I was of some of the others...

I have a '96 Explorer Sport w/4.0 5 speed. It has @ 350K on the original motor. We bought it with 207K 7 years ago and it's been a great truck. Now, the bad that I've heard is the intake is a plastic/composite that has been known to get cracks which cause a perpetual check engine light and later performance issues. I've also heard that the 4.0 is great until it starts to have trouble, then it's a SOB to fix.

That said, mine's been super reliable and although the CE light is on and it's the intake (from what the diagnoser said), during the warmer weather it runs great. When it's cold, the idle doesn't idle down right and will either stay up around 1700 and sometimes spike to 2000 rpms. Having a manual tranny helps in that you can downshift and force the idle down for the most part, but it's still annoying as hell. If it's code free, you may be ok with it, but also check to see if the CE light bulb is actually working. Mine was blown out and I didn't know it!

Actually my Ranger has the composite intake, no cracks yet, but only at around 150k... The good news is that the one I'm looking at is a 93 and the aluminum intake was used through 94, so no problems there... I'm aware of the 4.0 problems, like the lower intake leaks, worn pushrods/lifters, and head cracking potential, but even with all that, they're pretty reliable engines... Basically it's just a 4wd ranger with a different body sitting on it, lol...

Like I said, mine has 350K or more on it. I have to guestimate since the odometer quit a few years ago. I pretty much know what I drive to work etc. I think the 4.0 and 2.3 are a couple motors that if you take care of them, they'll take care of you!