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Hello everyone. I have been on this forum for a long time as I have owned a Ford Ranger since 1996 (several different years and models). I have got a lot of useful information from searching this forum, so I though I would give back a little. This has probably been cover before, but Ill post it again.
I have a 1992 ford ranger 2WD that has a 2.3L engine. A couple of years ago it took a crap on me because the engines are a little dirty and the oil pump pick up screen got clogged and did some engine damage before I could catch it. During my first rebuild I discovered my head was cracked. I ordered one off of Ebay, which I do not recommend, and 10,000 miles after the rebuild, the truck started burning coolant. I took the head hoping for a bad head gasket and low and behold another cracked head. So with my frustration and damage done to the cylinder wall from water and rust and all that good stuff I looked for another engine all together.
I found a good deal on a 1996 2.3L engine and tranny with 110K on it. I got it all for 200 bucks with all accessories, radiator, all ac parts and some more extras.
As you know my truck is an OB1 truck and the 1996 engine is OBD2. I did not have a computer or wiring harness from the 96 truck either.
The swap is now complete and the truck runs awesome. Here are some things that I did to make this swap work.
Crank Position Sensor / Timing
The first and most scary part of the swap was the crank position sensor. The OBD1 truck only uses one cranks position sensor mounted on the block down by the crank shaft to tell the DIS module what to do. The 1996 engine uses a completely different system. I was lucky enough to have both engines on the engine stands side by side. I removed all the seniors off of the 96 engine with plans to use the 1992 CPS. I took as many measurements from several reference pints as I could from the both engines and I actually drilled and tapped the 96 block for the 92 CPS mounting bracket. You want to do this with the oil pan removed so any metal shavings will drop out on the floor. Make sure you clean up inside the block as much as possible, there is nothing in the are where the CPS goes to interfere with this process.
To make the addition of the OBD1 CPS work I used the timing pulley from the 96 engine because it has a round tooth profile and the 92 has a square profile. Reason for using the 96 timing pulley is I was using the 96 cam pulley and oil pump pulley. I used the thin spacer that helps keep the timing belt on the timing pulley from the 92 engine and I used the 92 crank pulley as it has the proper timing fins inside it for the CPS to read. All of this provided me with the correct alignment for the accessory belts. You will need to use all the 96 accessories and mounting brackets or the pulleys will not line up.
I had to modify the rear timing cover to clear the CPS that is now mounted to the block.
Intake Manifold
I had to use the 1996 intake as the head ports are much smaller that the ports in my 92 intake. I took the harness off of the 92 intake and mounted it up to the 96 intake. It actually mounts up perfect and fits all the injectors as if it were made for that intake. I eliminated the EGR valve, ill get to that in a minute. I also used the 1992 throttle body on the 96 intake, it bolted up correctly and the ports matched almost perfectly. The reason for this is the TPS plugs were different. I figured it would be best to use what my truck was familiar with. The fuel lines worked just fine from the 96 fuel rail. The only thing left to do is purchase a y splitter for some of the vacuums line that lead into the climate control in the cab. The 96 intake has less vacuums port than the 92 intake. I also had to shorten the brake booster vacuums line as well. No big deal though.
The throttle cable will be about 1" too long when using the 92 cable on the 96 intake with the 92 throttle body. I simply made a relocation bracket which moved the throttle cable mount back 1". Its made out of 1/4" thick aluminum so there would be no chance of flex or failure.
Exhaust Manifold
The exhaust manifold for the 96 is tubular and the one for the 92 is cast and of course mine is cracked so I really wanted to use the tubular manifold. The 96 manifold does not have the 02 sensor bung like the 92 manifold did. Since the 02 sensor goes in the collector and I got rid of the EGR valve, I cut the EGR valve bung off about half way in the middle, I oversized the hole with a drill bit and tapped the hole for the 02 sensor. Seems to be working just fine.
Ignition.
It looks like the 96 coil packs would work but the number 2 and 3 plug location were switched. I was not sure if that was an internal switch or if the 96 truck fed a different signal thank the 92 truck feeds. I went ahead and used my 92 could packs on the 96 mounting brackets just to be safe.
The 96 intake does not have the flat surface on the side for the DIS module to mount too. Little did I know that this module must be grounded in order for it to operate. When I first tried to start the truck I had no fire at all. I did some research and learned that the DIS module has to be grounded and it does this through the 3 mounting bolts. I grounded mine and the truck started immediately. Since my AC stopped working a long time ago, I had already removed my AC compressor. I made a mounting plate that bolts to the four bolt holes where the AC compressor mounted and then bolted the DIS module to that plate. I also ran another ground strap to that plate to make sure I had good ground. The wiring harness reaches just fine. On the bottom of the DIS module is a white pasty substance. It is Heat Sink Grease, it helps transfer heat from the bottom of the module to the intake manifold. To help keep mine cool I used small aluminum spacers at the four mounting points and raised the module up off the plate some. The plate also has a few holes drilled in the bottom so it can breathe better.
