87 BII 92 Explorer swap

[lchappyjr]

I got the Dana 35 installed, found an 8.8 with disc brakes its under there just not set up till the motor and tranny are in. Is swapping the dash for the wiring the way to go? what about fuel lines and pumps?, and last I got a 6" lift so what drveline is best for this?

 

[azbronco2]

you need to use a later bronco II tank with elec pump in tank ( 89-90) or I am not sure if the explorer tank will fit in you need the lines too.and for the dash and harness you have to swap it so every thing hooks up to the motor and it is just easier than splicing wires.

 

[TexCaliBII]

Actually,
The tank is fine, 86 and up all have the in tank pump. I swapped in the drive line from a 92 Exp into my 88 BII. The only real issue on the fuel side is the hookups to the fuel rail are different. I chose to modify mine by cutting off the BII connectors and getting 4.0 ones from a junker and removed the factory line still attached then pressed those connectors into the BII lines, they are a semi hard plastic under the rubber line you see. So far so good. The better option would be to get the fuel lines the go from teh tank to the engine from an 89-90 BII as they are the same style as the 91-94 Exp but the right length for a BII. As for the dash swap, lots of different opinions on that one. If you are good with wires then splice the 4.0 engine harness into your existing dash> I chose to swap in the entire interior of the Exp into my BII so the dash came with it. Also, if you are running an auto tranny you'll have a real fun time trying to set up a shifter as the BII was all mechanical linkage and the Exp use a cable. BTW the tech articles here have a couple dash install guides. I only had one issue they did not detail. When you pull the BII dash out there are "ears" in the corners that are in the way of putting the Exp dash in. Nothing a cut off wheel couldn't fix though. The 2 middle mounts for the dash at the windshield will work but the outer ones won't. I cut of the outer ones an then measured and tack welded them in the new locations. After everything was fitting i fully welded them. All the other mounts are in the same spots as detailed in the guides.
Good luck and enjoy!

 

[lchappyjr]

I have pulled the gas tank on the bronco and there is no fuel pump in there. I think its mounted on the frame rail. One of the reasons for the dash swap was for the shifter as I have an auotomatic transmission. Any other ideas for the shifter? Also should I put a CV drive shaft in? The rear end isnt welded yet so I can set any angle needed.

 

[TexCaliBII]

Really?
The in tank pump is a low pressure, small inline type, that is attached beside the float arm. If it ain't there some removed it or replaced the sending/pump unit with an 89-90 one. There is the high pressure pump on the left rail under the door though, in all fuel injected BIIs. If it is factory looking then I would be kinda surprised the truck ran with the right fuel pressure but I've come to know many things can be modded and still work so who knows? As for drive shafts, the cat's meow, is a custom one but you can fit a front Exp drive shaft with the flanges pulled from an exp rear shaft. I have an 87 lifted 4 inches and I could not fit a stock length exp shaft, had to mod mod mine. With the higher lift you might get it to fit and you get a double cardon. Folks say you have to shorten the front tone an inch but I didn’t have too as I go my D35, 1354T-case and front shaft from a 90 BII and it all fit perfectly in my 87 so I got lucky. Definitely don't use a CV shaft, you want u-joints for the strength. Also make sure you have the axle and t-case flanges at the same or similar angles otherwise you'll get the vibration I still have... But if you clock the axle up too far getting the oil fill right might be a challenge. Good luck and God bless

 

[lchappyjr]

Thanks, I have the whole 92 Explorer sitting next to the Bronco II. I have to look at the shifting options now. I should get the motor out of the explorer soon so wish me luck.

 

[TexCaliBII]

There might be options out there now to shift the 4.0 A4LD without the need of the dash/column from the Exp. Something I forgot to mention earlier is that to be safe annd make sure teh steeringcloumn is solidly mounted I made the effort to remove the Exp mounting plate that is spot welded to the firewall and removed teh BII one and installed the Exp one. That was the toughest part of the whole swap I did. Indeed I wish you good luck on your swap. I too had a 92 sitting next to my 88 when I did my swap. Now I have the guts/interior from a 93 that I am swapping in to replace all the 92 parts I put in...... It never ends, this modding bug