09 Ranger V8 conversion

[Ranger Kip]

I've found myself a newer ranger, an 09 Ranger, she's beautiful, very little rust, very little damage, low miles, buuuuut, blown 4.0, completely seized. Found her behind a garage and talked to the owner and I'm getting it for $500. Has newer tires on it, premium wheels, electric windows (coming from my fleet model, that's luxury).

Needs an engine, maybe brakelines, a new drivers side door hinge, and some floorpan rust prevention work. Other than that, its still registered and inspected and insured till September Lol. Hasn't been sitting long. Only 78k miles on the chassis too (first owner).

I am considering a v8 swap and want to spend under $2500 doing so. I am possibly thinking of getting a late 90s sonar explorer or just going for a newer engine/tranny from a junkyard and then buying an explorer rear end. And also for the golden questions, is there a way to go V8 without going below 18mpg? And how hard is a V8 conversion into a newer ranger? Special wiring harness? Mounts? Engine bay mods?

 

[Ranger Kip]

 

[stmitch]

That seems like a really nice deal! But getting better than 18mpg from any 4wd Ranger is probably a long shot. Completing a decent v8 swap for under $2500 is going to be difficult too. If you have emissions testing, that could make the v8 swap especially difficult or impossible, since swapping in an older engine is usually an automatic failure. The newer trucks had digital gauge clusters that add some complexity to the standard 5.0 swap too.

The cheapest/easiest route to getting that truck on the road is to find another 4.0 that will drop right in. You should be able to get a nice freshly rebuilt one with your budget, and then you'd be enjoying your nice, new truck much faster.

 

[1996xlt]

My 02 with the 4.0 gets 17.5 MPG (mostly HWY/stop and go traffic), if you do swap to a V8 it might be possible to get 18 MPG but a lot would depend on driving style.

 

[bobbywalter]

well, starting with expectations...

with regular driving and a stock explorer v8.....18 no way should be expected. possible sure if your trying to max economy. theres guys with 2wd trucks claiming 24-26 mpg.....but uhhh..in a 4x4....never going to believe that with a 5.0....ancient 5.0 that is well worn....never ever.


all highway...its possible for sure in the right truck..hell 20 plus in all stock configuration as far as suspension gear and tires go...that truck as it sits with a healthy tuned 5.0 and good trans could easily crack 20 mpg if driven to those ends........but realistically, 16 average is real good.

but its tough to get a 4x4 4.0 to get 17 average. as delivered from ford. day 1. but many do get the 18-19 range where they live and drive. by far not the majority though.

with 410 gears and 31 in tires my healthy 2.9 could barely hold 16's..and that was 20 years ago, back when we had GOOD gasoline..and with 33's it was 14's. a stock 4.0 beats that easily most days.

my 4.0 b2 with 410 gears and 33 in tires gets 16 if i baby it..usually averages 12-13 town driving......it is lifted a bit of course.

my 6.2 ranger gets 14-17 driving like an idiot and 16-20 babying it. but that is with 410 gear and 37 in tires as well and it is lifted on one tons and weighs 6k.. town only driving runs about 13 mpg. but it idles alot. with 33 in tires and driven to max economy it can easily exceed 21 mpg.

so expectations need tempering.



goals.....most important thing to identify to me.





whats available to swap in your proposed budget.

if your not in a hurry to get it going, and with a 500 dollar payout i have to say i am extreeeeemely jealous you could get such a beautiful truck........ if i decided i was going to use a gasoline powered engine, i would be looking at a gm powertrain swap most likely 1st or one of the new ecoboost offerings...or the coyote in the 150....the gm i could do for 2000-3500 pretty easy and have a killer truck with monsterous power... but with such a low buy in cost for that quality of a chassis....the ecoboost is really on the list..it would likely exceed 4000 dollars, but spread over a few years to get the parts gathered....way way worth the effort. to have a bad ass ecoboost truck like that for 5-6 grand total is unbeatable in my eyes....around here to get a tight truck just like that....blown up... is 4 thousand. after all i can drop a used engine in it for a few hundred.