Other notes to be made
The 92 water pump won't fit a 96 block. The 96 block has a smaller hole for the impeller and a slightly different bolt pattern. Even if you could use the 92 pump on the 96 engine, the belt alignment would be off and you have to get a 96 pump anyways. I had to modify my heater core hoses to mount to the lower water pump inlet tube, and I had to use the 96 lower radiator hose.
Since I used 96 accessories to ensure the belt alignment would be correct I had to get a belt for a 1996 truck w/o AC. I already had a belt for a 1992 truck without A/C but it was about 1" too long.
Im not sure if you can use the 92 power steering pump. Since I had the 96 pump and bracket and the belts lined up correctly, I just used it. The threaded line fitting was the same, the only difference is the line that uses a hose clamp on the bottom of the pump is a little different. The 92 pump has a fitting that comes straight down out of the bottom of the pump and the 96 pump comes straight out towards the cab. The hose was enough and enough slack in it to just bend it and slide it on. It did not kink on me.
I can't comment much on the trannys. I ran the label codes on my original tranny and the one that came with the 96 engine and turns out the one from the 96 was a late 80's trranny. The guy i got it from said that he put a tranny in the truck. I decided to use my 92 tranny since it was newer and I knew the history of it.
From my last rebuild on the 92 engine, I had a new flywheel, clutch and pressure plate. It all bolted up to the 96 engine no problem. The input shaft was the same diameter and the throwout bearing is working just fine, no clutch issues at all.
The 96 motor mounts on the engine lined up correctly on my 92 mount in the truck.
The alternator and starter wiring is the same between both vehicles.
As with any swap or rebuild, I did all the normal changes like valve cover gasket, oil pan gasket, check the oil pick up screen, rear main seal, front main seal, water pump, thermostat, thermostat housing gasket, plugs, wires and all that good stuff.
I know that a lot of this may have been covered, I'm just throwing my experience out there for others to read. I wanted to cover everything that I ran into just so it was all in one thread. I hope this helps someone out there. All your post sure helped me out and I would like to return the favor.
I have a 1992 ford ranger 2WD that has a 2.3L engine. A couple of years ago it took a crap on me because the engines are a little dirty and the oil pump pick up screen got clogged and did some engine damage before I could catch it. During my first rebuild I discovered my head was cracked. I ordered one off of Ebay, which I do not recommend, and 10,000 miles after the rebuild, the truck started burning coolant. I took the head hoping for a bad head gasket and low and behold another cracked head. So with my frustration and damage done to the cylinder wall from water and rust and all that good stuff I looked for another engine all together.
I found a good deal on a 1996 2.3L engine and tranny with 110K on it. I got it all for 200 bucks with all accessories, radiator, all ac parts and some more extras.
As you know my truck is an OB1 truck and the 1996 engine is OBD2. I did not have a computer or wiring harness from the 96 truck either.
The swap is now complete and the truck runs awesome. Here are some things that I did to make this swap work.
Crank Position Sensor / Timing
The first and most scary part of the swap was the crank position sensor. The OBD1 truck only uses one cranks position sensor mounted on the block down by the crank shaft to tell the DIS module what to do. The 1996 engine uses a completely different system. I was lucky enough to have both engines on the engine stands side by side. I removed all the seniors off of the 96 engine with plans to use the 1992 CPS. I took as many measurements from several reference pints as I could from the both engines and I actually drilled and tapped the 96 block for the 92 CPS mounting bracket. You want to do this with the oil pan removed so any metal shavings will drop out on the floor. Make sure you clean up inside the block as much as possible, there is nothing in the are where the CPS goes to interfere with this process.
To make the addition of the OBD1 CPS work I used the timing pulley from the 96 engine because it has a round tooth profile and the 92 has a square profile. Reason for using the 96 timing pulley is I was using the 96 cam pulley and oil pump pulley. I used the thin spacer that helps keep the timing belt on the timing pulley from the 92 engine and I used the 92 crank pulley as it has the proper timing fins inside it for the CPS to read. All of this provided me with the correct alignment for the accessory belts. You will need to use all the 96 accessories and mounting brackets or the pulleys will not line up.
I had to modify the rear timing cover to clear the CPS that is now mounted to the block.
