1989 2.3 A4LD swap

[87Jeffrey]

I have a 89 Ford Ranger 2.3 with the A4LD I was wondering if their was any adapter plates to bolt in an AOD. My grandfather had it rebuilt like 4 times. Any help would be greatly apreacated. Thanks

 

[scotts90ranger]

only other option I know of is a C4 or whatever was used on Pintos and granadas and stuff...

 

[chilsam]

Ditto

What he said.

 

[87Jeffrey]

I had found a site that had a canfield industries that has a 2.3 to 5.0 Adapter plate to bolt in any 5.0 trans I have read alot of your forms and some where I read the canfeild adapter plates are for manual trans that you have to a flexplate with bigger holes. does this sound right I have looked for the pinto's 2.3 C4 but can not find any. oh yea my trans shop says that the pinto's didn't have the C'4 in them. they just want me to rebuild the A4LD

 

[upnsmoke]

Pinto's had C4s, but they were rare. If you can find a bell housing for one, the C4 will bolt right up, but good luck finding one. I looked into this a while back. The stall convertor is a problem. You actually have to use a stock convertor for a Pinto with a C4, which can be bought new, or you have to have machine work done to the back of your crank if you want to use a convertor for a 5.0. If you use a convertor for a 5.0, there are all kinds of options available off the shelf. You could really have a lot of fun. I am wondering if something can be done to a 5.0 convertor to make it work, without disassembling it. I can do machine work, but I can not disassemble convertors. There is a guy that reworks and sells Pinto convertors, but he is not cheap and will not sell them outright. You have to provide him a core. Jeffrey, Even if you could, I would not run an AOD with a 4cyl. They eat a lot of torque. Your truck will be a slug unless it has a turbo, and your gas mileage will drop significantly. If you have ever picked up an AOD, you know it is a beast. It looks more like something that belongs in a bus than a pickup. A c4 is strong, cheap to purchase as there are so many out there, and cheap and very easy to rebuild. It has been a long time since I have looked into this, but if anyone is interested I will track down what information I have relating to the specifics of what's needed for a complete c4/2.3 combination, and what options there are. I have not done it yet, but I think I know what I need to to get it done. I have bits of information I picked from various places all compiled somewhere, just got to find it. Better yet, maybe somebody here has done it and knows off the top of their head what is needed. If that be the case, I think there is enough interest in this to warrant putting together a complete write up for the tech library or something. One of these days, I'm going to stop talking about this and do it. Jeffrey, what has been rebuilt 4 times, the a4ld, or the AOD?

 

[chilsam]

Pinto station wagons

4 C4's are the best source from what Iv heardHave you thought about a manual swap maybe?

 

[87Jeffrey]

the A4LD was rebuilt 4 times. I had just thought that the AOD being stronger would nice and still have all 4 gears but it now sounds like it would just be a stupid Idea. another thought is will the bell housing form a C3 bolt to a C4 is this possible as for a M50d-R1 I have thought about but I would need to practice shifting off the line. PS We had to change the rear end a couple of years ago do to the fact the spider gears went out. we put the rear end of an 86 ranger with the 2.3 with the 5 speed. it has 308 diff the stock had the 410's

 

[chilsam]

M50

bellhousing is part of the tranny case so youll have to get 1 for a 4 popper.I have a T5 out of a mustang with the bell housing from a 87 turbo t-bird "HYD Clutch" in my son's 87 2.3 ranger and it works GREAT! The 2.3 will not kill this tranny.Try to get one from a 2.3 stang as the gearing is diff on the 5.0. Check out the tranny thread in the tech lib.

 

[87Jeffrey]

ok thanks I'll go get a T5. as for the clutch what should I get. I don't have the money that my deceased grandfather had. I would like to get some power out of it with my tax return. such as cold air intake and exhaust system.

 

[upnsmoke]

ok thanks I'll go get a T5. as for the clutch what should I get. I don't have the money that my deceased grandfather had. I would like to get some power out of it with my tax return. such as cold air intake and exhaust system.

You should do some research and get a solid plan together before you start collecting parts, especially if you are on a budget. Chilsam definitely has some great advice there, though. I loved the T5 in my Mustang.

 

[chilsam]

Parts

Go on ebay to check prices I see where oreilly's has new flywheels for $55.99you'll need the clutch pedals from a donor vehicle "parts yard" grab the hoses fluid resovoir.I'd look on ebay or this site for a mid 90's shorty hedder and no converter and a freeier flowing muffler.Like upnsmoke said form a plan and stick to it do some research on here there is a TON of info on this site and ASK QUESTION'S may take abit to get an answer but people want you to do the work for yourself "learn more".You'll also need the yoke for the T5 and a special u joint next time im at oreillys ill get the part # 4u think it was like $16 ?? You could also go to the "parts yard" and get EVERYTHING from a donor truck it WONT be a T5 though.

 

[87Jeffrey]

ok well I have alot of research all ready, but well keep reading. I'll have around about 2k to work with for the trans and air intake and exhaust system. the truck had sat at my uncle's for like 5yrs not mess with at all. I drug it home replaced the intire charging system. The Die hard start right up no hassiation. on an 1/8 of tank of gas that was 5years old. I have been start it once a week for the last three years, and letting it run. got brake line for all the way around sitting her waiting.

 

[chilsam]

Good

I called oreillys about the u joint sumpn about their comp act up cause it was SNOWN???? think he just bn lazy i gotta go by tomorrow for some seafoam il ask m n person about it.

 

[87Jeffrey]

another part NO. I need is the bed mounts and rear cab mounts

 

[chilsam]

Precision is the brand name

I called oreillys about the u joint sumpn about their comp act up cause it was SNOWN???? think he just bn lazy i gotta go by tomorrow for some seafoam il ask m n person about it.

The part # for the u-joint is 353 to adapt the T5 yolk to the ranger driveshaft hope this helps!