AcesHigh 1994 Ranger Project

[AcesHigh]

I believe the 95 door panels have a more pronounced bump where it meets the dashboard. I looked into doing that as well bc the 95+ up dashboards seem to hold up better overall.

I believe you would want to swap out the door panels as well and I haven't looked into compatibility before. Luckily for you, you and pull the door panels off and see if it would be within the realm

I don't believe the ECU will work in your 94. 94 was ODB1 and 95+ is ODB2 among other things.

I’m seeing that rangers started obd2 in 1996. Is that correct?

 

[AcesHigh]

I don't believe the ECU will work in your 94. 94 was ODB1 and 95+ is ODB2 among other things.

Got it. I read that 1996 was the first year OBD2 was required and thought that was when the Rangers switched over, but it looks like 1995 is when they did it. I’ll have to buy that part.

 

[jballard81]

Got it. I read that 1996 was the first year OBD2 was required and thought that was when the Rangers switched over, but it looks like 1995 is when they did it. I’ll have to buy that part.

95 was a transition year so it's goofy. Check the part number on the ECU. If it's an EEC-IV ECU then it might work on the 94. If it's a EEC-V ECU then that's the newer ODB2 version and won't work.

Looks like it's luck if the draw I guess as to which one you could get.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Door panels don't matter for the dash, the older ones just don't "flow" as well, it took me like a year to notice that anything looked goofy on my '97 that I put a '94 door on... then I looked over to the passenger door and noticed a LOT of subtle differences, none of which matter to me...

I much prefer the '89-94 dash, it's so much simpler... but after 9 years of having that dash between the '00 Explorer and '97 Ranger my only dislike is still that it's a couple inches closer to the driver it seems taking up more room...

 

[jballard81]

What's wrong with your current ECM? I believe other than the few ODB1 things, it really only manages the spark plug firing order.

Open yours up and see if the capacitors are leaking. If so, see if the fluid has messed up any traces. Either way it can be cleaned up and recapped pretty easily

 

[AcesHigh]

I’m seeing that rangers started obd2 in 1996. Is that correct?

What's wrong with your current ECM? I believe other than the few ODB1 things, it really only manages the spark plug firing order.

Open yours up and see if the capacitors are leaking. If so, see if the fluid has messed up any traces. Either way it can be cleaned up and recapped pretty easily

Not sure if anything is wrong. I read somewhere (probably on these forums) that when you swap to a manual from an automatic there are some differences in programming on the ECM. One was idle. At some point I will open it up, but that might be a while.

 

[AcesHigh]

Donor photos. More rust under this one, but not terrible. If I had the title and not just a bill of sale I might consider starting with the donor. Needs an engine, but I have that. It’s an XL and not XLT.

 

[AcesHigh]

Was reading on getting the clutch/brake assembly into the ‘94 and saw that the firewall might need to be cut and reinforced for the clutch/master hole. Mine is already cut and blanked on my 94’ auto. Not sure if this is normal after what I read.

 

[AcesHigh]

Looking at the transmission tunnel where the automatic cup holder is located and where the manual shifter will sit.

 

[jballard81]

My 94 auto has the cutout and a cover bolted on like yours. Hadn't noticed that before.

Not sure if your climate, but with the carpet out it's not a bad time to add a little heat shield/insulation to the floors.

Like your shop cat!

 

[AcesHigh]

My 94 auto has the cutout and a cover bolted on like yours. Hadn't noticed that before.

Not sure if your climate, but with the carpet out it's not a bad time to add a little heat shield/insulation to the floors.

Like your shop cat!

Good idea on the heat shield/insulation! I’ve about decided to go with vinyl instead of carpet. So I’ll definitely need insulation.

I have 2 cats that stay in the shop at night. No more mice! They also point out the rattle snakes. I killed my sixth rattle snake of the year today.

 

[AcesHigh]

Pulled everything out of the cab. I figure working on shifter and pedal assembly will be easier. Plus the carpet is filthy. Looking forward (a long ways forward), my throttle is mechanical and when I go to a drive by wire with an engine swap, what do guys do to address this? Mine will be a OBD2 VW ECU that has 5 or six wires for the throttle pedal. Mount the VW throttle pedal?