Is it time to sell or upgrade?

I have a 91 4x4 4dr explorer with the 4.0 and a 5 speed. I have no clue what Ford was thinking when they located the shifer, but I am getting sick of busting my nuckles on coke cans every time I shift into 2 and 4th (I have even broken a few glasses from the house with the shifter.) The doors dont line up well and the back drivers side door is just down right a pain to get to close ALL the way. Paint would be fine with some buffing and the suspension and brakes are well maintained. It has some exhaust leaks and the lifters are loud and I have replaced pushrods. That helped some but there is still at least one bad lifer in there. It also leaks/burnes a quart a week.

Then last night the A/C compressor locked up, and I mean locked up I can't even turn the a/c or defroster off and just go on without it.

So heres my predicament. I know the thing has potential as a real fun toy down the raod but I need reliable transportation now. I can't stand the heat and will not own a vehicle without a/c come this summer and even if I can get a shorter belt for now I don't trust this motor to last till tomorrow.

I would have at least $1300 in a rebuilt motor from what I have found however I dont want to spend that much money and still have a manual trans. I have heard rumors that swapping to an auto is not a simple task on these, is this true? If I can find a cheap trans this is what I want to do most I think.

What about a 5.0 and auto trans swap? The articles here about the swaps either don't mention if they had to fab mounts or are talking about an explorer 15 years newer than mine. Can anyone answer if this will just bolt in with the right motor mount? Do I run into issues here from me having a manual now? The wiring there doesnt scare me, I am however going for dependability so I dont want to have to fabricate mounts if I go this route. I have found several affordable 5.0L so far (in fact I found one freshly rebuilt with a good cam cheaper than I can get the parts to rebuild my 4.0) I like this option better than the first option but I just don't see it costing less than $3,000 all said and done right.

Any way I dice it up it looks like I am spending at least $2,000. That brings me to the last option. Is it time to just get rid of this and get $4,000 something? Problem with replacing is I have to have enough room for a wheelchair for my son. I am single so I would rather not be seen driving a minivan That means I have to have either a 4 door truck or SUV. $4,000 should get a little nicer vehicle but not going to be a whole lot more reliable than what i have if I fix what I know needs fixed.

I have a borrowed backup vehicle so I don't have to have it done this weekend or anything but I would like it completed by the time it starts warming up again.

a $4000 vehicle is the new $500 vehicle....... I would wait.

engine swaps NEVER come in under budget-and on time.and you have stated that this is immediate transpo . although not a huge deal the shifter placement and i think you said something about the doors lining up properly also needs to be addressed,correct?i recommend another vehicle-on cl right now there is a tribute/escape in hot springs for 3200 private seller -4 dr 6cyl make offer neg it says

The enemy you know is better than the friend you don't... meaning you know what is wrong with what you have and the $4000 vehicle you buy could be somebody elses headache with the same or worse problems.

As far as 5.0 fitment goes, the engine bay of a first generation (91-94) Explorer is the same as a 89-92 Ranger or Bronco II... which is also very similar to a 83-88 Ranger BII.

Foxbody convertable/94-95 SN-95 Mustang engine mounts or adaptor plates with the stock mounts and a 5.0 will fit in there nicely.

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/V8Conversions.html

I do recommend a Explorer V8 front belt drive, it is about 1-1/2" shorter which frees up more room for fans and places the accessories high and they bolt on from above so they are easier to change.

I actually placed my B&M unimatic shifter to hold a pop bottle in my Explorer console, otherwise they like to flip out of there with rather light braking IMO if they are very full. The console sits farther ahead and higher in my standard cab Ranger than it did in an Explorer though.

It probably wouldn't take much for a bodyshop to align the doors.

Keep in mind, swaps add up terribly. Exhaust, trans/t-case, driveshafts and all the extra crap that you don't plan for adds up in a big hurry. You will have a nice advantage with the heavier axles and bigger radiator (if it is in good shape) from the factory. With a $200 302 I am pretty sure I have more than $2k in my swap... it is so fun I don't even really want to know though.

