1984 MMM 2.3L diesel/transmission question

[minnisp]

Hi gang,

I've spend the last 2 days reading through as many of the posts about transmission compatibility as possible. I'm looking to fix up my '84 Mighty Max diesel and was thinking of buying a donor 1986 MM with 2.0 gas engine. My question is: will the transmission from a 1986 Mighty Max 2.0 liter gas engine fit the 4d55 housing? will it work?

Thanks

Pierre

[noahwins]

I think the diesels were wideblock. Wide/narrow depends on the year and options on the 2.0:

http://projectzerog.com/mitsubishi_engines.shtml

Sell me your truck instead!

[minnisp]

oh wow. Thanks for that link/post. not many compatible Mitsubishi models with the diesel trans match.
need to do some thinking about that..

[minnisp]

not really looking to sell. thought about it some, but changed my mind. needs rocker panels replaced and needs new fenders. rest of body is nice. interior is nice. dig this little truck it's so simple .. what do the diesels sell for? just curious

[recian]

From what I've gathered the diesels had their own specific trans since it's hydro clutch due to the location of the fuel filter interfering with the cable exit hole in the firewall. (Since I've asked most of the questions over the posts I've learned) However I think the tailshafts/Transfer cases are interchangable making 2wd vs 4wd swapping pretty easy between models. As far as the guts being interchangable I havent gone that far yet. I'd bet the clutches are different making the input shafts different.

[pennyman1]

guts interchange - the bellhousings are different. And the tailshaft and transfer cases swap out too.

[noahwins]

not really looking to sell. thought about it some, but changed my mind. needs rocker panels replaced and needs new fenders. rest of body is nice. interior is nice. dig this little truck it's so simple .. what do the diesels sell for? just curious

I've seen 2WD D50s with blown, rebuildable engines and straight bodies go for $1000 all the way up to $5000 for an immaculate rebuilt 4WD Mighty Max. Diesel MM is rarer than a diesel D50.

They're cool little trucks.

[minnisp]

thanks for the answers, guys. big help...

[recian]

If that's the case I'll just throw some "Mighty Max" badges on my D50 when my diesel is done lol I found a plymouth Arrow on craigslist yesterday for 1100 it's a 5-speed with buckets and factory center console but the body is rough. Arrow 2wd Diesel would be awesome since it's the rarest combination driveline in the rarest body truck

[minnisp]

can the 2wd diesel 5 spd (84) be used with a 4x4 donor truck? Can the 2wd trans be converted to 4x4 by swapping tailsection as I've read here about other models?

[camoit]

can the 2wd diesel 5 spd (84) be used with a 4x4 donor truck? Can the 2wd trans be converted to 4x4 by swapping tailsection as I've read here about other models?

I think the short answer is yes.

[recian]

Yes because the 2wd tailshaft can be put on the 4wd in place of the transfer case. Transmissions are minor it's the frame differences between the 2 models 2wd and 4wd.

[powerram]

The 2wd tranny has a shorter output shaft so it wont work on a 4wd. the internal gears/parts other than the output shaft however are the same. Transmissions for these trucks are an all around ball of confusion because of the different clutch systems, engines, years, I would guess there are at least 10 different fitments for what is essentially the same transmission. The differences are small and subtle but create big problems when you have to change the whole clutch mechanism to make it work for example. By far the easiest and most guaranteed solution is to rebuild your original transmission as it will fit without any headache. If you can do it yourself you can save a lot of $.