Total engine and drivetrain swap

GreatZero · Feb 14, 2014

'99 Ranger 2wd Supercab, 3.0, Auto. The truck is sentimental cause I bought it from my grandfather in New Mexico. Perfect condition with only 52,000 miles, not a spec of rust. However, in New England, it is horrible in the snow, and overall, the gas mileage is horrible. I want to change out everything to a 302, 4wd, and manual transmission. Quick inquiry into a rough price estimate, and is this even a reasonable undertaking.

cammeddrz · Feb 14, 2014

$0-$10,000+

it all depends on how skillful, and resourceful you are.

win · Feb 14, 2014

Converting the 2wd truck to 4WD is the issue, probably easier to go with a solid front axle.

GreatZero · Feb 14, 2014

The frame for both 2wd and 4wd are the same, right? What type axel does the 4wd ranger have? I thought it was solid front axel.

don4331 · Feb 14, 2014

'98+ 4WD is IFS from Ford.

There are 2 frames for 2WDs - coil and torsion.

If it has torsion bar (aka Edge); it is a bolt in if you want the OEM setup.
If your '99 is coil; converting to 4WD is a bunch of fabrication.

Assuming torsion bars. Cost is 5.0 Explorer + F150 manual/transfer case/clutch + dash wiring

GreatZero · Feb 14, 2014

Coil, of course. When you mention fabrication, is there a stock bolt on fabrication, with holes in the frame already, or am I gonna have to break out my welding gear?

adsm08 · Feb 14, 2014

GreatZero said:
stock bolt on fabrication

Are you familiar with the term "oxymoron"? It doesn't reference one's intelligence.

:icon_welder:

GreatZero · Feb 14, 2014

Ha! I get it. What I was referring to was the possibility that, for sake of cost-effectiveness in production, the frames were all made identical for multiple applications, then outfitted to suit the need. I am assuming, then, that this is not the case, and that the torsion blocks are a welded on attachment, not bolted on.

Funny, cause my original pipe-dream was to take the entire drivetrain off of a Mercedes ML and fabricate it to adapt to the Ranger frame.

Realistically, I may be better off scoring a 4x4 frame, adding the 302 and matching tranny, and just transferring the cab and bed to it.

Fant · Feb 15, 2014

Just buy a 4wd trucks same yr model and swap cab and body. U can get one fairly cheap. 10 bolts hold cab. Front clip and bed. If u just want a stock ranger frnt and rear.

adsm08 · Feb 15, 2014

The T-bar rear mounts are riveted to the frame. The forward mounting is part of the control arm.

Your best route would be to find a rolled 4x4.

bobbywalter · Feb 15, 2014

double whammy for sure.

not sure i would use a 302 if i wanted economy...

if you want the oem suspension then indeed the best bet is to get a 4x4 chassis from new mexico or arizona.

a oem install of the v8 is possible as well....svt ranger has a thread that well documents that.

this will in a cost effective manner of time....require two donors.

with careful shopping, an experienced person could literally pull it off in a weekend....and 2-3 grand.

i have seen decent running v8 explorers and mountaineers go 600-1400 regularly....and a pickup chassis that is a 4x4 roller from 500-1500.

so its definitely easily possible. to do it time and cost effectively in YOUR location and YOUR timeframe....well that is a whole different set of issues.

today....

me personally, i would be tempted to run a 3.7 150 powertrain and a dana 30 swap if i had a nice truck like that dropped in my lap.

likely it would end up with a 4.8 chevy and a dana 30 though if i wanted it as a decent mpg daily driver....unless i had a hankering for speed.

that would get a 5.3 and ttb 44 and spacer-ed explorer rear disc brake axle....

probably take me a month of full weekends...and careful shopping i would stay well under 3 grand and have a decent economy flight capable driver.

nice thing about the rbv platform.....endless possibilities.

GreatZero · Feb 15, 2014

MPG I am getting 17-18 with the 3.0 Vulcan. Lotta weight for a small engine. I used to have a '95 regular cab short-bed F-150 with the 4.9 and only got 19mpg, while my parents had an extended cab F-150 with the 302 and were getting 22mpg. The logic is to have sufficient power, with a hearty basic 302, simple, and cost effective to find. Anywhere from a Mustang, Crown Vic, F-150, and so on. With the manual I will have better control, and fuel economy.

I am not looking for creating a hill climber, a Greenpeace-mobile, or a NASCAR, just an all-weather, reasonable back-up vehicle, that I can turn to for the Zombie Apocalypse (Ha Ha). My regular vehicles are a VW Tiguan AWD and Mercedes GLK350 AWD. If I get this truck all-weather ready, I would sell the GLK and get another SLK.

don4331 · Feb 15, 2014

GreatZero:

Even the previous generation Rangers had different frames (engine compartment cross member) and they both used coil springs/twin beams.

