Would a 4wd transmission work in 2wd 1997 ranger?
 

I’ve gotta 97 3.0 ranger and the transmission has been acting up and slipping. Im looking to swap it with one I found on Facebook but the only issue is that it’s from a 4wd ranger and mines 2wd. This is my first time trying to do a transmission swap I’m fairly mechanically inclined so that’s why I’m giving this a shot. Thank you guys!

Sorry I posted here I'm on the wrong Forum

the one on Facebook is only $200 and has torque converter included. I don’t really want to dump $800 into a transmission rebuild because it costs more then the trucks worth

No, there is no cheap way to convert automatics from 4WD to 2WD or visa versa
The Main Shaft inside the transmission is shorter on a 4x4 transmission
You could do a full rebuild and use the longer 2WD shaft on reassembly, but if you are going to do that why not just rebuild your current 2WD transmission

Just a heads up, your 1997 Ranger needs the VSS speed sensor currently on the 2WD transmission's tail shaft housing
This sensor was not used on 1998 and up 2WD transmissions, so tail shaft housing has no hole for it
BUT..............the drive gear was still on the tail shaft, its machined on

So you can use a 1995-2000 3.0l 2WD 4R44E transmission, but if its 1998-2000 trans you will need to swap tail shaft housings, just 6 bolts, easy to do, to get the VSS hole and mount back
There is no trans fluid inside the tail shaft housing, just air

Dang yea at that point I might as well just rebuild the transmission I already have. And thank you for letting me know about the VVS Speed sensor! Really appreciate man