Intake Manifold
I had to use the 1996 intake as the head ports are much smaller that the ports in my 92 intake. I took the harness off of the 92 intake and mounted it up to the 96 intake. It actually mounts up perfect and fits all the injectors as if it were made for that intake. I eliminated the EGR valve, ill get to that in a minute. I also used the 1992 throttle body on the 96 intake, it bolted up correctly and the ports matched almost perfectly. The reason for this is the TPS plugs were different. I figured it would be best to use what my truck was familiar with. The fuel lines worked just fine from the 96 fuel rail. The only thing left to do is purchase a y splitter for some of the vacuums line that lead into the climate control in the cab. The 96 intake has less vacuums port than the 92 intake. I also had to shorten the brake booster vacuums line as well. No big deal though.
The throttle cable will be about 1" too long when using the 92 cable on the 96 intake with the 92 throttle body. I simply made a relocation bracket which moved the throttle cable mount back 1". Its made out of 1/4" thick aluminum so there would be no chance of flex or failure.
Exhaust Manifold
The exhaust manifold for the 96 is tubular and the one for the 92 is cast and of course mine is cracked so I really wanted to use the tubular manifold. The 96 manifold does not have the 02 sensor bung like the 92 manifold did. Since the 02 sensor goes in the collector and I got rid of the EGR valve, I cut the EGR valve bung off about half way in the middle, I oversized the hole with a drill bit and tapped the hole for the 02 sensor. Seems to be working just fine.
Ignition.
It looks like the 96 coil packs would work but the number 2 and 3 plug location were switched. I was not sure if that was an internal switch or if the 96 truck fed a different signal thank the 92 truck feeds. I went ahead and used my 92 could packs on the 96 mounting brackets just to be safe.
The 96 intake does not have the flat surface on the side for the DIS module to mount too. Little did I know that this module must be grounded in order for it to operate. When I first tried to start the truck I had no fire at all. I did some research and learned that the DIS module has to be grounded and it does this through the 3 mounting bolts. I grounded mine and the truck started immediately. Since my AC stopped working a long time ago, I had already removed my AC compressor. I made a mounting plate that bolts to the four bolt holes where the AC compressor mounted and then bolted the DIS module to that plate. I also ran another ground strap to that plate to make sure I had good ground. The wiring harness reaches just fine. On the bottom of the DIS module is a white pasty substance. It is Heat Sink Grease, it helps transfer heat from the bottom of the module to the intake manifold. To help keep mine cool I used small aluminum spacers at the four mounting points and raised the module up off the plate some. The plate also has a few holes drilled in the bottom so it can breathe better.
Other notes to be made
The 92 water pump won't fit a 96 block. The 96 block has a smaller hole for the impeller and a slightly different bolt pattern. Even if you could use the 92 pump on the 96 engine, the belt alignment would be off and you have to get a 96 pump anyways. I had to modify my heater core hoses to mount to the lower water pump inlet tube, and I had to use the 96 lower radiator hose.
Since I used 96 accessories to ensure the belt alignment would be correct I had to get a belt for a 1996 truck w/o AC. I already had a belt for a 1992 truck without A/C but it was about 1" too long.
Im not sure if you can use the 92 power steering pump. Since I had the 96 pump and bracket and the belts lined up correctly, I just used it. The threaded line fitting was the same, the only difference is the line that uses a hose clamp on the bottom of the pump is a little different. The 92 pump has a fitting that comes straight down out of the bottom of the pump and the 96 pump comes straight out towards the cab. The hose was enough and enough slack in it to just bend it and slide it on. It did not kink on me.
I can't comment much on the trannys. I ran the label codes on my original tranny and the one that came with the 96 engine and turns out the one from the 96 was a late 80's trranny. The guy i got it from said that he put a tranny in the truck. I decided to use my 92 tranny since it was newer and I knew the history of it.
From my last rebuild on the 92 engine, I had a new flywheel, clutch and pressure plate. It all bolted up to the 96 engine no problem. The input shaft was the same diameter and the throwout bearing is working just fine, no clutch issues at all.
The 96 motor mounts on the engine lined up correctly on my 92 mount in the truck.
The alternator and starter wiring is the same between both vehicles.
As with any swap or rebuild, I did all the normal changes like valve cover gasket, oil pan gasket, check the oil pick up screen, rear main seal, front main seal, water pump, thermostat, thermostat housing gasket, plugs, wires and all that good stuff.
I know that a lot of this may have been covered, I'm just throwing my experience out there for others to read. I wanted to cover everything that I ran into just so it was all in one thread. I hope this helps someone out there. All your post sure helped me out and I would like to return the favor.
