The best setup - and I'm rattling here too - would be to swap the entire solid front axle setup and 5spd into your 4R. Don't know about the ECM though. Have you searched Pirate 4x4?

 

the ecu doesn't need to talk to the 5-speed. However, the original ecu in the turbo with the auto does talk to the automatic transmission. this helps create better shifts with the engine and tranny working together. I've heard that there are way to fool the auto ecu such that you can run a manual tranny without replacing it but i don't anything about it other than the fact that info is supposed to be out there.

I would imagine that if you just threw the manual tranny in there without doing anything to the ecu that the biggest issue would be some error codes because the ecu is missing some expected signals. I'd be suprised if it didn't run right edgewise (just a guess though).

 

I found one place the wiring harness goes to the tranny. It is a three prong plug and two of those is what I have jumped out to by pass the Neutral Safety starter switch. I figured the other one was for the reverse lights...

time to get out the wiring diagram...yuck...

 

That one truck's solid axle and the other's IFS makes no difference, the tranny doesn't know or care.

There is one possible problem though, the turbo 5 spd and t-case are 23 spline while the 85 tranny is 21 spline. I don't know if the auto's t-case is 23 spline or not, but I'd guess it is. For that matter, some of the auto trannys had an integral t-case (ie, one big assembly), so you'd have to swap the 85's t-case also.

 

Something else to consider.

The 85 truck is probably carbed, and should have a G52 5 spd tranny with a forward shift t-case. If the turbo t-case did happen to be able to unbolt from the auto, it's probably top shift, and wouldn't work with the G52.

 

As far as i know, the t-cases aren't interchangeable between the autos and standards. I would say if he's going to use the G-box (sounds like a rapper, doesn't it?) then use the whole assembly as it came out of the '85.

 

The 85 is actually an EFI... not sure why... most of the 85 trucks I have seen are carbed.

I know a motor was put in the truck at some point... wonder if it came from something else... but the harness looks stock and if they replaced it they did a great job!!!

I believe all the 4x4's are EFI, the 2wd's could be either efi or carb up to the early '90's. If you're using the complete tranny/t-case from the donor truck, you don't have to worry about the spline count. There's a good chance the tranny from your parts 4R is the same as the donor truck tranny. Have fun.

 

The 85 with EFI most likely has a W56-A and it will be a top loader on the xfer case. You should be able to ID the W56-A by the aluminum center section (center plate) on the tranny. Go to www.marlincrawler.com for some better descriptions with pics for help IDing.

Also just on a side note to packfan... you didn't happen to buy that 87 turbo from a guy around charlotte?? if so, i would have owned that thing had the guy on craigslist called me back. i called 20 minutes after the thing was posted with no response. i'm so jealous.