swapping engines.. Questions??

[stumpcatcher]

Hi
I have the Haynes manual for my Rangers, it tells just about everything, but it dont tell me about swamping engines.

I have 86 RANGER PU fuel injected 2.9L automatic transmission 4X4, it has blown tranny and good engine.
And I have 86 RANGER 2-door SuperCab fuel injected 2.9L manual transmission 4X4, it has blow engine.

I want to take the engine out of the RANGER PU and put it in the RANGER SuperCab.

I am not familiar with doing an engine swap like this.
Could you give me a basic step by step walk thru of how to do this swap, and maybe include some basic do's & don'ts??

thanks

 

[straycat]

I have done lots of engine swaps. The motors are the same. The transmission is the same, all just bolts into place. If you never done this before you need to get some help. Either a knowledgeable friend or a shop. You can do a search on this site or use Google to look up engine swap or get a good Ranger manual and rear it. It is a very easy thing to do with the right tools.

 

[RustedRanger]

If you have a camera take lots of pics or draw pictures. Keep things separated and label them. Masking tape and a ink pen or Sharpie works great for marking wires and hoses. Like straycat said....getting help is best if you are unsure.

 

[Andy D]

Take the engines out and with them side by side take off the torque conv. and flex plate. Replace the rear main seal. Put the flywheel on . I would use a new clutch and stuff. Dont forget about the pilot bearing. Use a new slave cylinder. Take everything apart as though you were going to use it again. I would go over the engine fixing stuff and cleaning it . I would spent some time in the empty engine bay to spruce things up. I have done it several times . I tagged every wire I took off . But then I learned a trick. Car makers are so freaken cheap, that you are lucky if the wires are long enough reach where they belong, If there is any slack, it is prollly not the right place.

 

[adsm08]

Honestly, easiest way to do this, wiring wise, is to pull the PCM connector out of the firewall, unhook the 8 or so connectors to the dash wiring on the driver's side, the oxygen sensor, and pull it all out as one big mess.

 

[cammeddrz]

Honestly, easiest way to do this, wiring wise, is to pull the PCM connector out of the firewall, unhook the 8 or so connectors to the dash wiring on the driver's side, the oxygen sensor, and pull it all out as one big mess.

^^ this

 

[stumpcatcher]

Take the engines out and with them side by side take off the torque conv. and flex plate. Replace the rear main seal. Put the flywheel on . I would use a new clutch and stuff. Dont forget about the pilot bearing. Use a new slave cylinder. Take everything apart as though you were going to use it again. I would go over the engine fixing stuff and cleaning it . I would spent some time in the empty engine bay to spruce things up. I have done it several times . I tagged every wire I took off . But then I learned a trick. Car makers are so freaken cheap, that you are lucky if the wires are long enough reach where they belong, If there is any slack, it is prollly not the right place.

Ya ok.
So do I put clutch, pressure plate, bell housing and stuff on the engine while the engine is out, then attach to transmission when Im putting engine in or what??
Or only have the fly wheel on the engine, and clutch, pressure plate, bell housing and stuff on the transmission when I go to put engine in??

 

[adsm08]

The flywheel bolts to the engine. The pressure plate bolts to the flywheel. The clutch gets sandwiched between them. The bell housing bolts to the transmission from the inside and the engine from the outside. All that means that none of your proposed setups for install would work.

You need to have the flywheel and pressure plate bolted to the engine. The slave and bell need to be on the trans. I prefer to have the transmission in 4th gear when I am installing it so that I can spin it easily over to get the input splines and clutch plate splines lined up if needed.

 

[Surrey]

If you have a camera take lots of pics or draw pictures. Keep things separated and label them. Masking tape and a ink pen or Sharpie works great for marking wires and hoses. Like straycat said....getting help is best if you are unsure.

LABEL EVERYTHING!

My buddy tried to do an engine swap in his old ranger a few years ago. He didn't label a damn thing, and then when It came time to hook everything back up, we couldn't get it to start.

So yes. Label everything! Make sure your tape is long enough to wrap around whatever you are labeling, and stick to itself because tape doesn't stick very well to greasy/dirty wire looms.

 

[Andy D]

It is good to ask these questions. As was suggested if you should get some help. This operation was a lot easier when I started doing them 40 yrs ago. Every engine swap presents its own issues. To the OP, study up on the basics. I bet the interweb is loaded with lots of video on the subject. Good luck.

 

[adsm08]

LABEL EVERYTHING!

This is also good advice. I just unplugged my engine from the truck last night for the swap I am doing this weekend and had to laugh at myself a bit. I found, on some of the screwier connectors, where I had written right on the connectors exactly what they were for the last time I had the engine out.

 

[adsm08]

Here is more or less what it should look like when you finish pulling it out.



I already took the clutch and flywheel off, and you probably have factory manifolds, not headers, but the rest should look just like that.

 

[GentleRF]

Stump catcher, I cannot improve on what others have said but I wouldbe willing to help if you were local to me.

Rick in East Bremerton