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tayloru
New Member
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2022
- Messages
- 9
- Reaction score
- 5
- Points
- 3
- Location
- Flagstaff, AZ
- Vehicle Year
- 1988
- Make / Model
- Ford Ranger
- Engine Type
- 2.9 V6
- Transmission
- Automatic
- 2WD / 4WD
- 2WD
- Total Lift
- 0
- Total Drop
- 0
Hey there TRS gang!
First and foremost:
I signed up here recently, but have been browsing the forum for a few years now! I am very grateful for the wealth of knowledge and information shared here on the site. From the Q&As/Discussions in the forums, to the great help articles on the tech side - it's a major help.
Next up, a little bit about me and why I am here!
My grandmother, who is 93yo & in a care facility, gifted me her 1988 Ford Ranger (Single Cab, long bed, 2wd, XLT with dual fuel tanks) nearly 6 years ago. For many years after fixing up some slight issues and getting it running again, I drove this truck, maintained it, and loved it. This thing has a lot of sentimental value to me. My grandfather, who passed away just before I was born, purchased it brand new in '88 and was only able to enjoy it for a couple of years. My grandmother hung onto it and occasionally drove it. When it was passed along to me, it had only 84k original miles. Now, it's at 97k and the engine is on its last leg. I already replaced the transmission about 2 years ago when it went out - regretfully before doing any research and discovering the 5.0 swap.
So, what brings me to The Ranger Station is to get help in my journey of swapping the motor + transmission of my 1988 Ranger. I will certainly be using the search functions, documenting as much info as I can, and popping in to ask questions to get me started properly.
A bit about me... I actually work in the automotive world on the marketing side of things for a large off-road company (happy to divulge, if anyone cares). My day-to-day has me managing our customer touchpoints both in-person at consumer events and digitally on social media, forums, etc, as well as overseeing our content creation team and content distribution. Pretty busy "office" job, but that's why working on vehicles is always a fun and mostly relaxing time for me. My form of therapy is working on my trucks or my bikes.
That's not to say I am just some keyboard jockey - I am in the career I am in because of my passion for vehicles, off-roading, wrenching, and sharing that love with others. I have worked on cars a bit myself, but always on the maintenance and upgrades side of things.... complete suspension replacements, brake jobs, routine fluid changes, CV replacements, driveshaft u-joint swaps, armor installs, beadlocks, wiring of electronics, and creation of my own fuse blocks, etc etc. But I have never really worked on an engine or attempted anything like what an engine swap entails, nor done anything with the internals of an engine beyond normal maintenance (oil, spark plugs, MAF sensors, throttle body cleaning. I am a bit nervous of starting this project and have been nervous to even sign up for the forums to start asking for help - but here I am ready to start!
At heart, I am an off-roader and outdoorsman, but am also just a bit automotive fan in general from old muscle cars to street trucks, etc. Beyond the automotive world, I've been big time into mountain biking the last 4 years and living in Northern Arizona is kind of a mini-mecca for that. Anything with wheels, or anything that's outdoors and I'm in!
Thanks in advance!
That's a bit long-winded, but it's me. I thank you all in advance for answering some of the questions I may have! I promise I'm doing my best on the research side and will use the search function endlessly. But, sometimes it's just nice to hear the advice and knowledge from folks that have the experience that I don't. So thank you all, and I'm stoked to be on the forum!
OH YEAH! and pics....
Here's my two vehicles as they sat a year or two ago...
And here's me when my Grandma first gave me the Ranger back in 2016 or 2017...
And here's me 20+ years ago when I was a youngster cleaning the snow off of the Ranger back when it was my grandma's truck!
First and foremost:
I signed up here recently, but have been browsing the forum for a few years now! I am very grateful for the wealth of knowledge and information shared here on the site. From the Q&As/Discussions in the forums, to the great help articles on the tech side - it's a major help.
Next up, a little bit about me and why I am here!
My grandmother, who is 93yo & in a care facility, gifted me her 1988 Ford Ranger (Single Cab, long bed, 2wd, XLT with dual fuel tanks) nearly 6 years ago. For many years after fixing up some slight issues and getting it running again, I drove this truck, maintained it, and loved it. This thing has a lot of sentimental value to me. My grandfather, who passed away just before I was born, purchased it brand new in '88 and was only able to enjoy it for a couple of years. My grandmother hung onto it and occasionally drove it. When it was passed along to me, it had only 84k original miles. Now, it's at 97k and the engine is on its last leg. I already replaced the transmission about 2 years ago when it went out - regretfully before doing any research and discovering the 5.0 swap.
So, what brings me to The Ranger Station is to get help in my journey of swapping the motor + transmission of my 1988 Ranger. I will certainly be using the search functions, documenting as much info as I can, and popping in to ask questions to get me started properly.
A bit about me... I actually work in the automotive world on the marketing side of things for a large off-road company (happy to divulge, if anyone cares). My day-to-day has me managing our customer touchpoints both in-person at consumer events and digitally on social media, forums, etc, as well as overseeing our content creation team and content distribution. Pretty busy "office" job, but that's why working on vehicles is always a fun and mostly relaxing time for me. My form of therapy is working on my trucks or my bikes.
That's not to say I am just some keyboard jockey - I am in the career I am in because of my passion for vehicles, off-roading, wrenching, and sharing that love with others. I have worked on cars a bit myself, but always on the maintenance and upgrades side of things.... complete suspension replacements, brake jobs, routine fluid changes, CV replacements, driveshaft u-joint swaps, armor installs, beadlocks, wiring of electronics, and creation of my own fuse blocks, etc etc. But I have never really worked on an engine or attempted anything like what an engine swap entails, nor done anything with the internals of an engine beyond normal maintenance (oil, spark plugs, MAF sensors, throttle body cleaning. I am a bit nervous of starting this project and have been nervous to even sign up for the forums to start asking for help - but here I am ready to start!
At heart, I am an off-roader and outdoorsman, but am also just a bit automotive fan in general from old muscle cars to street trucks, etc. Beyond the automotive world, I've been big time into mountain biking the last 4 years and living in Northern Arizona is kind of a mini-mecca for that. Anything with wheels, or anything that's outdoors and I'm in!
Thanks in advance!
That's a bit long-winded, but it's me. I thank you all in advance for answering some of the questions I may have! I promise I'm doing my best on the research side and will use the search function endlessly. But, sometimes it's just nice to hear the advice and knowledge from folks that have the experience that I don't. So thank you all, and I'm stoked to be on the forum!
OH YEAH! and pics....
Here's my two vehicles as they sat a year or two ago...
And here's me when my Grandma first gave me the Ranger back in 2016 or 2017...
And here's me 20+ years ago when I was a youngster cleaning the snow off of the Ranger back when it was my grandma's truck!
