Parts Swap between 02 Explorer and 04 Ranger?

[mesaytouche]

Hello all,

Recently new owner of a 2004 Ranger XL.
I bought this little guy in the midwest, so it has a healthy coat of surface rust under the body, and some nicely seized parts.

The local junkyard has a nice little 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac hanging out, and I've heard that may be a good donor for some Ranger parts.

Of first importance, I have some leaf springs with seized shackles, so I was thinking of transplanting those onto my truck. Maybe some other fun bits while I'm there.

Anyway, here is the important question:
Any chance anybody knows how interchangeable parts are between my 2004 Ranger XL and the 2002 Explorer Sport Trac?

And bonus question, besides the leaf springs and suspension components, what other parts should I be putting on my ranger from this vehicle? Might as well take everything I can from a good donor car!

Thanks ahead of time for the help!

 

[stmitch]

If the center console and seats are any good, those might be a nice upgrade over a 60/40 bench, but finding ones in decent shape can be tough these days.

The explorer will have torsion bar front suspension, and your XL likely has coil springs so not much that will swap in the front if that's true.

The rear axle should be an 8.8 with disc brakes which is an upgrade over your 7.5/drum setup but that's not a huge deal for a stock 2.3/manual Ranger that just gets used on the street. And you'd probably want to try to find one with 3.73 gearing to match what your current truck has and maintain decent fuel economy. Switching to 4.10s (which some Explorers had) would likely cost you 3-4mpg.