V8 Swap Thread - 1994 B3000 "Victoria"

[Guanfy]

As the title says, I'd like to document this attempt at a V8 swap. It's my first time doing a swap where the engine wasn't designed to fit in the vehicle and I approach this with a certain amount of trepidation. However I still want to share this project with all of you warts and all until it's successful completion.

 

[Guanfy]

So... down to business. The recipient truck is my project truck a 1994 Mazda B3000 I've named Victoria. I'll be attempting to swap in a 302 from what I believe to be a 2000 Ford Explorer.

I do have:
A fully dressed 302 longblock that was pulled out of someone else's Ford ranger
The oil filter relocation, already installed
A vehicle wire harness from a 2000 Explorer
An ecu from a 2000 Explorer
Air intake with sensors
1994 Ranger EVTM manual
2000 Explorer Wiring Diagram book
Mini exhaust headers that were left on from the previous owner


I do not have:
The front end accessories or bracketry. Based on my reading here I know that some of it I can use from my existing 3.0 setup, while other parts will have to be purchased.
The motor mounts
Rad
hoses of various kinds
The 2 inch lift kit I wish to install before starting this
M5R2 from a '97 or above F150 to keep it a manual
Lots of other things I'm forgetting for the moment
My sanity

This is going to be a slow burn project as I'm trying to pay for this swap not using my main income. I'm going to take some introductory picture a little later today and post them up and try to take photos every step of the way.

 

[Guanfy]

I'm already wrestling with an engineering issue as old as time.. putting a square peg in a round hole. The firewall connector from the 2000 Explorer harness is square, while the connector in my '94 is a circle. The solution I am pursuing is to get another circle connector from the junkyard and then repinning the square connector as the round one.

 

[Guanfy]

I haven't had much time to work on this but tonight I managed to start building a datasheet of what I have and don't have and what I need to do. It's far from complete but it's a great starting place to add some organization to this project. And... I can't share it as the attacher doesn't support .xls. Nuts.

 

[Guanfy]

It's been quite awhile since I've been on this thread but I figured a few things out. I didn't have the full 2000 harness because the gentleman I purchased it from swapped it out of a 2000 ranger. Since the 2000 ranger and 2000 explorer share the same vehicle side of the harness, he didn't include that. In my case because the recepient is a '94, I do need the vehicle side of the harness. So I went to the junkyard and extracted the full vehicle side, including the three firewall connectors.

I finally have the full harness. I still have the connector conversion issue to sort out, but at least I have actual connectors to look at. I have also acquired the wire harness book for the 2000 Explorer so I have official ford documentation to look at.

 

[GuppysRanger1994]

I'm following your build. Just bought a 94 ranger at an auction. Looking to do a 5.0 V8 swap keeping my manual transmission. Can't wait for updates!

 

[Guanfy]

I'm following your build. Just bought a 94 ranger at an auction. Looking to do a 5.0 V8 swap keeping my manual transmission. Can't wait for updates!

I'll get some more information that I've pieced together posted soon. I've got the speedometer issue sorted for the transmission, among other things. There's tons of information floating around but I don't think anyone has managed to bring it into one place for our particular swap. One thing I haven't made much headway on at all is the wiring. For me I think it's going to be using the 5.0 vehicle and engine harness and modifying connections to fit the '94 connection points for things like headlights, turn markers, etc. Going from OBD1 to OBD2 is daunting.

 

[Guanfy]

A small update... the local junkyard had a 2000 Explorer with a 302 come in so I jumped on it to get parts. I now have the FEAD brackets, system belt, coil pack bracket, cruise control computer with bracket and cable, throttle cable bracket and air box bracket. Also grabbed as many vacuum lines as I could. In some ways most importantly I grabbed bolts. Lots of them. I have many of the pieces I need but from what I initially bought not the bolts that go with them. Now I have most of the bolts that I need. Hopefully I can get back to the junkyard next weekend and get the rest of the bolts that I can grab. I've also learned that I won't be able to get the Y-pipe for the exhaust from the junkyard as they hack it to bits in order to get the catalytic converters out.

I'm still waiting for a unicorn F150 to come in so that I can get my M5R2. To get the configuration you need it can be solved in two different ways. You can get a 1997-2003 M5R2 that is paired with the 4.2L V6 and you'll have good placement for the shifter, but not a tailshaft that will accept a mechanical speedometer. You then have to get the tailshaft from a 1988-1992? M5R2 and swap that out.