And as I am finding out in my conversion, Ford even customized the wiring to the truck being built, so I am having to pull the dash to add power windows/doors wiring (while it is out, I am adding fog lights, luckily it has a/c & power mirrors) which is adding time to my conversion. To add insult, the power distribution box under the hood has the same issue - the wiring for power accessories, 4WD, etc, isn't even installed - another trip to wreckers will be upcoming, but it is easier to work on truck with engine, dash, seats, etc out.

The front sub frame is very different on coil than torsion - the location for the spring pocket on the coil is flat on torsion. Note: technically the frame separates at the front spring shackle for the rear axle by removing 16 rivets, so you could use just the front half of an Edge 2WD or 4WD frame, but is probably easier to just get rolled 4x4 and start from that frame.

adsm08: The rear torsion bar mounts on both my 4x4 Rangers (and my Explorer) are welded to frame.

Bobby: He wants 5 spd - that will require 3rd donor for the 5spd/transfer case - '97-'08 F-150 with 4.2l/5spd/4x4 ($700-2k for roller or parts around here) as the M5ODR-1 won't bolt to the 5.0 and V-8 Explorers don't come with 5 spds to my knowledge.

And that Chev talk is blasphemy. Now 3.5 Ecoboost; that could be fun; but the $9,400 crate engine cost is slowing me down...

GreatZero:
For manual:
You will need to replace automatic brake pedal with manual one, install clutch/slave cylinder/clutch dash wiring/remove automatic shifter; swap the transmission tunnel plate from the manual to the auto (at least this one is just a bolt in); cut carpet (and maybe change consoles depending on what you have/want).

There will be some wiring changes to move the neutral safety switch coming from transmission to the clutch depressed switch coming from dash in the under hood wiring coming from Explorer.

bobbywalter · Feb 15, 2014

hmmm..

where do you live? (area)

i hear of people cracking 19 mpg with the inline 300 and 302/351 on occasion...but rarely have seen it. but i know it can happen as i have proved out a oem bronco with 351 before at 21 mpg solid hiway cruise..

17 plus mpg from a 302 in a 4x4 that is stockish in ride height and tires is easily attainable.

problem is, finding a low mile 300/6 or windsor engine.

351 and 300 been dead and gone since 97 :sad:

.....302's since 2001.

using running donors lowers cost. they are out there.....like stated...CAREFUL SHOPPING.

this is why i would be tempted to move to a gm powertrain or the current ford v6 150 setup....easily package-able and easy to get sub 60k miles. the ford electronics are a trainwreck though...

careful tuning of the explorer v8 setup if your willing to get a longblock would work really well. the 4r70w trans is really a stout unit and the awd t case may be acceptable in your application overall. this can literally be plug and play with a 99.

a benz diesel and awd drivetrain would be cool though....when the v10 vw phaeton diesel came to life years ago it had my undivided attention....i pursued it but it was way too far out of my pocket.

given the choice between a stock tune explorer 302 and a 6.2 diesel with turbo i would take the diesel. but i have a larger then average 4x4 ranger.

many paths....but 17 mpg in a 2wd ranger that was nutless would piss me off enough to do something too.

there are many options so think about it...the 4d55 is a diesel that came in early model rangers...sokken in california deals with the jdm market which may offer some options to consider...

the explorer offers the bolt in solution with the sla 4x4 chassis and your 99 body so it will be hard to pass up.

bobbywalter · Feb 15, 2014

don posted while i was away/yet posting.(chores-cleaning rear 3rd for 9 in)

any of the manual trans for windsor will work...the 4.2 unit is just ideal...save for drilling out the bolt holes..

i kept overlooking that.. :icon_confused:

i would definitely consider a nice dana 30 in that case. or go to like jeffs bronco braveyard and pick up a d44 complete with lockouts....hell thats 3 grand just for that from jeffs...problem there would be ride height...which would kill mpg.

and would simply run a obd2 150 setup like you previously owned complete with efi setup stand alone with an explorer intake setup and leave everything else in place....may even consider a manual shift ranger t case with aa adapter to the fullsize trans.

that can complicate things with a manual if you run the fullsize t case.

i cant see the chevy ls platform as blasphemy if your looking for a cost effective solution for power and maximum economy in fuel consumption.. you would have to be an idiot to want a stock explorer setup over an all aluminum 06 low mile h3 5.3 setup imo in a ttb chassis....i am saying just swapping powertrains.

the sla chassis makes sense to go 5.0....its plug and play for shits sake. so tolerating the lower power initially is acceptable for me.

but if your swapping a whole system...adding axles and full powertrain...5.3 is as good as it gets for cost effective.

thats just based on reality :dunno:

Total engine and drivetrain swap

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