Full Width SAS on '90 Danger the 4th

[036speed]

Last weekend was a muddy mess. I am not a fan of mud, but it was a 4 hr trip out there, so I made the best of it. Ended up having a great time playing in the mud. The last trail we hit got very slick at the end. I ended in a hole that took me 20 minutes of redlining to get out of. I was alone at that point. My truck did over heat so I let it cool and then we finally got off the trail and headed to the trailer. I was losing power rapidly and barely made it to the trailer. I blew a radiator hose on the way (which sounded like a bomb lol) and the truck stalled on the trailer. It wouldn't turn over at that point. A few days ago, I tried again. It still wouldn't turn over. I ran it hard and thought I finally killed the 235k mile 2.9L.

Went out to the truck yesterday to access the damages from last weekend. I tried to start it first. It would turn over, no fire. That is a start! So I pulled the pressure washer out and after 2 tanks of fuel, most of the mud is off. The radiator was caked which explains the over heating problem. I sprayed out the engine bay and interior. Mud was everywhere. But that is ok, I had a great time. After spraying the engine bay down, I put a charger on it and let it sit for one hour. I went back and the dang thing fired up. It was barely running, but it was running. I couldn't believe it. I ran that thing so hard I didn't expect it to ever start again. Anyways, it ticked REALLY bad for 15-20 minutes. I just let it run. I had nothing to lose. 20 minutes later, most of the ticks were gone. It is back to the way it sounded a few weeks ago. I still cant believe it. Now I need to fill it back up with coolant and see if it leaks anything. Yesterday, I put some water in it and drained it since it is less than 32 degrees here. Hopefully the engine is still ok for one more wheelin trip in June.

Other than the unknown engine condition at this point and the broken axle shaft, the only other casualty is my wiper switch. My wipers will not turn off. All settings work (hi, low, intermediate) except for off. I can live with that. Once it is warm, I will crab another out of the junk yard.

 

[escort_gts]

That's surprising its still running, wait, its a Ford of course its still running.

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[kris97ranger]

Thats awesome. Still thinking of a swap then?

 

[036speed]

Yes, I still want to do a motor swap. This just means I dont have to be rushed and stressed to make something work for the big TRS run on June 1st.

I think I have decided to do V8 swap with an EFI 302 / 4speed / 205 setup

 

[036speed]

That's surprising its still running, wait, its a Ford of course its still running.

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[escort_gts]

I think a 302 swap will be perfect for you.

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[1badexplorer]

A 302 will work well. They are everywhere and make decent power. The wiring is easy to hook up too I just did my EFI swap in my EB. Only 5 wires are needed to run it if you have mech gauges.

 

[036speed]

No kidding. That is good to know. I would like to keep my factory gauges. However, even though my truck is a 1990, they may be electronic. But I may be wrong. I have never paid attention.

 

[Shran]

He's talking about mechanical gauges as in aftermarket ones. If you use your factory gauges, it's like 8 wires. That huge harness looks intimidating but it is 99% sensor wiring that goes straight to the ECM and the other 1% is power and grounds that you connect to the appropriate place. Pick a harness, get wiring diagrams for that and your truck, and figure out what goes where...it will take some time to figure out what is what, but in the end you will be surprised how simple it is.

 

[036speed]

Ooooh. Dumb moment. I should have known that.

I can handle the wiring. Especially with the internet today. Carbs intimidate me more than wiring haha.

Looks like this might be the Fall/Winter project.

Thanks for all the input guys! It is appreciated.

 

[Shran]

One other point to consider as far as wiring is what harness you use - depending on what engine you end up with, you may even be able to use your factory 2.9 harness...

I have not confirmed this, because I found out about it after my engine swap, but from the research I did I found that you can take an engine configured for a speed density ECM and splice two more injector plugs into your 2.9 harness, one on each bank. The 2.9 harness is virtually identical to the early V8 harnesses, the difference being that the V8 version has two more injector plugs. But both are bank fired.

If it works, it could eliminate a lot of headaches in that you just have to extend some wires to reach the appropriate spot. My biggest complaint with the Crown Vic harness I used was that the ECM ends up on the driver's side under the hood, and not in the factory Ranger location.

It also limits you to a speed density equipped engine.

 

[036speed]

Ahh I see. I might just walk around the JY for a bit and look at different Ford V8s to see how they are setup and see which might work the best for me. This will be a learning experience as gas engines are not my thing. I like gears, axles, transmissions and diesels haha.

 

[kris97ranger]

Im with you except the transmissions part lol i wanna swap my 97 manual trans into my 96 but am not looking forwards to any wiring..

 

[1badexplorer]

From what I read on the net for off road you are better off with a mass air system. It doesnt require any input from a VSS. I ended up using a harness from a 89 Mustang on my swap.

 

[Shran]

It depends more on what engine you are using and whether or not it's in factory configuration. If you are happy with a stock 150hp Crown Vic engine like I used, speed density is perfect and also has the added benefit of the ECM not gathering any data from the transmission. It is THE most simple Ford multiport injection system out there.

The downside is that it uses a very strict set of parameters to keep the engine in tune, so generally speaking, you are limited to a stock or very mild cam, headers and stock heads. Anything more than that requires mass air because it can better compensate for changes.