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Project 3G


86 Lone Ranger

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Hello Everyone,
I am new to all this, but here goes anyway..... My father passed away several years ago. The only thing that I kept from him was a 1986 Ranger which I drove for a few years. It then sat for several years until my daughter started to drive and it received an engine and transmission rebuild and ran great. Years went by and the truck now runs on prayers. My son is now driving age and as a complete surprise to me asked if he too could drive his grandfather's truck and wanted a “Father Son” project.

So, with all that being said I decided to begin "Project 3G" , 3 generations of drivers all using the same truck (can't think of a better way of keeping my father’s memory alive). I live in California and would like to do a Smog Legal V8 engine swap. Although the rebuild was fine at the time the tiny under powered 2.3 is almost unsafe to drive. I am not interested in making it an Off Road truck or a 1/4 mile dragster (lol). It will be used as daily driver and occasionally for towing a Seadoo.

Is it possible to use an early 90's donor vehicle 302, Fuel Injected with an automatic transmission, pull all the wiring and computer along with the emission components and drop it in the Ranger.
Need all the help I can get, I have never done a project this big. Looking for engine/trans/ rear and front end combos I should use or be looking for.

Thanks a Million TRS
 
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alwaysFlOoReD

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Hi and welcome to TRS.
I don't know much about Ca smog, but I've heard that a donor motor can be from the same or newer truck. I would look at a 90's 5.0 liter Explorer, and try to get a complete running truck. The ranger and explorer share the same frame and running gears so the swap is fairly straight forward. Check out the tech section at the top of every page.
Good luck,

Richard
 

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Hi and welcome to TRS.
I don't know much about Ca smog, but I've heard that a donor motor can be from the same or newer truck. I would look at a 90's 5.0 liter Explorer, and try to get a complete running truck. The ranger and explorer share the same frame and running gears so the swap is fairly straight forward. Check out the tech section at the top of every page.
Good luck,

Richard
While your stock 7.5 rear axle will probably be fine with a stock V8 if you do get a whole Explorer and plan on using its 8.8 you will cut off the stock mounts (easy) and either weld or have someone weld new mounts on it for you.

If you find a 4wd Ex for a bargain find a cheap t-case and just throw on it. The 2low might be handy for boat ramps :icon_twisted:
 

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As stated, locate a 96-97 explorer thats been rolled or wrecked, but complete. Since you live in CA, you will need every component that hooks to the trans. Your fuel tank, fuel lines and fuel pump is adequate to run the V8, however I'd replace the fuel lines from the tank to the engine with the donor's lines (extending will be necessary) as well as install a new intank fuel pump from a mid 90's ranger, just to update the system. I'm doing a build right now titled '88 bronco 2 using a 2000 V8 explorer', this will relate to a lot of what you will need to do, but you will need to do a little more work as that setup didn't transplant all the emissions components like you will need to do...

SVT
 

86 Lone Ranger

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So .... for sure go with an Expoler vs a Mustang ?
 

win

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So .... for sure go with an Expoler vs a Mustang ?
Yes, superior fuel injection, superior ignition, most compact set of brackets and accessories. Trust me, room goes away in a hurry in the Ranger's engine bay.

Buy a crashed Explorer, it'll include a limited slip diff witb disk brakes. Almost everything needed for the conversion.

As an example, I paid $650 for a complete running crashed Expo. Sold over $200 worth of stuff out of ths interior and got over $300 for the carcass at the recyclers. Makes the BASIC cost of the core parts I needed under $100. No brainer.
 

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In California You also have to swap every piece of emissions equipment from the donor vehicle and if you just bought the engine and parts a wrecking yard you have to buy new catalytic converters, some vehicles have 4 of them, then when you get everything done you have to make an appointment with the smog referee who will say ya or nay after they do the visual inspection and sniff test. This is not the guy that smogs your truck every 2 years. If you pass you will get a sticker saying that it was approved and it will be shown on your registration. Getting it to pass may take many trips to the ref.

Here's a great explanation of doing a California legal swap.
http://www.rangerpowersports.com/forum/v8-swap-faq/141177-california-smog-engine-conversions.html
 

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You need find a 5.0 from an early 90s ford that uses obd 1, the Explorer didn't get the 5.0 until 95-96 and uses an obd 2 computer, to switch to obd 2 would require a complete rewire.
I can tell you're not speaking from experience on this. With this setup i can have this engine running in a riding lawnmower with only 5 wires from one plug hooked up the mustang has muliple plugs, a wider and longer FEAD, and half the amperage output of the alternator (65A vs 130A)...

SVT
 

86 Lone Ranger

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So what's the best year Explorer to hunt for? how hard will it be to wire everything to the dash? and will I have to replace the steering column as well? ... again thank you guys for all your help...I'm on a tight budget....so I can't afford to do what I usually do....start something..then pay someone to finish it for me...lol
 

dSINtia

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96 or 97... 98-2000 work but 'easiest' is going to be 96/97. I bought a 2000 not knowing the hassles associated with using a 98+ model year (PATS, VSS, wiring issues, etc) and had to go through the process of converting it all to 96/97 configuration... including swapping transmissions for a 96. Hunt for a wrecked 96/97 Explorer and plan to use the entire drivetrain up to and including the rear axle. I'm sure others will chime in with amplifying information... I only know this from my personal experiences.
 

dSINtia

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I'm sure there are better deals out there but if the driveline is good and you have the wrenching skills to rebuild these high mileage motors and transmissions at parts cost... do it. $400 is nothing but obviously expect to pump in some cash in the process. I think I have about $2,000 in total (I purchsaed a lot of new parts - I'm sure I could have done it much cheaper if I needed to). I paid $300 for my donor, a 2000 cosmetically thrashed but unwrecked and running Explorer with 60K on the clock.
 

86 Lone Ranger

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I planned on having the engine and trans rebuilt since they would but be out.... and mean while get the 86 prep with a 2in. body lift
 

win

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Unless there's a ton of crushed stuff under the hood of the rollover, that's the one that is the most interesting to me.

The $700 no ac/trans issues is 2nd, the $1000 rear end damaged is too much money.
 

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Go with the first one, not only is it the lowest mileage of them all (200K is not really much for these setups, I swapped in a 190K mileage drivetrain that ran and drove like 50K, and my second swap was a 168K drivetrain, it runs and drives like a 75-90K), but you know it runs and drives otherwise it wouldn't be wrecked. For $400, I'd jump on that QUICK!!

SVT
 

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