My 4.6 swap starts

F350n4.6Ranger · Dec 7, 2008

Hello all, I am new to this forum, and what better way to start off than showing you my progress on my 4.6 swap. I am starting out with a 89 Ranger xlt 2.9, 5 speed, 1354 extended cab long bed. The donor is a 95 Crown Vic P71 FBI investigators car I bought for $38. The car was real nice, 64,664miles on the clock, everything worked perfect, but the rear trunk and bumper were smashed in. It is a sohc motor, I would love to do a dohc 32v but for 38$ for the whole car I can't complain.

Plans are, the 95 4.6, backed by a 97-98 F150 m5od-r2, either a 1356 or 4407, explorer 8.8, and d35 front. 3" body lift for clearance, and 4-6" suspension just because. Some 35" mud terrains on 15"s. The Crown Vics steering column, gauge cluster, power seats and more will also find their home in the Ranger

Old drivetrain out, all for sale in the parts forum.

D28 and 7.5 out.

I picked up a 8.8 rear out of a 2000 explorer with 65k 3.73LS disc to disc for $100 at the local pick and pull, and a d35 out of a 91 explorer 3.73 hub to hub for $80. Completely rebuilt them except gears, pics tomorrow.

Ozwynn · Dec 7, 2008

finally. its been debated here for years on a 4.6L into a gen 1 or 2 4x4 but has never been tried. welcome

turbo cat · Dec 7, 2008

you may want t ochange the heads out for some 96+ npi heads or Pi heads. You have a 95 4.6L which has the older F4AE castings which have poor port design...and worst of all horrible valve guide/seals/spring design. The seals always leak on those heads and even if you just replace the seals the terrible design will wipe out the seals in only a few hundred miles. Next is coil bind issues. The 96 F5AE npi heads are a direct replacement that you can bolt the aluminum intake too. if you go Pi heads you would need a different manifold as well as a 96+wiring harness. just a thought anyways. Im interested in thios swap as i might dump in a modular someday If i can come up with the funds.

and yes its been done there is a guy here with a 4.6L 32v cobra in a gen 1 or its a two

turbo cat · Dec 7, 2008

heres the buildup
http://281ranger.homestead.com/

Ozwynn · Dec 7, 2008

that was a 98 making it a Gen4 and it was a 2wd. the debate has always been about a 4.6L into a gen1 or 2 4x4.

did you read that thread and build before you posted the link

exbass94 · Dec 7, 2008

BDAB said:
that was a 98 making it a Gen4 and it was a 2wd. the debate has always been about a 4.6L into a gen1 or 2 4x4.

did you read that thread and build before you posted the link

There has also been a build with a 4.6 into a Gen 1. I believe the guy who did it is called dlibson or something close to that.
Edit: Although I believe that was also a 2wd.

turbo cat · Dec 7, 2008

BDAB said:
that was a 98 making it a Gen4 and it was a 2wd. the debate has always been about a 4.6L into a gen1 or 2 4x4.

did you read that thread and build before you posted the link

it dosent really matter all that much as the room is pretty much the same under the hood. the 2v heads woulnt be as wide however so the sterring shaft MIGHT not be an issue. it will fit just fine the only clearance issues should be the heater box, master cylinder, and steering componets. Then its up to fabricated motor mounts and modify headers or stock manifolds to clear. as far as trans/transfer clearnace Im curious but at least someone else will do it so i kniow what works.

Ozwynn · Dec 7, 2008

the gen4 engine bay is bigger. thats why the debate over it fitting into a gen1 or 2 4wd, the key here is 4wd ..... now we have a guy that is will to try it. Now if you have done this swap then tell him how its down. if not then don't tell him that a gen4 engine bay is the same as a gen 1 or 2 and that he has plenty of room.

turbo cat · Dec 7, 2008

hes body lifting the rig 3" theres going to be plenty of room. I havent doen a modular ranger swap im just sitting back and watching this unfold as it sounds like and looks like he knows whats hes doing :icon_thumby:

but i have also taken measurments on a gebn 1 for a modular swap it will fit but swaps liek these you have to get creative

F350n4.6Ranger · Dec 7, 2008

Thanks for the welcom everyone :beer:

Any more info on the head upgrade? I would like to keep the same wiring harness since I spent 2 days removing every single wire from the Vic.

