1990 Ranger getting a 2.3turbo/T5

[Hibs]

I had a 1995 Honda civic that I bought for $400, put $300 fixing it up, then traded for this......

1990 Ford Ranger XLT, 2.9L V6, 5speed. When I first got it, I took it into the garage and started to look it over. First thing I discovered was a gas tank filler neck that was all fubared.

Once I got it apart I figured it out. Someone had put in a brand new fuel pump, and ****ed up the OE filler neck in the process. The way it was, it wasn't even fully attached to the top of the gas tank. So when you would put gas in it, half of it would pour on the ground. Hmm... that explains why it only had 1/8th tank of gas when the guy dropped it off to me. So I went to the local U-Pull-It junkyard and got a good shape filler neck off a bronco II for $10.

 

[Hibs]

Next up was fixing the exhaust, which the kid claimed "only needs a new gasket".... riiiiight.... I bought a couple adapters from Advanced Auto Parts for $6 and welded them in. Ain't pretty, but it's sealed.

 

[Hibs]

Next step was to get it running real good. I put in a new set of Motorcraft spark plugs. I also had noticed that it wasn't getting up to normal operating temperature. I first thought the temp sensor sending unit was bad, put in a new one at $4. That didn't fix it, so then i figured it must be a stuck thermostat. I get the Tstat housing off, to find that it had NO thermostat in it at all. great. might be an overheating issue? i flushed about 15gallons of water through the system before it finally started coming out clean, then put in my new 180* tstat and filled it up with fresh coolant. it then got up to regular operating temperature just fine and no signs of overheating. sweet! i drove it like this for about a week, no problems. after a week, i started to smell a hint of antifreeze. i thought maybe i had a leak somewhere. pull it back into the garage, nope, no leaks. checked the radiator, it's about a gallon low. check my oil.... yep, it's over full and milky. AWESOME!

I figured I wouldn't waste my time with this shit ass 2.9L v6, so the search began......

about a month later, i stumbled across this on craigslist. i had to drive up to Nottingham PA to pick it up, was about an hour and a half drive which landed us straight into Amish country. Not even kidding, while i was loading the car up on the dolly, there was like two horse pulled carriages that drove by, lol. My good friend and his dad helped me out, we used his Chevy 1500 and their car dolly to pick it up. $35 in gas, $16 in lunch at BK, and $600 for the car and I've got a new heart for the ranger!!!

hmm... what's that gauge on the dash?

Yes, that's a boost gauge. That's also a T5 transmission. What can it be?

You guessed it. A 1988 Thunderbird Turbocoupe with a turbocharged, intercooled 2.3L motor and T5 transmission, 8.8 with disc brakes and 3.55 gears

 

[Hibs]

runs and drives great. surprisingly, the motor has no oil leaks. coolant is clean and the oil is fresh. I'll be pulling it out in the next couple days, probably pull the pan just to inspect the bearings, but otherwise it will get new oil pan/valve cover gaskets, cleaned and painted, then thrown right into the ranger!

Got a cherry picker and engine stand ready...

It started snowing a little today, but that didn't stop me...

The motor is just about ready to pull. I just need to remove the AC and power steering lines. Tomorrow I'll be yanking the tranny, and hopefully Friday I'll pull the motor.

 

[Hibs]

and she's out!!!

time to clean it up... more to come....

 

[Iron Ranger]

That is one clean lookin' ranger!!!

Hope the swap goes well for you!

 

[ZMan]

Very nice truck for what you paid. Hell I sold a beat up and rusty Ranger for about what you paid for that.

 

[Bajabronco]

Yeah, take alot of pictures of the swap too....and x2, very clean lookin ranger