4.0 SOHC or 5.0 Swap?

[CatBee]

I have a 1993 Ranger 4x4 manual with the 4.0 OHV. I don't plan on doing anything major to the engine soon because it's got enough power for right now and runs perfectly. I do in the future, when it's not my daily, want to engine swap it. I'm considering the 4.0 SOHC from a later ranger or a 5.0/302 from like an explorer. In my mind, the 4.0 would take up less space, be lighter, and maybe more fuel efficient. The 5.0 definitely has more after market support and it's a V8 so it's cool, but I feel like it would make the engine bay cramped and I would like to retain heat, power steering, all that kind of stuff. I also wonder how well the 302 would clear things like 4x4 and I don't think the 302 bolts up to my M5ODR1. What do you guys think?

 

[rubydist]

The sohc will not be enough different in performance to justify any effort.

 

[SenorNoob]

Only reasons I can see to do a SOHC swap is you can't find a OHV junkyard engine to replace a bad one (or already have it) or you can get a Moddbox kit.

 

[fastpakr]

Another vote for keeping the OHV or considering the 5.0.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

So, the SOHC is a more complicated motor that produces not a lot more power and as crazy as it is, all three motors (OHV, SOHC and 5.0) get about the same fuel economy on average.

The 5.0 makes v8 noises.

If you want more power and better fuel economy and aren’t afraid of making things work, a 2.3 Ecoboost would be a viable candidate.

 

[CatBee]

Well I've been doing some research. The 4.0 SOHC would let me keep all of my stock transmission and tcase. The 5.0 would be cooler and give more power but from what I've read I would have to get an M5R2 out of a V6 F150 and then a BW1356 out of an older F150 and then might have to do some modification to work which I'm not really against that but it is a lot more work than just the SOHC swap.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Well I've been doing some research. The 4.0 SOHC would let me keep all of my stock transmission and tcase. The 5.0 would be cooler and give more power but from what I've read I would have to get an M5R2 out of a V6 F150 and then a BW1356 out of an older F150 and then might have to do some modification to work which I'm not really against that but it is a lot more work than just the SOHC swap.

This may help if you haven't come across it yet

https://www.therangerstation.com/tech/4-0-ohv-to-4-0-sohc-v6-engine-swap/#gsc.tab=0

I wouldn't go out of my way to put a SOHC in much that it didn't come in originally. And honestly I would be tempted to find something else rather than replace one.

5.0's are getting long in the tooth and it is getting hard to find one that doesn't need rebuilt. It feels as though amidst a sea of LS's and Coyotes they are becoming the new flathead.

If it was mine and I didn't want to mess with the driveline I would find another pushrod 4.0. To me the SOHC isn't worth it.

If you do go SOHC for the love of god replace the rube goldberg timing chain system BEFORE you put it in.

 

[Shran]

You already have the best engine ever born in a Ranger! SOHC 4.0 is a step backwards in every way.

V8 swap it if you want, that's been done a million times. I like mine, it's fun to drive, my only advice there is to do a bunch of reading - way more than you think you need to - because there are ways to do it where it works well and fits, and ways where it doesn't fit well and has frustrating quirks.

 

[CatBee]

I don't plan on touching the current engine for a good while, but eventually I want the truck to have more power and I think I've made my decision on the 302. There's way more aftermarket parts for it and for the power I want to make it will be able to make that a lot easier with the 302. Being able to keep the stock tranny and tcase would be nice but for what I want upgrading the driveline isn't a bad idea anyway.

 

[gw33gp]

OK, here is one vote for the 4.0 SOHC engine. I don't know anything about the difficulty in switching from a push rod 4.0 to a SOHC 4.0 but I know there is considerable difference in HP and significant difference in torque. The 4.0 OHV does have a little more torque below 1,800 rpm but otherwise the 4.0 SOHC shines.

I think the SOHC is just as durable. I have almost 312K miles on mine now and is still running strong. I did do a cam timing chain system rebuild at 250K miles, but it had not failed yet. I just did it as maintenance because I do a lot of remote wilderness adventures. I have done no other major work to that engine. I am attaching a graph comparing the HP and Torque of the two engines to show dyno results.

I believe the SOHC engine should get better gas mileage too. I got an improvement in gas mileage over my 2.9L OHV engine when I bought the 4.0 SOHC powered engine doing the same duties which included towing. It was only 1-2 mpg better, but it was better. I doubt the 4.0 OHV engine would get better mpg than the 2.9 and probably not as good.

I think the 302 is a great engine but you must drive them very conservatively to get decent gas mileage. I must admit the V8 has a great sound and good torque, but you have to do some modifications to get a lot more HP out of them compared to the 4.0 SOHC. I think they are a lot more work to install also.

I have a friend that I have done a lot of off-road adventures with that switched to a 5.0L from the 4.0 SOHC in his 03 FX4 LII Ranger. He used a lot of gas on our trips and more than my Ranger. Other than the nice sound he admitted he would not recommend it and would not do it again knowing what he does now. He ended up selling it. The guy that bought it was very excited to get it though.

 

[CatBee]

I'm sure in stock form the SOHC is plenty reliable, but I'm saying for the amount of power I want to make, the 5.0 will be able to make it with less modification and less stress because it is simply a larger engine. I'm also not really concerned with gas mileage, I did at one point daily drive an 86 F350 Dually that got 9 mpg on a good day. Say I want to make 400 hp with a 302, it would be a cam, tuning it well, and MAYBE a set of heads. That same amount of power out of a 4.0 SOHC would definitely involve boost and add a lot of engine bay complexity, reliability concerns, and stress concerns about the components, especially since tougher, higher performance components are much harder to get for the V6 than the 302.