Yea it looks like my biggest concern is the heater box and steering. I am probably going to be making fenderwell exit headers to not have to mess with the steering, although I have to fab something to extend the Vic's steering column to the ranger's box as the vics column is like 12" shorter. Evaporator box is gutted and undergoing severe mods. I have about 29" from firewall to core support and the motor measures in right about that with the coil packs removed and fan removed. The radiator will have to be stuffed in the recessed area of the core support and dual 10" pushers will be installed. My only real concern is going to be the transfer case near the frame rail, might have to notch and plate the frame or shift everthing over to the passenger side an inch or so. Right now I'm waiting on funds for the trans to set everthing in there. Tomorrow I'm going to put the gas pedal assembly in and hopefully get the steering column in.

Not my first fabrication job, here is my other truck I buil when I was 17

94 F350 5.8, e4od, 2wd to 4x4 5.8, zf5, bw4407, 2004 d60 and 10.5, 14" lift, 38x15.5 PJ's. When the ranger is done, this is getting a 6bt, NV4500 etc

Mechanickid · Dec 7, 2008

**** yeah!

turbo cat · Dec 7, 2008

to verify yo udo have the F4AE heads look near the exhaust ports on the head for the F4AE stapped. The F5AE is a direct replacement but has the issues with the earlier heads taken care of. The f5ae heads came in the 96-98 stangs 96-97 thunderbird/cougars 96-00 crown vics and 97-98 F150s and so on. Like i said for the F5 heads there a dirrect replacement. You could also throw in a pair of PI cam shafts from a 99+Pi headed 4.6. The 4.6Ls got upgraded heads in 99 for the stang and trucks and the crown vic got the pi heads around 00-01. The pi heads have larger ports and alone the heads are good for a 40-50 hp increase. You can also just bolt in the Pi cams into the non pi F5AE heads. They have abou the same duration but have a little higher lift and there good for a little more torque and power. The Pi cams should not be used with the F4AE heads however due to the coil bind issues with the early valve springs even thou they will bolt in and run the springs will most likely eventually break. if you plan to upgrade latter on with PI heads or bolting a PI intake manifold onto the non Pi heads you can still run the 95 harness. The only thing that will have to be cut is the IAC conector changed in 96 and stayed the same on up. thats basically a cut two wires and wire in the newer style conector for the IAC. If you want a tuner the SCT xcalibrator will work with the harness/ecu you have and is good for turning off the rear 02s if you plan to go catless.

281Ranger · Dec 8, 2008

2wd or 4x4 doesn't matter...on the '97-earlier Rangers the steering box is in a bad spot for a 4.6 or 5.4 swap. You'll have to switch to a box that mounts outside the frame or go with rack-n-pinion steering.

There is a '98 4x4 Ranger with a 4.6 in it. The guy posted pics of it on RPS.

F350n4.6Ranger · Dec 8, 2008

Small update, ordered the oil filter relocation kit from summit, Trans-dapt #1127 to get the oil filter out of the way. Today I installed the seats, mmmmm power seats, from the Vic, the instrument cluster, and the steering column. Unfortunately I forgot my digi cam but snapped a pic with my phone of the cluster at home in its new dash. It fit surprisingly well with little modification and I now have a 140mph speedo :headbang:

. The steering colum went in fairly easy with about 2 hours of work, and is at perfect height for me 6'2 with position of the seats. and has cruise, tilt, and an airbag (not getting hooked up for obvious reasons)

More pics and updates on wednesday.

Anyone have a 4-6" lift with leafs the are looking to get rid of? my rear leafs are trashed beyond reuse.

And plans are to do whatever to keep the box in the same place :badidea:

haha, we will see when I pick up the trans in the near future what I can do. untill wednesday :beer:

turbo cat · Dec 9, 2008

if theres a clearance issue its going to be the PS pump most likely

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My 4.6 swap starts

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