'02 XLT 3.0 to 5.0 Swap

[Charly]

Last fall I bought my ranger for $500 with 205K on the clock, after the transmission giving up on me this spring and replacing that, then the motor sending a rod through the pan shortly after... I have decided to toss the entire 3.0 driveline and go for a 5.0 swap. The 3.0 never felt like it had the power I needed and for what I like to haul in this bad girl I could definitely use the extra power from the 5.0. At the moment I'm looking at a reasonably priced '01 Explorer for my swap that I hope I can pick up this weekend and start the swap. Just want to post this up to start a journal of my swap and to post any questions I'll have as I go.

 

[RonD]

Welcome to TRS

Nice looking ranger and great price

Some good swap info here: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/index-conversions.shtml

 

[win]

That truck is a great start for your swap!

A/C wiring it really the trickiest bit and make sure you have a speed signal solution.

Your '02 Ranger used the OEM PCM to generate the speed signal from transmission sensors and you'll loose that with the swap.

The 01 Expo used the ABS system, and that would normally stay with the Expo so it's PCM does not have the speed feature.

Good news, there is plenty on how to graft the needed Expo's ABS bits into the Ranger, or, if your XFer case has the ability, simply plug in an earlier Ford gear driven VSS at the back of the case and a simple 1 signal, 1 gound wire effort.

 

[Charly]

I am thinking of eliminating the A/C all together since I generally only use the truck as a winter vehicle or for short trips to the home depot for lumber etc. If that will simplify the swap greatly then I will definitely delete it. I also knew the speed signal was going to be a hurdle for the '02 ranger to '01 expo, figuring out which solution to use will be determined when I get there I suppose. Thanks for all the useful info already!