84 2.8L to ? Conversion

[RG33]

Hey everyone, I'm new to the site. I recently acquired an 84 Ranger 4x4 with a tired 2.8L backed by a 5 speed for close to nothing and am looking to do an engine conversion. The truck is as straight and rust-free, (minus a little surface rust), as a guy could possibly ask for. I've yet to decide what motor I'll be putting in, but I'm tossing around the ideas of a 302, a 2.3T, and a Kubota V2203, depending on what i decide the end use of the truck will be. I have a 99 F-350 7.3L as well which is currently my DD, but I may eventually make this Ranger my go-to daily truck when I get it running correctly. Anyways, here's my question...if I go to a more powerful motor, can I get an early 90's Explorer and be able to use the whole drivetrain in my swap...tranny, transfer case, driveshafts, front/rear ends...without a ton of fabricating on that end of things. I would like to make my swap as simple as possible, although I realize I will have to do some fabricating along the way. My thought is that if I can find say a 91 Explorer with a bad motor for the rite price I could just pull all my parts from it and have everything I need...am I thinking rite on this or is there a better way? Thanks for any help

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Lots of people have done the explorer swap thing because it's one of the easiest. The whole drivetrain can be swapped in like you want. There are wiring issues but nothing insurmountable. There is the tech section at the top of every page in the blue header bar and I suggest the "google custom search" button at the top right of every page, it gives better results than the original search button.
Good luck, and post pics in a build thread when you start.

Richard

 

[RG33]

Thank you very much for the insight. I will definitely get pics along the way

 

[RG33]

I wouldn't consider myself a lucky guy, but, (and there's a lot of "ifs" here)...let's assume I come up with a Explorer setup with a 5-speed and manual transfer case, (that would be my ideal combination), and by some stretch of the imagination I find a older, somewhat simple carbureted motor that I can bolt up to the tranny...aside from the speed sensor, reverse lights, and those small things, what kind of wirimg would I run into with the tranny and transfer case. While I'm capable of wiring in whatever I need, ideally I'd be able to keep this truck as simple and mechanically driven as possible without all the electronic nonsense. I think this would be more important to me than a crazy amount of horsepower/torque, etc. I considered rebuilding the 2.8 and doing the duraspark conversion to it and simplifying it, but I'd really rather do something "different, but not crazy" if you will.

 

[Rowdy Fitzgerald]

With a 5 speed the only wiring would be the reverse light. Very simple two wire plug.

The T-case has a switch that will tell you if its in 2wd, 4hi or 4 low. I think it's a 4 wire plug but I'm not sure since I didn't wire one up for my truck.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bobbywalter]

kubota?


maybe consider the vw with some koty built components. pretty reasonable if you can find a deal on a 3550 trans and transfer case from a jeep or gm.

greengeeker in a thread close to this did an extensive build model to base off of..


that should be a decent setup all around. bolt in some explorer axles with 327-355 gears and you would have a simple stout rig. good daily with 25-30 mpg.


CB002 - AX15/NV3550/NSG370

Includes:
Transmission (Bell Housing) Adapter
Flywheel Adapter
Starter Bracket (Adapter)

Price: $895




these guys have been hard at it and doing ahell of a job.

http://www.cotybuilt.com/buildersparts.html

 

[RG33]

I'll definitely look into that, I appreciate the info. My main reason for looking at the Explorer swap is because I know where there's one sitting with a bad motor and rusty body that I can get very cheap...as a matter of fact, if I played my cards rite I might be able to get the parts off the Explorer, scrap the rest of it, sell the parts I pull from the Ranger and come out making a profit and have more money for the motor setup

 

[RG33]

The Kubota engine has me quite intrigued. Admittedly I don't know much about putting it in the truck, but I know it's been done so I've been trying to gather as much info as possible about it. I know where I can get a tranny adapter, and that the Kubota flywheel can be used if I put it on a lathe. I don't know how practical it would be to build, but nonetheless, from what I've read guys are getting 90-95 hp, somewhere around 200 ft lbs and 35-40 mpg.

