can you swap an entire drivetrain????

[JoshT]

I wouldn't go any newer than '94, I don't know how the older tech 5.0 would play with the newer electronic dash in the 95+ Ranger. I don't know how well it would work in some of the older Rangers (carburation was an option up until '88 with some engines)

Didn't think about the speedo, it went electronic in 95 didn't it, and the gauges take singals from the ECU rather than senders. As I mentioned those EFI systems can be made to work on their own, once that is done the engine and EFI system doesn't care what vehicle it's in. As long as it's got power, ground, ignition, and fuel it could be run on a stand. The issue is getting the gauges in the vehicle to work once the engine is in.

A 302 is not a 302. Different intakes, pistons, camshafts, lifter/cam type, oil pan/pickups, cylinder heads and FEADs are all fairly important differences that complicates mixing and matching stuff. A '96 Explorer 5.0 is very different in its swapping and power potential than a '96 F-150 5.0.

Not to you or me, but does this guy sound like he can understand that? He doesn't seem to be too interessted in listening either, we've already mentioned the Explorer, the intake, etecera and he just keeps coming back with the same can it be swapped question. He doesn't seem to be too interested in trying, he dead set on just bolting that F-150 engine and transmission into a Ranger. If that's the way he's going to be he needs to forget about a Ranger V8 swap and find a 95 F-150 or Bronco that needs a drivetrain.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Didn't think about the speedo, it went electronic in 95 didn't it, and the gauges take singals from the ECU rather than senders. As I mentioned those EFI systems can be made to work on their own, once that is done the engine and EFI system doesn't care what vehicle it's in. As long as it's got power, ground, ignition, and fuel it could be run on a stand. The issue is getting the gauges in the vehicle to work once the engine is in.

It would still be a concern of mine when I went truck shopping though. I don't see putting myself through through the work of putting an older engine into a newer styled truck if I could drop back a year or two on the truck and have it plug and play. Aftermarket gauges could be put in too but I would like to keep the stock cluster if it was me.

Not to you or me, but does this guy sound like he can understand that? He doesn't seem to be too interessted in listening either, we've already mentioned the Explorer, the intake, etecera and he just keeps coming back with the same can it be swapped question. He doesn't seem to be too interested in trying, he dead set on just bolting that F-150 engine and transmission into a Ranger. If that's the way he's going to be he needs to forget about a Ranger V8 swap and find a 95 F-150 or Bronco that needs a drivetrain.

Actually that bit was more in referance to this:

The F150 302 is no different from a car 302....a 302 is a 302 unless you have miraculously found a 1969 Chevrolet 302 out of a Z28.

If I had a good running F-150 fall in my lap I would darn sure be trying to jack its engine that risk a JY Explorer engine or go buy an Explorer (rarely does anything seem to pop up cheap when you actually need it) Most in my yards have 200+ miles on them, makes them a mighty thin limb to go out on IMO. Great for nabbing the short FEADs and intakes off of though.

I would be spending my nights researching putting a different intake on it though. Poking an HO cam in it, adding roller lifters if it doesn't already have them (is already set for them from the factory) and putting a Mustang intake/fuel/harness system on it smells to me as being the easy way out. I am not real EFI savvy but I don't know how much of a difference the E7 heads would make for the Explorer control system or what it takes to put an Explorer intake on an F-150 engine (it is common on Mustangs but again, no idea how to do it) Even if it did fit I don't know if you could come up with a stupider looking intake than the truck one.

Stock parts are cheap, I picked up my new looking HO cam for $30 and I could only get some prince from Africa to reply on my lopo EFI intake (upper and lower), fuel rail and distributor for $50obo.

 

[JoshT]

Yeah agree with ya, think I was getting some wires crossed up there. I've also been butting heads with a member on a non RBV forum, and as a result probably read through your post too quickly. I tell you if some of those import tuner guys would read through a forum like this they would realize just how little they understood about an engine, but that's a subject for another thread and another time.

I must have skimmed over that too. I cought the Chevy part, but not the rest.

I agree I'd quickly use the F-150 5.0L given his position. Infact I almost was in his position. My cousin had a similar vintage F-150 with the engine pulled and sitting in the bed, and he was going to let me have what I needed for the motor as he planned to do a carbed 351 swap (he never did it). I was going the exact same route that you mentioned. Studied night (and quite a few days to) figuring out how to do a 5.0 swap, what wiring I needed, and what parts I needed (that's how I ended up with L&L swap mounts sitting on the shelf). Converting to HO, using the shortest FEAD I could get my hands on, and running Mustang EFI (and intake) was what I decided as the easiest route. In the end I decided that my best bet was to hold off until I could find a running donor, either car or Explorer. Ended up with a totaled Explorer for $500. Ironically it's at 180K miles so not much better than most fo what you find in the junkyard, but I already plan on prepping a second motor after I have the swap running.

IIRC running the Mustang/Exporer intake on an F-150 mostly takes having the parts and repining a few connectors. It has been almost 6 years since I was looking into that though.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

IIRC running the Mustang/Exporer intake on an F-150 mostly takes having the parts and repining a few connectors. It has been almost 6 years since I was looking into that though.

I wasn't for sure how forgiving the EFI stuff was mixing and matching like that, I could see it snowballing pretty quick.

 

[Teddyzee]

Guys, the electronic speedometer and any gauges are independent of the engine ECU. The speedometer in '95+ doesn't car if there is a carb or EFI intake in place. (this may be different in the later 2002+ stuff)

OBDII is of no concern in your Ranger, either. This only relates to your stock engine. My '97 was obviously OBDII 4.0, and now functions with a Mustang based OBDI A9P ECU, and every option in the dash works as it did stock, including all gauges.

 

[Explorin94]

A 302 is not a 302. Different intakes, pistons, camshafts, lifter/cam type, oil pan/pickups, cylinder heads and FEADs are all fairly important differences that complicates mixing and matching stuff. A '96 Explorer 5.0 is very different in its swapping and power potential than a '96 F-150 5.0.

Yes a 302 is a 302, block wise and that is what I was getting at. If we get into the whole internal part of it we will have even more questions to answer witout him searching first.