97' Ranger Build On Fire!

[pyrosity]

Well i started asking questions and bringing stuff up earlier on another post but i found outthis is where i was suppose to be. basically i was talking to thin air...lol

So here goes....

PATIENT: 97 RANGER XL AND CONVERTING IT INTO A BIG TUFF TRAIL BEATING MACHINE. (RUNS, PIECE OF POOH) PAYED $800

DONAR: 94.5 EXPLORER SPORT.(TOTALLED) $400

OTHER PARTS: ONE MORE FRONT DANA 35 FROM XLT, AND EXTENDED RADIUS ARMS, NEW WHEELS AND TIRES.

HERE ARE SOME PICTURES....ILL BE BACK LATER TODAY WITH SOME MORE UPDATE PICS AS SOON AS POSSABLE. So I got the danger ranger about a month ago....and litterally it is dangerous....just the other day the accelerater pedal came disconected while driving down the highway....one second i got throttle, and the next nothing...straight into the floor pushing with all my might...nothing....then i realise its broken off....OH JEEZE!

MY RANGER 97' XL GUTLESS...

MY DONAR MOBILE, EXPLORER SPORT 94.5'

DANA 35 front...damn the right front rotor and hub is broken...lookie-lookie i scored another dana 35 for parts for 20 bucks so gonna be fixed soon.... LOL

AND THE REAR...OHH YAHHH

And my 5.5 inch coils next to a pair of 4inchers. A full coil plus longer and a hell of a lot stiffer. so i might trade some one for a pair of james duff coils which have alot more flex. Well see later.

And i cant forget my new motor....a 4.0L versus my little 3.0L and it has half the miles...lol....ACTUALLY I TRADED THE TRANNY AND MOTOR FOR A MOTTOR WITH LESS MILES SINCE MY TANNY WAS REBUILT ABOUT 6 MONTHS AGO. AND THE MOTOR ILL BE GETTING ALREADY HAS A RANGER HARNESS SO NO SWAPING OR CHANGING CONNECTORS.

SO ALL IN ALL, I GOTTA SAY I THINK IVE GOT A GOOD START. GOT A FULL SET OFF 33'S TO PUT ON IT, AND THE PUMPKINS ARE SET WITH 3L73 GEARS. HOPEFULLY LATER ILL BE CHINGING THOSE TO 4.56 WITH LOCKER. SWAPING GEARS WILL HAVE TO HAPPEN LATER AFTER SHES ALL SET UP. EITHER WAY, I GOT ALOT AHEAD OF ME TO BEGIN WITH, ALL THOUGH I GOT A GREAT START. ILL CONTINUE POSTING PICTURES AS THINGS PROGRESS. LATERZ

 

[pyrosity]

Well i went yesterday to fix my hubs and looks like both hubs on the donar front end were shot, basically guts and not good guts to take.... So I scored on rotors and calipers, had my rotors turned for 40 bucks. They were pretty bad. Overall stuff is coming together. We might put the front end in today and instead of swaping the rear we are going to leave the rear end for now and put the Superlift springs and weld the brackets on when they come in.

 

[99offroad]

Nice Project!!!

 

[Ranger44]

A 3.0 is a decent ENGINE when paired with a manual transmission and low gearing. Like, when you'd use 3.73's or 3.55's with a 4.0, use 4.10's with the 3.0. You can't beat the reliability. A great quote from AllanD is if someone can kill a 3.0 with oil and coolant in it, they shouldn't be allowed to operate anything more complicated than a refrigerator. Ok, ok. enough with the defense of the beloved Vulcan.

A 4L is a good engine though. Not designed the best, but does offer alot of low end torque in a small package. Good in my books.

With that 4.0 swap......I do have one question.

What year of engine are you putting into the 97' Ranger? I'm not clear if it's the explorer engine or the one you traded for.

If you are planning on putting a 90-94' 4L in there, you're going to need a 4L harness from a 95-97 Ranger Harness, PCM, and Intakes, etc.

They switched to a plastic upper intake, different injectors, emissions equipment was increased, wiring is different, etc. Be careful with it. If you need a lay down of what you'll need PM me.