 

[bobbywalter]

in a 4x4, the kubota is a no go for me.


if someone gave me a brand new one in a crate, i would sell it and get a vw engine, little older with the hybrid pump. and run the koty stuff with a 3550.

the new cummins isb 3.9 or isf 3.8 are pretty awesome too. i have seen a few for 5 grand brand new. its a growing jeep swap. they come out of the box swinging with 220 hp and like 480 pounds tq. with the nissan truck cummins v8 and these current lil 4 whizzer cummins things could get real good for swaps in the next 4-5 years.



i like my 6.5, but it finally wore out and i janked up my new 6.2. but i have had issues with several 6.2 engines since, and am just now getting one together i hope lasts as long as my 6.5. the price went up a little on them so they are not as appealing to me as they once were. but they are a tighter fit then a 4 cyl.

 

[RG33]

I would love to do a Cummins swap...I've thrown around the idea of a 12 valve in my F-350 for a long time, but I don't know that it'll ever happen. I've seen a lot of people have been putting 4bt's in their Rangers. I think it would be awesome to have, but personally I think it would get way too expensive to mess with

 

[RG33]

I'm not familiar with VW really at all...do they have older mechanical diesels that are worthwhile. I know a little about the newer ones, but like I said, I'd just assume stay away from anything computerized/electronic

 

[bobbywalter]

whats expensive?

define expensive.

the eeebay guy is selling frame cut off intact runners with transmissions for 3500ish. for me anything over 1500 is expensive. but the 4bt he sells are more then appealing. easily 3/4 there as far as a swap is concerned for most.

i can usually price out a 6.x swap for 1500-2000. i cant hardly find any good vw engines for less then 2000. that gets you an engine and the work just starts at that point...so expensive is a relative term to this point, when i can find all the stuff for a 6.2 and swap it in for 2 g. but, even at 4-5 k for a good vw swap i would see a return in 3-4 years maximum.


the kubota engines are par with the 6.2 prices, but you need adapters to fit a good trans.

i cant see the kubota being good money over a vw or cummins in a 4x4. 2wd low rider economiser otoh...


i burn waste oils as a percentage of fuel, the 6.2 tolerates these well enough and is a major factor in using it powering my ranger....that and my ranger is a fat bastard. a lil 4 whizzer less then a 4bt would hate pushing the porky pig around.

the older mechanical 1.9 dub is my choice for my b2....at this point

 

[RG33]

I would define expensive in this case about the same as you. I've seen the deals on the 4bt, and while probably not a bad price, I just don't foresee paying that sort of money on just a motor and trans based on what Im looking for. I don't see any reason I can't keep this entire swap under 2 grand And still have a decent, reliable 4x4 truck.

 

[bobbywalter]

ok. i am with ya here.

i am a bit of a cheap fawker as the risk running used stuff is so tight i have a hard time paying more then absolutely necessary...if it all goes good its awesome....if theres issues then your working your butt off. but doing the work yourself generally you always come out dollars ahead.

all things being relative, i regularly see people pay 2-3 grand for reman 2.9/3.0/4.0 engines and 1500 or so to farm out the repair/replacement....then another 1800-2400 or so for another failomatic 6 months or a year later.....and be bummed about the performance and fuel economy at the end of the day no matter what... after they bought the truck used for 3-4 k....


so...the tdi has some merit points at 2000 dollars complete with turbo and injection pump even with 150-175k miles..... its usable cost effective power potential is tough to argue against on the surface.

but there is strict rules to owning one.

compared to a 4bt they are straight junk. anything that has a timing belt and will kill itself if the timing belt fails can definitely be argued as absofawkinlutely something that has no business in a mid duty 4x4 work truck...ever!. PERIOD!.!.!..

but risk/reward is specific to needs and goals. at this time its looking like i can do it in the 3 grand range...and its a little high to me for the risks...but going from 12-15 mpg in the b2 to 22-30 would make the b2 a viable useful vehicle to use as i do commute huge distances in my employment. theres a few b2's around mi with 6.2 diesel swaps so its not like its impossible to drive one on the road. my ranger is an extended cab and has full width axles. it handles great even with the 3600 pound front axle weight... but the b2 has eb axles, so i would rather have a lighter engine then the 6.2 in that.

of course gas had to go above 2.50 a gallon for quite a spell before i was willing to pull my small block and replace it with a 6.5 na. but my small block would never run on used trans fluid either...or waste motor oil....


with a short bed regular cab 4x4 and small 14 or 15 inch tires...i guess the kubota could be tolerable...but just barely.

if only i could fit in a reg cab ranger.