'94 buildup

[Zorro]

Since I ordered a Ranger slave that doesn't fit on the Exploder clutch line, I just ordered a Ranger master and line. Will be here tomorrow morning. This will solve the crooked Exploder master issue as well.
Another 100$ spent ... most likely the last expense!

So far, the swap cost totals 750$ for the parts truck 230$ for the clutch and slave, 49$ to resurface the flywheel and 100$ for the master. Another few bucks worth of oil too.

I'll be selling a lot of Explorer parts to make up for it, I suppose there's 400-600$ worth of stuff on it.

 

[stegomon]

not bad...but dont ferget to swap in the sploder computer....also yu have taken alot of extra steps...but what is ever is more easy for you......good luck with every thing.....and yes i have done this swap a few times my self ...you wil enjoy it

as for your tire size...i would not worry about 4.56....i ran 32s with 3.73s with a 2.9 and a 4.0...no probles with that...and my cuzzin can rost a set of 33s with his 4.10 7.5 4.o combo

 

[Zorro]

Interesting factoid.

The clutch hose that goes from the clutch master to the clutch slave costs ... 134$ from Ford. That's right, a plastic tube with a little connector at one end costs a whopping 134$. I asked the dealer guy if this was the solid gold or platinum version. He did chuckle.

Piece of advice ... get the same truck as yours for the swap. Ranger/Ranger or Explorer/Explorer.

I can't believe this little piece of crap hose is making me waste that much time ... all this because of a dumb little connector. Changing that slave was really a bad idea.

 

[mjonesjr]

Changing the slave was a good idea. Any time you have the transmission out of a Ranger/Explorer/BII, espically a manual transmission, you want to change the slave cylinder. They are the weakest part of the manual transmissions.

 

[Zorro]

New slave that doesn't work at all, vs old slave that may not work at some point down the road.
Had I kept the old one, I'd be rolling by now. And I'm not looking forward to spending 200$ for a used master and hose.

 

[Zorro]

Good progress!!! Unfortunately no pics, as I just couldn't be bothered. I want to get it on the road asap now.

So I ended up finding a Ranger master and clutch line from a local scrapyard. Insisted I go and take it off the truck myself to make sure they wouldn't damage anything. 40$ and I'm good. Fitted perfectly, took 15mins to take off at the scrapyard, and 10min to put on my truck. Sweet. Considering the new price was 300$+, I could hardly believe it when the dude said "40$ for that?".

Wiring went very smooth thanks to this thread : http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11
There were some minor differences, but it sure was helpful.
Reverse wires were same colour on the M5OD and A4LD wiring, smaller gauge purpl-ish colours.
As for the neutral, I welded the red w/blue stripe and red w/ white stripe (or washed out yellow, maybe) together (this is the trick not to forget!) then to one of the neutral switch wires from the M5OD. My remaining wire was washed out red (maybe pink) and I connected it to the remaining wire from the neutral switch.

So in the end, you match the reverse wires (same color, same gauge), you put the 2 red with stripe wires together to one of the neutral switch wires, and the remaining red (or pink?) to the last wire.

As has been said in the other thread, I left the converter lockup dangling.

Reverse lights don't work, but it's only because of the messed up connector. Will change it later.

Last electronic hinderance, engine computer to have the proper timing. I understand it's the "thingie" that stands behind the driver's headlight.

I still fired it up with the original computer. Fired right up, ran a bit rough ... but it hadn't been started in ages and I wasn sitting on the floor (can feel more vibrations).

Switched to the manual computer, fired up exactly like before. Ran a bit rough, and smoothed out after 30 seconds.

Guess I just have to bleed the clutch properly, and re-assemble!

 

[Zorro]

I still fired it up with the original computer. Fired right up, ran a bit rough ... but it hadn't been started in ages and I wasn sitting on the floor (can feel more vibrations).

Yeah. That's what happens when you forget to re-wire 2 plugs. DOH! Smooth as ever now.

 

[lil red]

i like it

keep up the good work

and i love that explorers paint

 

[Zorro]

Tadaaaaaaa!!!!

It lives again!!!!!!

I have a few glitches to fix, but it runs beautifully. Went for some gentle offroading, and I absolutely loved it. Low range, and idle your way through.

It was a PITA, but it definitely was worth it.

Will write up some more thoughts later, and will definitely take pics asap.

 

[Zorro]

Told ya it ran good!

After the first reasonably serious wheelin', some impressions.

The manual is awesome. Gives you so much more control, so much more feedback. I love it. I can crawl as slow as possible with no fear of burning the transmission, I can feel instantly when I have traction or not, easy to swing out when slight stuckage happens, so much more grunt and torque ... I just love it.

It definitely was worth the hassle of doing the swap.

Hasn't changed my plans much. I need to re-gear to 4.10 asap, and take it from there.

Some thoughts on the swap ... details are time consuming.

I'm not entirely sure buying a donor truck was the wisest decision, financially speaking. After all, I only used the transmission, shifter and boot, starter, flywheel and pedals.

I guess it was handy to have the donor truck ... but hey.

I had to buy a new clutch kit (old one was shot) and slave, and get a used Ranger clutch master and line from a scrapyard.

Easy bits? The underside. Seriously, it's heavy, but bolts up without issues.

Most frustrating? The pedals. Do not attempt these when you're not ready to be annoyed. Worst PITA ever.

Unexpected snag? The clutch master. Explorer and Ranger masters are different, you can't use an Exploder master unless you re-drill your firewall. Also, clutch line connector (at the slave) changed in 93. Get a 93+ if you can, the 91 donor had to be busted open, whereas it took me 2 mins to open up the line from the 94' donor truck.

If you have any questions, fire away, I'll do my best so that others can learn from my mistakes

 

[copter14]

Nice job
Looks like fun

 

[Hahnsb2]

Some thoughts on the swap ... details are time consuming.

I'm not entirely sure buying a donor truck was the wisest decision, financially speaking. After all, I only used the transmission, shifter and boot, starter, flywheel and pedals.

I guess it was handy to have the donor truck ... but hey.

Sell parts off of it, you will profit in no time. We've had tons of parts rigs, take what we want, sell the rest, it's like getting paid to take better parts.

 

[Zorro]

Yup, I'll part it out, but not sure how that's gonna work out. I'm lucky the body is good, so I can get decent $$$ for hood, doors, gate and whatnot ...