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Manual swap info needed (98 4.0 4x4)


ronlp

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1998
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Ford Ranger XLT
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4.0 V6
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Yes, you can jump the Neutral switch(DTR) for starter motor activation, you can also hijack the 2 reverse light wires
16-pin connector can just be tied up or cut off, there are 2 12volt wires in there so KEY OFF if cutting wires
Again, thanks for the response and info.

At the expense of sounding like an idiot, I'm going to try and verify the possibilities here with a pretty terrible diagram. Excuse my ignorance, I just don't want to mess anything up after going through all this. (Suffice to say, this project has snowballed well beyond the value of the vehicle....as they often do)

Is the thought I can just plug the whole auto harness back in (gray and black square plugs) to the engine harness, seal off the one with the metal clip on it (assuming that's the 16 pin), plug in the O2 as expected, then extract and/or temporarily jump some of the circuits in the other two plugs, and it should run?

And then if that's a yes, do I need to do anything with the clutch switch plug that's still plugged into whatever it's plugged into considering I don't want to use a clutch switch?
 

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ronlp

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2WD / 4WD
4WD
Hello RonLP, welcome to TRS also :)
You at least make good sense when asking questions.
I haven't had any trouble finding what slave cylinders I needed at AZ for my 93 4.0 over the 18 years or so that I've had it
It was at 234K when I got it and now it's in high 300s, with no complaints, not too awful far from swapping in a 96 Explorer engine I think will be good for maybe another couple of hundred K :)
Thanks man.

As for the slave cylinder situation, the car in question is an 88 Mitsubishi Starion. The only part AZ is going to have for it is some chinese floor mats. 😂

But yeah, slave blew out just outside Austin on the way back from a Radwood show. Key-bump-started it and rev-matched shifts for over 1000 miles to get it home. Super stressful, but it works.

Learned those 'skills' in the late 80s driving garbage as a kid, lol.
 

Josh B

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Where is Queen Creek AZ? What were you doing in Austin? That's a long ways for a concert. I once went there from Dallas for a concert at Gatlin Creek, which soon spawned Willie's 4th of July picnic That was about , dang, 72ish? Hek it was 74 before I saw the original Skynyrd, in Ft Worth, and you wouldn't want my review of that show :/ 4 or 5 songs, then "we're tired, we're going now" then BB King came out and rocked it on to midnight
 

ronlp

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Queen Creek, AZ
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1998
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Ford Ranger XLT
Engine Type
4.0 V6
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Where is Queen Creek AZ? What were you doing in Austin? That's a long ways for a concert. I once went there from Dallas for a concert at Gatlin Creek, which soon spawned Willie's 4th of July picnic That was about , dang, 72ish? Hek it was 74 before I saw the original Skynyrd, in Ft Worth, and you wouldn't want my review of that show :/ 4 or 5 songs, then "we're tired, we're going now" then BB King came out and rocked it on to midnight
Queen Creek is a distant southeast suburb of Phoenix. Haha, Radwood is big car show/event strictly for 80s/90s cars/trucks, which I for better or worse have a bunch of. They have one in Austin every year at COTA that's usually around 1000 cars. I've road-tripped the Starion to them all over the country as a weird hobby because they are known for being unreliable.

That said, metal concerts are my other crazy hobby, and I've based more than one European vacation around them. I currently have tix to see Avenged Sevenfold in LA and NYC this month. F it, you only live once. :D
 

ronlp

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Location
Queen Creek, AZ
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1998
Make / Model
Ford Ranger XLT
Engine Type
4.0 V6
2WD / 4WD
4WD
New update: It runs and drives!
Still some minor stuff to work out, butI jumped the tan/red and pink wires (iirc) on the dtr plug and it fired right up.
O/D off light is flashing, so that will take some sorting (maybe just jump the connector that went to the button?)
Got a CEL as expected about 1/4 mile into the first test drive, but it's still on the auto ECU.
It seems to run and drive really well apart from a very slight stumble around 2k rpm, but I'm not sure if that's the ECU being annoyed or something seperate?
Does the auto ECU cause drivability issues or just a CEL?

Also, is there any reference that shows what ECUs will work? There are a ton listed (used, reman, reflashed, etc) with all different part numbers, but most only specify the year and 4.0 and say nothing about the trans.

Apart from all that I have a slight tick from #4....I replaced the pushrods, but not the rockers despite them showing wear, so a new set is on order. I think I was getting to the point where the spending was getting pretty crazy, and it had been quiet before so I took a chance....oh well. I'm not mad.

So only drove it about 7 miles as the wiring is a little sketch and the hood is still off, but swapping it was 100% worth the effort.

I suppose if I could just locate the actual plug for the reverse lights, I could probably be ok with wiring that in, permanently jumping the park switch and calling it good? I'm going to keep searching for the proper harness, but at least it's drivable.

0C874A1C-D97B-40F5-824D-984D6BE9CD37.jpeg
 
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RonD

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Don't short the OD button wires, lol
That will blow fuse 27 in cab fuse box which powers Reverse lights and a few other things

White/light green wire on PCM pin 79 grounds that bulb, connected to pin 1 on the 16-pin cluster connector
Cut either end

Its flashing because of automatic transmission "issues"
 

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