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88 Bronco II 4.0 Swap Thread


TillamookB2

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Here's my Bronco II. I had nowhere to do the 4.0 swap at the house, so we had to trailer it to the boat shop I was working at.


Heres the donor Explorer. I picked it up for $200 and sold the doors to some guy who needed doors.


Had to get a pic of my truck sitting next to the Humvee. The Humvee was at the boat shop to be turned into a sweet firetruck/search and rescue vehicle for use up in the mountains in Oregon's coast range.


Got it in the shop and ready to get going on pulling the 2.9. We got everything undone except one of the top bellhousing bolts before we ran out of time that day.


We had to suddenly move, so the 4.0 got loaded into the pickup and taken to the new house all by its lonesome. The Explorer got scrapped because I already pulled the wiring harness. I may have missed some parts, but its alright. Theres a junkyard guy down the road from here who has several Explorers.


Snow kept us from doing much this day. My Bronco ended up looking like Madonna.


Finally got the 2.9 pulled in the driveway. We couldn't move the engine hoist on the gravel, so we lifted the motor way up and pushed the truck out of the way. I backed up my pickup under the hoist and we set the old 2.9 down on a tire. I ratchet-strapped it down and took it off to the junkyard guy, who gave me store credit for parts I may need. I got my flywheel from him. Cool dude.


Got the 4.0 on the engine stand. I pulled the DIS, covered the intake and alternator. Then, I soaked it in degreaser and carefully pressure washed it.


The valve covers were rusty and one side of the engine was very oily, so I stripped the rust. Good thing I did. One side was rusted thru. The seals looked brand new. When I got it, the oil was decent and the level was correct. My guess is that the guy knew about the leak, replaced the seals, and when it kept leaking, he just added oil when needed. The previous owner had a good word from a close friend who had done work on this engine, so I'm not worried. I went to junkyard dude and he hooked me up with a valve cover.


Kind of on a time crunch... So instead of taking everything off, I just masked, primed, and painted. Looks decent. That'll do.


This is as far as I've gotten. Now, I'm fighting with the manifold-to-pipe bolts. They're pretty set on not coming out. Heating, cooling, and PB Blaster so far hasn't yielded any results. I may have to go to junkyard dude and get manifolds if these bolts break.

I just got the valve cover seals in and the oil pan gasket is next. My Luk clutch is on order from RockAuto. Once I get the exhaust bolts figured out and my clutch arrives, I'll do the rear main seal, put it together, and drop this bad boy in. New motor mounts are also happening because, well, why not?

More pictures will happen as it goes along. Been working a lot, so it may take a few weekends.
 


integman

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I like this so far keep up the good work
 

country0001

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Try the new WD-40 blue torch penetrant. Its freakin awesome, or a 50/50 mix of atf and acetone on the manifold bolts.
 

Fiveflat

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Is the 4.0 a much easier, straightforward swap than a 5.0? Hows the end results compare between the two?
 

TillamookB2

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I finally got the manifold-to-pipe bolts off. I used fire to heat up around the bolts and ice to cool them, then PB Blaster. Then, because I have no air impact, I put a wrench on the bolt and smacked it with a mini sledge. Excellent poor man's impact. Worked them back and forth a bit, with more PB Blaster, and they actually came out fairly easy. If I lived in an area where roads are salted during the winter, I'm sure it would have been much more difficult.

The 4.0 swap seems to be pretty straight forward. Same transmission, same motor mounts, same general placement of wiring harness, same computer placement. Only a few wires to splice and fuel lines to figure out. The 4.0 block looks almost identical to the 2.9 block. The intake looks taller than the 2.9. I haven't figured out if the 4.0 radiator is a drop-in swap. If it isn't, I can fab some mounts or something.
 

country0001

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Yes, the radiator is a direct swap. My fuel lines were even similar, but mine is a gen 2
 

TillamookB2

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Well, that makes life a bit easier. The radiator hoses seem to be fine. No cracking. I do need to get some screw-type hose clamps to replace all those horrible pinch-type... Why were those pinch-type invented? Did someone think they were a good idea?

Even though the oil pan wasn't leaking, I replaced the gasket anyway. I figure that since the 4.0 is on a stand, I may as well replace all the gaskets I can. My clutch just got here today and I had my flywheel resurfaced. In a few days, I'll have an engine hoist again and I can do the rear main seal, flywheel, clutch, and drop that beast in.

Also, the 4.0 was mated to an automatic. It had a thin plate between the engine and the transmission. After I cleaned it up, I noticed it said 'Auto' on it. Is this plate required with a manual? Or perhaps a different plate?
 

70roadrunner

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it takes a different plate. also, there is a spacer on the crank for an auto, about 3/4" thick. make sure u get it off! mine was a bear to remove!
 

Flash Gordan

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it takes a different plate. also, there is a spacer on the crank for an auto, about 3/4" thick. make sure u get it off! mine was a bear to remove!
The spacer on my donor 4.0 popped right off. Didn't even have to pull too hard.
 

TillamookB2

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New rear main seal and a resurfaced flywheel. Didn't forget the Loc-Tite on those crank bolts.


I got a Luk clutch. I had to get new bolts for that. Still didn't forget the Loc-Tite. We tried to get the motor in without removing the fan, but it wasn't going to happen. I had to go rent one of those skinny wrenches from the parts store for that...


Almost there. It wanted to sit level on the hoist, so I had to stand on the brush guard and lift up on the front while someone pushed in. It fought us every step of the way. If it were to have gone in real easy, I'd be sitting there wondering if I had done it right... Truck stuff is never quick and easy.


The 4.0 is in and ready for bellhousing bolts. Now, for plumbing, wiring, frustration, and eventual victory.
 

TillamookB2

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Also, I never found a spacer on the crank. The flywheel just barely clears the bellhousing spacer plate. Maybe it stuck to the flex plate? I have it laying outside next to the torque converter.
 

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