firewall swap

[racer103]

Wanting to swap a 97 firewall into my 93 along with the 97 dash and hvac. I will also be running the 97 4.0 motor and electronics. I know it will require drilling lots of spot welds. Just wanting to know if anyone has done this and has any advice.

 

[Mark_88]

Are you sure they are that much different?

I just swapped a 96 dash into my 88 and it was pretty close to being the same...from Gen III to Gen I there weren't that many changes...although it took me nearly 2 weeks of trying to finally get it sorted out...there were enough small differences to be time consuming.

I'd imagine that a Gen III 93 would be almost identical to the Gen III 97...although I could be wrong...you may need to modify the opening for the electronic connections if they changed the harness at some point between the years...

I don't think the engine makes that much difference either, other than the computer...but even that can be swapped out...I'd have to see both firewalls naked before making a decision to actually change out that much...unless there is a structural issue with the 93 that requires replacing the firewall...that would be a totally different scenario...in which case I might consider just swapping the motor into the 97...

So...I guess we'd need a bit more info as to the why's and wherefores of the reasoning.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I'd imagine that a Gen III 93 would be almost identical to the Gen III 97...although I could be wrong...

Not really, they changed the openings in the firewall for the heater box (and obviously the heater box itself) in '95. How much of that is dependent on getting the rest of the dash HVAC stuff to work I don't know.

 

[Mark_88]

Not really, they changed the openings in the firewall for the heater box (and obviously the heater box itself) in '95. How much of that is dependent on getting the rest of the dash HVAC stuff to work I don't know.

I haven't seen a 93 for a while, but if the box was like the Gen I and II then it's still doable...I had to cut another opening in the firewall to mount the 96 heater box...although I really wanted to use the 88...but the dash simply would not fit without hacking the heater box.

My 96 has the "A/C" style heater box too...just nothing inside of it. Sticks out a bit more than I wanted and complicates the location of the computer...still haven't figured that out completely myself...but I may end up cutting and splicing in an extension wire on all those wires...and running it inside the cab...I did not want to chop any more into the firewall to mount the computer through the firewall.

I was actually contemplating using the A/C extension as a housing for the computer but figured the hot air from the heater fan would have to be blocked off to help keep the computer cool.

 

[445feranger]

I am installinga big block which means it all goes. I decided on an aluminum firewall and vintage air mini heat/cool box. The system fits behind the dash and nothing other than a couple hoses through the firewall. Saves space and weight, gotta love it.

Sent from my RM-927_nam_vzw_100 using Tapatalk