1987 2.9 swap to 4.0

[Gordy]

This is my first post here, so if this has been answered before (and I imagine it has been answered a lot) please forgive me and point me to an existing thread.

I bought a 1987 Ranger with a 2.9l engine that had cracked heads from a family member. Since I only paid $1 for it and another $50 to change the title over, I thought it was a decent deal.

I want to swap the 2.9 out for a 4.0, given the year of the trucks is '87, what year and vehicle should I be looking at for the engine donation?

It looks like I need to take the wiring harness, is there anything else I need to take for this swap?

Thanks,
Gordy

 

[sgtsandman]

I think the 4.0 OHV is going to be your most swap friendly option. I believe you can use the existing transmission and you will probably need the wire harness from a 4.0 OHV with the same type of transmission. The rest will have to be answered by someone who has done the swap.

Welcome to the forum and I’ve moved your question to a better fitting section of the forum. Good luck!

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Trans will bolt up but probably wont last long. A TK might go a bit further then a mitsu

 

[Gordy]

What year for the 4.0 should I be looking for? And does it matter what it comes out of?

 

[4x4prepper]

"I" would stick with a 1990-1994 4.0L. There are some things with used later model 4.0L you are better off not dealing with unless you already have the 4.0L out to access the back of the engine. "ME" I would convert the 4.0L to a carb and not have to worry about 20-30 year old wiring harnesses and CPus.

 

[SenorNoob]

90-94 is good. Ford Ranger or Explorer/Mazda B4000 or Navajo. I'd suggest a donor vehicle. I didn't use one and the swap ended up costing me about twice what a donor would have.

The Mitsubishi transmission is stronger than you'd think. I made it 7 years on mine. It was very rough by the time I removed it though.

The wiring is the fun part. You can take the dash from the donor and make it (almost) plug and play. You can strip the donor harness to make a "standalone engine harness". I'd recommend finding another truck like yours and taking the last set of connectors under the hood on the drivers side and the bulkhead connector from under the dash of the dash of the donor vehicle to make an adapter.

Really all depends on what you can find for parts and how skilled or attached to the factory dash you are.