Engine swap questions

Denisefwd93 said:

I'm already confused. whatever you do, whoever rebuilt that engine don't go back to that shop/person!

Here is another thread on the discussion.
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?url=http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=163695&share_tid=163695&share_fid=28487&share_type=t
welcome to TRS

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Well that much I figured out when the motor blew with only 6k light highway under 60mph miles on it , Roflmao. She brought it in because of a valve issue (2002 ranger). It is a rare block (motor) but the original for that truck (special order) . after the shop fooled with it they ended up having to rebuild it( this was back in 2013) and since had only been driven maybe 3k miles since 6 months ago but started and moved at least twice a week . This was her Sunday church & vacation driver. Her baby. No not old lady just a workaholic with 2trucks & a car. So with being a new motor I automatically knew to take it very easy to break in the motor. As I was driving something came loose in the motor and they said it was a crankshaft messed up and the lifters are all messed up as well. So the price to get a new motor since they said that it would cost me more to have it rebuilt then just to get another one I figure why not doing upgrade but still keep it a 4-cylinder for fuel economy but still have added passing power from when I need it. Any amount of money I would spend I'm getting a basic 2.3 same kind of motor and then later adding mods would cost me way more then just getting a 2.3 EcoBoost I would get better fuel economy and way more power for less the cost. I was looking online for parts for my 1996 Ford Ranger and I saw that they had a crate motor 2.3 EcoBoost that was listed up underneath my 2002 Ford Ranger year model and it's the same one as one of the two for cylinders that I posted the picture of. Outside and in it looks like it it just drove off the dealership lot. I want to turn her into a show truck which would not be hard to do with her already being in perfect condition just add a few accessories here and there with a little bit of chrome trim and upgrade the lighting and she will be perfect maybe $1,800 work. And if I can get the 2.3 l EcoBoost it would be a lot quiet then the older 2.3 and still have a lot more power and be tuned to be a sleeper. So my only real question is for the 2002 Ford Ranger with the two 4-cylinder options from Ford Racing that I had posted what would I need to do to make them work or will they work or what would be my next option. And no I am not using the same mechanic I am using one of my childhood friends that owns is on Mechanic Shop that also deals with V8 drag cars and trucks but he is so busy I do not want to bother him but I would like to go to him with at least some knowledge on it so I don't look like a complete idiot. I do a lot of customization work body-wise and interior wise along with Mobile Electronics but I am only what you would consider a backwoods mechanic I can only do the basic stuff such as changing out drive shafts I have taken the manual transmission out of my truck and replaced it in the 1996 I have changed radiator alternator water pump belts hoses things like that but never actually dealt with tearing into a motor. Just like I know what performance mods I want for my 96 but if I can get the EcoBoost it would eliminate that as well for both trucks.

Here is the engine and fitments I was talking about. Found it on carid.com and can get it with better warranty directly from ford performance & cheaper.

Isnt that the NEW 2.3 they run in stangs and stuff?

.....and you thought putting in a 3.0 was gonna be hard.

Supposedly they say the engine from the 2015 to 2018 mustang that are equipped with the ecoboost 2.3 will fit which seems odd to me. Could I just get a bad body mustang and swap it all over drivetrain & wiring? Just fabricate a custom gauge cluster spot in dash and change out all wiring? Only body & interior a ranger but rest mustang? The money is not a problem I just want to make sure that I get amazing fuel economy but also plenty of power. I've driven and EcoBoost Mustang and an EcoBoost Focus and I really like the way it felt in the focus but with the Mustang you expect Extreme Performance so it kind of seemed like but for a 4-cylinder still had a good bit of pick up and go.

rusty ol ranger said:

Isnt that the NEW 2.3 they run in stangs and stuff?

.....and you thought putting in a 3.0 was gonna be hard.

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Well luckily I do have access 2 professional fabrication shops and professionals that can fabricate just about anything. But before I go to the hassle I want to make sure that is what I want. Even if it is a frame-off custom job. I love my Ford Rangers and I do live in the country but I don't need 4 wheel drive but still need a truck I tried getting a Mustang one time and these horrible Louisiana roads just destroyed. Now I do admit that whenever I do go to all of my buddies I always in Hands-On and always try to learn as much as I can so this would be a huge experience and I would probably hear a lot of cussing at me but I want to make sure it's going to be worth it. To me the Ranger is the perfect size truck because I don't like a full size truck I am more of a car person until I came across the Ranger. And there is a local salvage yard that has several cars to choose from that are that new. Mostly just a lot of body damage but I should be able to mix and match pretty easily

Resurrecting thread for a final report

In late March, I set off a firestorm when I asked about the difficulty of replacing a ’94 2.3 with a ’97 3.0. Most seemed to think it was a crazy swap, better to rebuild the 2.3 or go to a 4.0 or 302. Others thought the change from OBDI to OBDII would be a mess to do. I am sure that your advice was well intended, but it took Rusty ol Ranger to recognize and comment multiple times that I hadn’t asked for advice about whether to do it or not because I hadn’t. Sometimes circumstances dictate that you take a direction that you wouldn’t ordinarily go. So, here are the circumstances that led to the swap.

A loyal member of this family has been our ’94 extended cab with 2.3 and manual transmission. With 175,000 trouble-free miles, it was showing its age. I’m a 4 cylinder, manual transmission kind of person, and my preference would have been to do a full rebuild on the engine. But, the major factor in this was my wife. She loves the truck, but over the years her arthritis has progressed until she is no longer able to drive a standard shift. So, we had to have an automatic. I didn’t want an auto behind the 2.3, so we started looking to buy another. The ones in our price range needed work. We already had our old faithful that had been well maintained. And about that time I came across a 3.0, auto, with 93000 miles and a known history and decided to make the swap. The 3.0 engine I know (from our Taurus). Yes, not a lot of power, but enough for the automatic trans. The 3.0 is also highly reliable, and I just like cast iron. I also like the OBDII diagnostics on the ’97.

The swap has been done successfully. All chassis wiring is still ’94. Everything else is ’97. The swap was pretty uneventful. The only holdup came with some shifting problems after everything was in. RonD, on another thread, was of help in working through these even though, on this thread, he thought replacing the 2.3 with a 3.0 was like putting soysauce on cornflakes for breakfast (that, actually, doesn’t sound too bad as I like soy sauce)

I want to thank everyone for your comments and help. Even the critical ones were friendly. Maybe I should have explained the circumstances for doing this swap in the original post. But, I believe if I had, the responses wouldn’t have been nearly as interesting.

Well congratulations on an uneventful swap!