Hello. My much loved 1997 regular cab short bed, plain jane Ranger has come to the point that it feeks completely worn out. Not drivetrain, no way you can't kill this 2.3L and 5 spd transmission. I replaced everything that had to do with the clutch two winters ago. And it has been a very happy truck since then. Now the way the body feels and sounds going down a smooth road, And all the suspension noises, rattles and banging, rubbing going on. I have people pulling there children off the sidewalks if they see my Ranger coming. There are APD's out for my Ranger. I gave a ride to family member, he jumped out and dropped and rolled, It wasn't on fire.

Anyway I found here close to home a really nice 1999 Ranger Super Cab with a standard bed. This truck is not beat up, they must have hauled lunch buckets in the bed. Very clean. It has a parking lot dent in the left front fender. A pull your own part fender will take care of that. Inside even looks good, no piles of poop or such items.
The issue is this truck was built with a 4.0L 6clyinder engine and a 5 speed tansmission. My Ranger has a outstandingly 2.3L 4 clyinder, no smoking, no oil leaking, no nothing bad or Demon possed type actions. And a full funtioning 5 speed transmission with all new LUK parts= Flywheel,pressure plate, clutch, hydrulic throwout bearing stuff with all new lines and Master cylinder ect. Looks pretty.
So will this work and run. I feel 99% it going to drop in place. Its the running part. I'm planning on swapping my underhood wiring harness, engine PCM and all sensors from my truck. My truck needs a fuel pump so a new fuel pumpshunn. am I missing anything. Thanks Ken

 

Your 1997 (with good engine and new clutch) is rusting away before your eyes, yes?
You want to install your 1997's 2.3l and it's 5 speed into a 1999?
Is the 1999 2WD too?
1) I'm going to guess that the difference between the '97's short bed and the '99's standard bed will require a different driveshaft.
Does the '97 have a 2 piece driveshaft? I think people prefer the one piece.
2) If the '99 is 4WD I do not know what you'll have to deal with after removing the transfer case.
3) How the '97's PCM feeds the '99's dashboard gauges might differ.