i can do a 6.2/6.5 diesel swap for 2500 ish easy enough as these are sometimes given away.... but i have not been able to get a vw swap under 2500. and honestly thats pushing it for the 4 cylinder in stock form. plus it takes some adaptation costs that are unavoidable at this point going from front to rear drive....the explorer 5.0 swap i can for sure do under 2500. hell with the right deal under 1000....same with the 6.5

doing things cheap usually takes lots of time....so you can shop and trade for the best deals. usually takes more compromise as well if your tools are limited. but you keep gathering your acorns and do a base assembly for function on the ground....when satisfied with that, you execute the swap.


with that 500 dollar canvas you have.....i can not honestly say what direction i would go untill i stared at it for a week in my driveway.

but.....my wife would probably decide for me.... i would likely be forced to drop a used engine in it and sell it for 6500 and then put an ecoboost in the b2....











just get the fawking thing already so i can live vicariously through your process.

 

[SenorNoob]

$500? It better be in your driveway now or somebody else bought...

 

[win]

I've gotta agree, for the money, it's a NO BRAINER to buy the thing.

After that, the question does become "what do do with it?"

If your area allows an older engine/PCM into it, I'd say go for a V8 -- my own conversion using a crashed/running/complete '96 Expo was well under a grand, with the only real expense being a $550 custom drive shaft. The rest was a wash between the cost of the Expo, sale of Expo parts, Expo scrap and sale of the Ranger engine/trans.

Else, grab up another 4.0 and stick in in the hole.

$500 is simply way too good a price for any sub 100K miles pickup in othewise reasonable condition.

 

[Ranger Kip]

Considering, I might do a used 4.0 for now, I found one with 128k for 200, but I have to pull it (no idea on how *scratches head*) but I might do a bunch of how-to's and figure it out, but I don't want to drive 150 miles, get the engine half way out, dent, scratch our damage the sitting truck, and not come home with an engine because its stuck somehow in the engine bay.

If adsm08 wasn't so busy Id probably just pay him to do the swap for me.

I'm eager to get it on the road. Should, SHOULD have it in my driveway in the next 2 weeks depending on the owners time schedule.

Dad told me to look at a diesel conversion, but I'm not into the Chrysler or GM motors, so it would leave me slim choices. P.s. area doesn't fully care about emissions.

I have access to a 97 explorer (literally with every known luxury option) with a 4.0 for $400 (rusted out body). But I don't know it its too old for use of its engine.

 

[jedHuf]

Why not take your budget and find a cheap 4.0 to rebuild with some quality internals. Bring the compression up a little, a good valve job and some head work and you will have a more efficient engine and more power to boot. I got a pretty good buy recently myself. Paid $700 for an 02 4x4 4.0 with 175,500 miles and rust issues. Runs like a top though. LOVE THIS TRUCK!!! I was hard set on doing a 4.6 swap but realistically the 4.0 is an incredible engine and with the complications that come with an engine swap in newer vehicles it's just not worth it. I think I'll keep my 4.0 and know it's going to pass emissions and the fact that all I have to do is swap out the engine and be done with it. No crazy fab work or cooling issues to worry about in my daily driver.

 

[Ranger Kip]

Did the 4.0 change between the years of 98 and 2012? (Dumb question I know, but I have no clue).

 

[jedHuf]

There is an over head valve (OHV) and a single over head cam (SOHC) option. You need to stick with the SOHC.

 

[Ranger Kip]

I see, the base engine is the same (minus emissions) and the ohv and sohc

 

[jedHuf]

No they are completely different engines.

 

[Ranger Kip]

So what's the difference between the sohc from early 2000 and 2009? (Besides emissions). Baseline, I'm looking for what years and vehicles carry the engine so I can find one. Best bet for me is an explorer because my yards don't carry anything newer than a 2004 ranger at best.

 

[jedHuf]

Any SOHC 4.0 will work. They are all the same. Just the bolt ons have changed a little. The castings and internals are the same. You just reuse everything on the outside of the motor. I'm just sayin use a SOHC. An OHV will not work at all with your assesories and wiring.