Fighting a losing battle.

[jaymegriffiths]

Alright all you 4.0 guys, you convinced me to try a 4.0 swap. Now, if i were to go about doing this, give me some heads up on problems i will encounter. the 4.0 will be donated buy a 1991-1992 aerostar auto and will make its way into a 1987 bII 4x4.(currently outfitted with a 2.9) how much is this gonna be as a bolt in? any tips? ya i know the swaps been done a million times but i dont wanna go digging for an hour looking for a situation for specifics. please use "lamens terms"(that may or may not be spelled correctly)

 

[dgndngrngr]

from what ive heard its an easy swap in and bolt up. its the wiring that takes a while. but you could have it done in a weekend. i would get all the wiring diagrams for both engines.

good luck! i plan on doing this eventually too

 

[jaymegriffiths]

good luck! i plan on doing this eventually too

Good plan!!! Im gonna do that right now.

 

[Gotta_gofast]

Can I ask what changed your mind?

First off, lets point you toward some tech articles. Read them over carefully as they have plenty of information. I will give you two to click on. This will keep you busy filling your brain with info for a while.

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/4L_Conversion.html

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/4L_Conversion2.htm

Once you have read over these word for word, I suggest hitting up the forums (specifically the " 'other' engine conversion" section) and searching, since this has been covered plenty o' times.

PS: It took me longer to type this post than it did to find two tech articles and a sticky on 4.0L swaps in the other engine conversion section. Don't be afraid to search my friend. Some people get kinda anal about answering the same questions over and over again. (and multiple threads of the same topic just take up bandwidth, which costs money)

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Can i ask you something?

Why rip out a good 2.9?

later,
Dustin

 

[Will]

You are sounding way too uncertain of yourself. You will be stuck with an unsolvable puzzle. We cannot lead you down to the last wire connection. You have to really want to do it and agressively attack it. You seem destined for a pile of parts.

The way to do it is to want to do it really badly. Then, find a donor vehicle as close to yours as you can get. You have the engine, but is the harness the same? Will a computer in an Aerostar have the same wiring as a Ranger so the harness will fit? Radiator hoses on the same side? It is not plug and play here. You have a different thing altogether. I bought all of the factory wiring diagrams for both vehicles. I did not rely on anyone's opinions. I carefully traced and marked wires before taking the motors out. It is not a one weekend job for you. It might take a summer. It depends on who you are. The person that does the swap successfully is usually done but needs help with a couple wiring connections at the end before he even registers on TRS.

I do mean to dissuade you because I dont want you to trach two more old RBVs. If you can do it, great. But its not at all an easy thing for someone that has to ask. I predict failure at this point.

 

[brendank]

Definitely agreed.

In your first post you say that you don't want to spend an hour looking for information . Before my SAS, I spent literally hundreds of hours looking at other peoples builds and analyzing things like steering, brakes, ect. I've never done a 4.0 swap, but I can tell you that you need too look into it alot more before attempting it. We can't hold your hand the entire way.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Keep the 2.9, regear the axles to 4.10, and you wont miss that 4.0.

later,
Dustin

 

[jaymegriffiths]

You are sounding way too uncertain of yourself. You will be stuck with an unsolvable puzzle. We cannot lead you down to the last wire connection. You have to really want to do it and agressively attack it. You seem destined for a pile of parts.

The way to do it is to want to do it really badly. Then, find a donor vehicle as close to yours as you can get. You have the engine, but is the harness the same? Will a computer in an Aerostar have the same wiring as a Ranger so the harness will fit? Radiator hoses on the same side? It is not plug and play here. You have a different thing altogether. I bought all of the factory wiring diagrams for both vehicles. I did not rely on anyone's opinions. I carefully traced and marked wires before taking the motors out. It is not a one weekend job for you. It might take a summer. It depends on who you are. The person that does the swap successfully is usually done but needs help with a couple wiring connections at the end before he even registers on TRS.

I do mean to dissuade you because I dont want you to trach two more old RBVs. If you can do it, great. But its not at all an easy thing for someone that has to ask. I predict failure at this point.

your right nvm i asked.