4.0 explorer or thunder bird engine swap?

[Krowzer1139]

im doing an engine swap and ive heard there are 2 engines i can drop that are fairly affordable. i have an 88 Bronco II and im thinking of putting in the 91-92 explorer 4.0 and than i read about the turbo thunderbird engine. what one would you guys recommend and waht transmission should i get? i want to keep it manual and i have the 2.9 right now but when i do the engine swap i want to do the tranny as well if i need or should for proformance gains.

 

[LearjetMinako]

I would go 4.0 explorer. Nothing beats the torque when you need it the most.

 

[Krowzer1139]

so torque over hp than? what tranny would you use for the 4.0? the ford 4.0 5 speed?

 

[177CIOfPureLove]

Yes, and lucky for you your 2.9 has the same bellhousing pattern as the 4.0. In order to swap the 4.0 in now, all your going to need is the 4.0, the wireing harneses, ecu, ect. its literally a bolt in but the wiring can be really tricky.You can reuse the tranny you have in there with no modification, bolts right up. Good luck. The turbo motor, well, if you can find one...same kinda deal, but you would have a harder time finding a tranny to bolt up to it and your transfercase i think. the ususal m5od will die quickly behind a turbo'd four banger, and i beleive their bellhousing is different anyways. 4.0 all the way man.

 

[Krowzer1139]

ok than i will get the 4.0 and all the acc. that i might need ill look on one of the swap guides to see what i need. but im not sure if you ment to use my 2.9 or switch. i want a good proformance tranny if the 2.9 will work good ill use it because its in great shape my 88 has only 80k original miles. but if anyone would suggjest switching im all ears. thanks guys for the replies so far

 

[Mutant Pony]

It is really owner preferance. I prefer the 2.3 and 3.0 as they are h.p. motors. I like torque and sometimes wish I had a little more on the low end but, I LOVE H.P. and that is what matters the most to me.
If you do go to the 4.0 you will eventually want to upgrade the trans. The M5OD R1 is what came from the factory behind the 4.0 and they hold up pretty well. Any Upgrade from there would cost big bucks.

 

[177CIOfPureLove]

Um, there really isnt any performance transmissions designed for this application...if anything I would regear your axles for more power, thats the only thing you can do. What tranny came in the truck origionally, is it a manual? The 4.0 had a stronger a4ld (automatic) than the 2.9.Either way the a4ld sucks no matter what its bolted to. Go manual if you dont already have one.

 

[Krowzer1139]

i have the 2.9 manual transmission im not sure the model. do you think i should just keep that one? or switch to the manual 4.0 transmission?