Alternatively you can get any M5R2 from a F150 that is paired with a 302 that is from 1988-1992? to have the correct tailshaft but then you need to get a shifter plate from the aforementioned 1997-2003 4.2L M5R2 so you don't have to cut metal to make the shifter fit.

I still haven't decided the path I'm going to take for cooling. I hear folks using the 4.0L radiator without issue but you have to hack into the rad core support to make the clearance you need. That's cheaper but I'd prefer not to cut metal. Other option is to buy a purpose built conversion rad. Fits like a glove but $$$. I'll have to do more research.

 

[Ranger850]

I didn't know you were building a V8 for a swap. I have a 2000 Eddie Bauer Explorer as a donor. Talk about slow burn, lol, I've barley moved on my project since I got the donor and stripped the harness from the engine bay.

 

[Guanfy]

I didn't know you were building a V8 for a swap. I have a 2000 Eddie Bauer Explorer as a donor. Talk about slow burn, lol, I've barley moved on my project since I got the donor and stripped the harness from the engine bay.

Yeah, been scheming on it for quite some time now. I bought a 302 that came out of a Ranger V8 swap it already has many of the configuration tweaks you need for swapping into a ranger. It wasn't a fully dressed longblock but pretty close. Now I'm picking up the other bits and bobs I need over time, mostly from our local Pick 'N Pull. I'm trying to get a concrete floor poured for my pole barn before I try to do the swap itself. I'm quite tired of wriggling around on dirt covered plywood to do work.

 

[mtnrgr]

Like what your plans are for your build. In the early days of trs, a few members did the explorer 5.0 change into 94 and older rangers and they wanted to use a distributor instead of a coil pack. They said a computer and wiring harness from a 92-93 5.0 mustang work great. If you wanted to use a distributor instead of a coil pack, that would be a place to start.

If any of your 3.0 parts are good for reuse let me know. I have that engine in my 94 and I am always on the hunt for extra parts. Not many of those around anymore.

 

[Guanfy]

Like what your plans are for your build. In the early days of trs, a few members did the explorer 5.0 change into 94 and older rangers and they wanted to use a distributor instead of a coil pack. They said a computer and wiring harness from a 92-93 5.0 mustang work great. If you wanted to use a distributor instead of a coil pack, that would be a place to start.

If any of your 3.0 parts are good for reuse let me know. I have that engine in my 94 and I am always on the hunt for extra parts. Not many of those around anymore.

The most daunting task I have is adapting wiring. If the 92-93 Mustang 5.0 harness uses the barrel style connector instead of the triple square connector setup for the firewall connector and the computer lives next to the driver's fender versus the middle of the engine bay like on a 2000 Explorer I would seriously consider it.

 

[Ranger850]

@Guanfy Not sure if you need it or what, BUT I have a 2000 EB Explorer for a donor. I don't think I need the connector on the Truck side. If you want to come take a look and see if you need anything from it, just let me know. Of course I will need all of the under hood harness for MY swap, but anything else is yours if you need it.

 

[Guanfy]

@Guanfy Not sure if you need it or what, BUT I have a 2000 EB Explorer for a donor. I don't think I need the connector on the Truck side. If you want to come take a look and see if you need anything from it, just let me know. Of course I will need all of the under hood harness for MY swap, but anything else is yours if you need it.

The front vehicle harness for the Explorer 4.0L/5.0L and the same harness in the Ford Ranger and B-Series of the same year range are basically the same. I've already harvested I think a 2000 harness out of a B-Series and a 2001 from a Ranger I think.... might have been a 2001 Explorer. Thanks for the offer though. The main issue I face is simply matching up which wires are going to need to be run to each other. I have the wire harness books for both vehicles so it's a matter of me sitting down and getting to work on it instead of moaning and groaning about it all the time.

I will need to freshen up the engine harness that came with the engine I purchased. There are connectors hanging on by hopes and dreams and some skinned wires that need mending. I intend to go through and redo connectors with a kit similar to this: https://www.amazon.com/Delphi-Weather-Pack-WP-1505-Crimp/dp/B007QVXT2C/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=weatherpack+connector+kit&qid=1631190310&sr=8-5

It's expensive but it will make sure that I'm not chasing electrical gremlins because of poor connections or shorted wires.

 

[Guanfy]

Another small update. I was checking out transmission prices from private junkyards and I found that the junkyard around the corner has a 1998 M5R2 from a 4.2L F150 for $400. It's a little more than I want to pay, but I think I'm going to jump on this today before it disappears. I'll get some pics after I acquire it.