I have replaced the bearing in the free side of the AC pump if you take off the 8 mm bolt you can slide the hub off and replace the bearing pretty easy.

When I put the 4.0 in my Bronco someone gave me the donor vehicle and it cost me about $800 dollars for that motor swap.The little things keep adding up.

If I had a child in a wheel chair and this was my only vehicle I would not consider a motor swap.I would get the the one I have freed up and slowly research to find a reliable vehicle to suite my needs.If you have a place to borrow a vehicle for a while that helps to cya but you need reliability when you have one car and your a father.

Keep what you got. Fix the doors-- either the hinges or striker bolts. Either is easy.

Shifter-- find an aftermarket shifter. B&M?

Motor-- 4.0 are GREAT motors. Just do some work on what you got. If you got other transportation; pull the motor and rebuild it. It's easy.

Transmission-- an auto swap should not be bad at all. Just remember you need the ecu I think. Find some write ups on it. I'm sure there's one here or on explorerforum.

Money wise-- our 92 explorer; I'd drop $2500 in it or so if it needed it. Bc ours is still a great solid truck. They truly are GREAT. Fix your ex man. Make it nice

yeah ........ I would fix what you got. recently I paid $5000 for a 99 Lincoln and had to changed the ball joints, tie rod ends, hub assemblies, and give it a tune up, plus tires..... all normal stuff for a car with 176,xxx miles.

don't get me started on the POS Blazer with only 67,XXX miles and what it needed at $8000.

Then again .. the dually all it needed was a starter and 2 batteries ...... but that was still $500 in parts.... and it still needs to have the bearings serviced, needs an alternator, injectors serviced, only 5 glow plugs work and it is still worth $8000 (I paid $7500)

you buy a used car in the $4000 range plan on putting $800 in parts in it right away.

but it sounds like you got your mind made up. so take this for what it is ..... for what I got in my Blazer between buying it and then fixing things that were hidden during the inspection I could have paid cash for a new Focus.

Those cupholders weren't made for big drinks. I've done the same thing. Fix your ex. It'll be worth it

Well I think it is coming down to a 4.0 and posible auto upgrade, ok that is going to greatly depend on the rest of the doner vehicle, my current explorer was a $500 turd so I might actually get a better $500 turd, of coarse I have rebuilt the suspension and much of the brakes on mine, we shall see.

I would like to look at a few other options b4 I buy a doner vehicle. Is there a good source for new or remaned trans you can point me to? I have found a remanned 4.0 for 1495 that I think I am going to order. I figure that is the cheapest route because the rebuild kit I found that came with lifters was 1300. is there a better source for these u can point me to? I know I want to replace my lifters because I have already replaced rockers and pushrods and still have some valve noise.

So basically here is what I am looking for:
1. remaned or new Trans (or a smokin deal on something with under 50k miles on it)
2. Remaned or engine rebuild kits (again with a smokin deal and low millage I might go used)
3. shifter (I can't find this issue addressed anywere, I am guessing I want to get an aftermarket floor shifter? what about linkages?)
4. Computer for auto trans
5. wiring (are there aftermarket solutions for 4 and 5 or is it salvage time?)
6. torque converter and flywheel (from a 4.0 auto, I'll grab new)
7.starter (I will get a new one for an auto)
8. mounts (just factory for an auto right? I will still use same crossmember?)
9. trans cooler (i'll just use a B&M stand alone cooler)
10. Exhaust (I currently have some leaks, are these manifolds known for leaking? I need to replace mufflers and cats as I think they are clogged so I will be looking for cost effective alternatives here. I am thinking of just putting some headers on it and driving it to the mufler shop for a full exhaust. before I do that do you know of any header back kits for under $300? What about the cats? are they needed for the computer to function correctly? I live in Arkansas we have no emision laws or inspections to worry with here.
11. Throtle kickdown cable? I havent seen this addressed do these trans even use one or is it in the computer?

This turned into more of a checklist for myself than anything else but I would like to know what I will be using for each of these before I start spending money. Can you fill in any of the blanks or think of any I left off?