Btw, looks like you have a good build starting here. Keep it up

 

[pyrosity]

Ohhhhh my goodness....after 8 plus hours of beating my knuckles and head on brackets this and that i finally got the lift kit in. THANKS TO THE HELP OF MY FRIENDS....OH MY GOSH! SUCKED....BUT WE GOT IT IN....not complete. im missig a few bolts and still got tighten everything down. but i finished at 11:30 at night and let me tell you this people....

OUTSIDE IN THE DARK, LITTLE HALOGEN LAMP AND FLASHLIGHT.... IN A GRAVEL LOT, AND ITS BEEN WiNDY AND RAINY ALL DAY SO I WAS SOAKED AND FREEkING COLD. BUT I REALLY WANTED TO GET THE LIFT ON.

As for the rear end...we kept the 7.5 in the rear for now untill i can get my perches welded and swaped on my 8.8 ...and then we are going to put the radius arms on later after i clean em up a bit...pretty dirty and some rust so i gotta get rid of that.....otherwise...things are looking really good! and im excited! I ment to take pictures of it today during the prgression but weather didnt permit itself so ill do it first thing in the morning when i go see what brackets i put on wrong....lol...

 

[pyrosity]

OH AND TO ANSWER A QUESTION. IM NOT 100% SURE BUT I BELIEVE THE ENGINE HARNESS IS OFF AN NEWER RANGER XLT....AND HAS ALREADY BEEN FITTED TO A 4l ENGINE OUT OF A EARLIER 90'S XLT.

OTHERWISE I STILL HAVE THE MOTOR I HAVE IN FRONT OF ME. AND THAT HARNESS AND I WAS TOLD ALL I NEEDED WAS TO CHANGE THE MASTER HARNESS CONNECTOR. GUESS THE PINS ARE DIFFERENT BETWEEN THE RANGERS AND EXPLORER.
bUT ILL POST BACK TOMORROW WITH MORE PICS OF THE TRUE DANGER RANGER.

 

[Ranger44]

You'd better hope that engine has a later harness and intake on it. You're gonna run into a shit storm of problems if not. Things are different between 93-94 Ranger's and 95-97 rangers, let alone the difference between ranger's and explorer's.

It may just be me, but I'm not into making things harder for myself than they need be. What I'm trying to suggest is getting ahold of a harness that you can just lay in the engine compartment, plug it into the cab. Plug a 4.0 PCM in, plug the motor up and it run with NO glitches or problems. The other alternative is to torture yourself with trying to make OBD-I wiring and systems work on a truck wired for OBD-II. Not fun.

 

[pyrosity]

yah i here you. from what the person is telling me it should work. But now that you mention the OBD2 thing...i better go look into that. be right back...thanks for the info...maybe it would be easier to keep the explorer engine and just swap pins.

 

[exbass94]

As for the rear end...we kept the DANA35 in the rear for now untill i can get my perches welded and swaped on my 8.8 ...

That's not a rear Dana 35. It's a Ford 7.5".

 

[Downey]

nvm delete this

 

[pyrosity]

That's not a rear Dana 35. It's a Ford 7.5".

WOOPS...correction made.

 

[pyrosity]

OK...so i got lift in, bolts tight, and tires back on. Just the little 31's. and holy crap my alignment is jacked.

is that typical of swaping the explorer front end into the ranger? i think i need to make adjustments at my tie rod adjusting sleeve. but not 100% sure. i think im going to put different coils in her also. at the angle my tires are riding i think i coud go with an easy 1-1.5 more of height to get fixed. well, well see...then ill let the pros align her right. pictures to come later today.

 

[RacinNdrummin]

Where in washington do you live??

If you live anywhere around Commie County(king), and not out against the mountains,your going to have hell getting that thing through emissions.

 

[pyrosity]

no emissions for me.....just gotta figure out my freaking alignment...im riding on the inside of my tires and when i drive they force outwards.

 

[Flash Gordan]

no emissions for me.....just gotta figure out my freaking alignment...im riding on the inside of my tires and when i drive they force outwards.

How about some new pics to show what the alignment is looking like now? We might be able to answer why it's the way it is if we can see it.