Couple 302 Swap Questions

Mazdab2300guy · Nov 28, 2016

Hello all,

I have a 1995 Mazda B2300, single cab, 5 speed, 2wd, no power steering, no A/C.

I am looking at swapping in a 5.0 302 into her and I would like to gather as much information as possible before I start.

I am planning on using a 96/97 Explorer 5.0 and 2wd F150 M50D-R2 5 speed.

My questions are as follows;

Aside from engine and wiring, what else will I need from the Explorer?

Does anyone make a wiring harness for this swap?

Will my factory driveshaft work with this swap?

Does the M50D-R2 bolt right up on the factory crossmember?

My Mazda is OBD2 so is the Explorer. Will I run into any issues with that?

Other than that I think I am pretty set on what to do.

Thank you for the advice.

-Brian :icon_thumby:

ford_ranger12 · Nov 29, 2016

Pretty sure the driveshaft will have to be cut down, mine had to be shortened and I had an ext cab. And I don't know about the M50D-R2 as I used a T-5 but the R2 would've probably made things a lot easier.
Something I would like to know though is I read somewhere with the 95-97 ranger using the 96-97 explorer harness at the 42 pin is just a plug up deal with no changes having to be made (don't care about a check engine light) I don't know because I didn't have that year model but I'm helping a friend of mine and his is a 95 so if this is true it would make that swap a lot easier as well. Hopefully someone can help us both out

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Mazdab2300guy · Nov 29, 2016

ford_ranger12 said:
Pretty sure the driveshaft will have to be cut down, mine had to be shortened and I had an ext cab. And I don't know about the M50D-R2 as I used a T-5 but the R2 would've probably made things a lot easier.
Something I would like to know though is I read somewhere with the 95-97 ranger using the 96-97 explorer harness at the 42 pin is just a plug up deal with no changes having to be made (don't care about a check engine light) I don't know because I didn't have that year model but I'm helping a friend of mine and his is a 95 so if this is true it would make that swap a lot easier as well. Hopefully someone can help us both out

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Thanks for the response!

That would be wonderful if it truly is a plug and play swap! I'm not too worried about mechanical issues but the electrical side of things is intimidating to me. I have some electrical knowledge as I made a custom harness when I swapped my 1997 Toyota 4Runner from auto to manual.

I don't care about a check engine light either as only 96+ have to go through OBD2 emissions in PA (no check engine light can be on) so my 1995 is exempt. Plus the SCT X4 tuner can tune the ecu to not look for the auto trans thus eliminating any check engine light.

We will have to compare notes as our builds progress!

-Brian

ford_ranger12 · Nov 29, 2016

Luckily in Alabama we don't have emissions lol but I got everything finished on my swap (03 ranger+early 97 ex 5.0 and ecu) so I didn't have to deal with PATS but the guy I thought would do the wiring for me backed out when he saw it so I had to go for it. It's intimidating at first but the ranger and explorer are so comparable that most everything was in the right spot already. And the auto trans functions didn't affect mine at all with drive-ability so maybe yours will be the same. And I also played with an SCT X3 awhile back and my obd2 worked perfectly fine with it so yours should work fine to. And I think I was a little off on the driveshaft, for some reason I was thinking about the explorer shaft. Yours may be close to working I don't know. I don't remember why I had to have mine cut but that would be something you just have to check out when you get to it.

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Mazdab2300guy · Nov 29, 2016

ford_ranger12 said:
Luckily in Alabama we don't have emissions lol but I got everything finished on my swap (03 ranger+early 97 ex 5.0 and ecu) so I didn't have to deal with PATS but the guy I thought would do the wiring for me backed out when he saw it so I had to go for it. It's intimidating at first but the ranger and explorer are so comparable that most everything was in the right spot already. And the auto trans functions didn't affect mine at all with drive-ability so maybe yours will be the same. And I also played with an SCT X3 awhile back and my obd2 worked perfectly fine with it so yours should work fine to. And I think I was a little off on the driveshaft, for some reason I was thinking about the explorer shaft. Yours may be close to working I don't know. I don't remember why I had to have mine cut but that would be something you just have to check out when you get to it.

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Even better! Well here's to hoping anyway! I will start gathering parts. Just need to finish building my motorcycle first.

next657 · Jan 8, 2017

Hello! this complex question. Here it is necessary to think ...

BLOODBANE · Jan 8, 2017

Mazdab2300guy said:
Thanks for the response!

I don't care about a check engine light either as only 96+ have to go through OBD2 emissions in PA (no check engine light can be on) so my 1995 is exempt. Plus the SCT X4 tuner can tune the ecu to not look for the auto trans thus eliminating any check engine light.

We will have to compare notes as our builds progress!

-Brian

With an engine swap most places will have to go with engine year, not the year of the vehicle its in (by rights your not suppose to put an early model engine in a late model vehicle. Example:If it came with a cat, you must keep the cat). You might check that out before. It would suck to get it all together and find out it doesnt pass.

2Krngr · Jan 8, 2017

In my 2000 ext cab 2wd 4.0 / 5speed M5R1 to 5.0 / M5R2 swap the existing driveshaft fit in directly without needing to be modified.

I believe the T5's are longer than the M5R2 and is why the other poster mentioned having to shorten the shaft.

I do no know if the 4cyl b2300 5spd trans is the same length and spline as the 4.0/M5R1, but maybe if you research if the 4.0/5sp engine swap into a 2.3/5sp truck fits the 4cyl driveshaft directly then you would know if it also fits the M5R2.

Couple 302 Swap Questions

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