91 XLT 2.9l swap question

[Ihockey1]

So i have a 91 ranger 2.9l and as you can guess, the head cracked. So I am looking at options and I was wondering if the write ups saying earlier models will require splicing excludes the 91+ rangers. sooooo if i buy the motor, ECU, and harness, etc, will it be a straight plug and play for the 91 ranger wiring harness? or am i in for a wiring job that's gonna be a bulk of the work for this swap? the rest of it seems straight forward.

The 4L swap seems like the cheaper alternative then buying the new recast heads. BUT i need some input as to what the write ups mean for my particular case, is it going to be the same splicing of wires as the previous years of the 91> rangers or will it be somewhat of a plug and play setup as far as wiring goes? Any input from someone who has done the swap or knows the specific answer would help me ALOT in making this decision.

I will be doing everything myself so the cost consideration is based on me doing all the labor.

kthxbye!

 

[okietheranger]

when i did the swap in my 85 i only had to spice into 4 wires on the 4.0 harness to the harness comming out of the driver side firewall on the 85 other than that had to drill a hole slighly for the 4.0 motor mounts and it was as easy as that

 

[Ihockey1]

thanks man, that answers some of my questions. Now my question is which wiring harness should i look for, the 4L motor is out a 93 Explorer, so should I look for an Explorer harness or will a 4L Ranger harness work?

 

[Ihockey1]

ttt

 

[BlackBII]

If you get a 4.0 from a 91 Ranger, it will be mostly plug and play. There are little things that sometimes don't work, power windows, locks, wipers etc. But those are easy to fix.

The majority of the wiring of 2nd gens (89-92 Rangers and 91-94 Explorers) is all real similar. Nothing will ever be 100% plug and play, as you are swapping out motors.

I have done 3 gen2 to gen2 4.0 swaps, and all went real easy, only minor things like wipers, taillights, reverse lights etc.

It all depends on what your donor is.

 

[AllanD]

a '90-92 Ranger harness will be "plug and play"

The proper way to do it is to get the entire harness from the computer
all the way around the inside of the engine compartment to the frewall
plug for a 4.0.

an Explorer harness from a 1993 has some MAJOR differences
that will tend to confuse the hell out of you unless you are REAL
sharp on electrical stuff AND you have the proper factory manuals.

I had BOTH and I am used to wiring military aircraft and it still took
me the better part of three and a half weeks to make my 4.0 run, BUT
I was swapping a 1993 Explorer hrness into an '87, not an 89-92
(which would have been easier)

as swaps go putting a 4.0 in where a 2.9 has been is a pretty easy swap.
because mechanically almost everything fits.

What gets you is "Details" like AC/lines, throttle cable and the upper
radiator hose.


AD

 

[Ihockey1]

thank you so much guys, that is more than enough info, im going to get started on this swap