New here, have a few swap questions

[irish]

New to this site but a long time member of several mustang sites, very familiar with 302 based engines/trans but a total newbie to the idea of putting one in a Ranger. However I just bought a nice clean 2001 Ranger 2WD standard cab with a 2.5 and a 5 speed manual trans. it has a lot of miles on it, 178k on original eng/trans. Hopefully I can get it running decently again as two garages gave up making it run right so I bought it cheap, really cheap.

I've been doing a lot of reading up on the swap and have a few questions you probably have heard before, I don't think this truck has PATS, am I right?

Next, how does that affect my potential choice in donor engines or transmissions?

I prefer stick shifts, I would actually prefer to build an engine for the swap but I would like it to be fuel injected to maximize mileage, the whole engine mount thing has me confused, are there bolt ins available or is some degree of fabrication needed?

Last will I have problems with the A/C box on the passengers side firewall in terms of clearance? I live in South Florida so A/C is a must although you would never guess it by our weather lately...it is COLD!

My plan is to do my best to get the 2.5 running well again (I suspect a clogged Cat) and drive it as my daily driver and start acquiring parts while I finish off a different project car (1981 Fairmont)

thanks

Matt

 

[Smokeyjoe09]

i know for your year the 5.0 is a drop in motor

for transmisson you are going need on out of explorer and it is 4r70w or 4r75w

as far as the ac i don't know if you would have any problems with ac box

you have pats but it is a simple fix just change the the pats box

 

[V8 Level II]

The 2.5L is the only 2001 Ranger that doesn't have PATS.

 

[Teddyzee]

i know for your year the 5.0 is a drop in motor

for transmisson you are going need on out of explorer and it is 4r70w or 4r75w

as far as the ac i don't know if you would have any problems with ac box

you have pats but it is a simple fix just change the the pats box

Not necessarily true.

If your truck has torsion bar front suspension, a 5.0 with Explorer mounts will bolt right in.
If you has coil spring front suspension, mounts need to be fabbed. Do some searching on here and other Ranger sites, and you'll find pics and descriptions.

Any trans will work. You don't need something from an Explorer. (I'm using a T5) Trans choices may get narrowed down, particularly if you choose an auto from a '94/'95 Mustang or 2wd 5.0 Explorer. These would be controlled by the engine ECU, likely from the same donor.

 

[irish]

I prefer a stick so I guess a T5 or if I build a serious motor a tremec, I believe my truck has coil spring suspension. Need to figure out which transmission will put the shifter in the right place or is compatible with a different style shifter like a midshift setup. Honestly the scariest part to me is the wiring, most I've done is convert a SD mustang to mass air and install a few guages, repin a mustang cluster etc so I'm abit familiar with mustang harnesses. Can you replace the Ranger ecu with a mustang ecu and harness or is that a bad idea?

Currently I have my Fairmont drivetrain in the garage, and a killer 347 shortblock I was planning on selling to fund a more stock setup for the truck. Still have a spare mexican block I could build into something as well or sell it to afford more parts. Few different intakes and a bunch of explorer mass air meters.

Changed the plugs/wires on the 2.5 Ranger today, it was not fun to do the last two...still need a new cat for it and about pooped myself when I was told what a direct fit unit costs...

thanks for the replies

Matt

 

[doorgunner]

Be careful.....I had put about $200 into my 2.9L getting it to run halfway right when the computer failed......( I had a running V8 & A/T on the test stand, but was too bullheaded to give up on the 2.9L )

I decided I wasn't gonna dump another $100 into it just to have something else fail...

Now the truk has the V8*A/T.....and the 2.9L*A/T is going on the test stand & get de-computerized!!!!!!

I think I'll mount that $200 worth of sensors on a trophey board....

 

[irish]

I know exactly what you mean, I'm not ready for the swap though, have some parts to sell to afford to go engine/trans shopping.

One question I'm still not sure on is about the mustang computer and harness, will I use the mustang computer in place of the ranger one and same for the harness?

thanks

Matt

 

[1mean02hd]

I wanna see pics of the Fairmont... lol. Your best bet is to get an Electrical and Vacuum Troubleshooting Manual (EVTM) for the Ranger and if you know your way around a Mustang engine harness, you can figure it out. Another option is to use an Exploder engine harness and ECM and tune out the auto trans codes.

 

[Mac]

In your case it would be realy easy to just stay with a '97' Explorer computer and wiring.
Dave

 

[irish]

1997 Explorer, cash for clunkers killed off a lot of those around here but that sounds like a really good idea!

Picture of Fairmont before I stripped it to a shell:

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd169/SaleenClone/shared/110-1021_IMG.jpg

Was a 6 cylinder with 35k original miles.

What are you guys usually paying for an engine/trans/harness package from an explorer?

Matt

 

[Teddyzee]

I paid $500 for a complete running '96 Ex 5.0 AWD the other day.
Going to rob some parts off it over the winter.

 

[irish]

Thats a great deal, I need to find one of those but there are not many around here.

Matt

 

[ChrisR1S]

Also something i dont know if you've thought of or not; headers/manifolds. If you use the stock explorer "P" heads you're essentially limited to either torque monster headers or stock manifolds. If i remember right there may be a few more that were tried and worked, but the said choices are the most popular.

 

[Mac]

Matt,
Any 5.0L will work, Mustang or Explorer. A lot of what you might find would need rebuilding so I just got a new short Ford short block. That also allows you to use any good heads out there, my choice was a set of the AFR 165. Going to try a com cam XE264HR-14. It's the Explorer computer and engine wiring you really need to use, in your case without the PAT's, a '97' would eliminate a lot of the hastle of adding the PAT's into your truck. The Explorer has the short front dress that makes the swap easy. I believe the 94-95 share the same (or real close front dress). You will need the special motor mount plates that are easy to get made, use the SOHC 4.0L isolators. Header choice is either the stock Explorer manifolds or the Torque Monster headers that do cost $780 but good up to about 380HP. Bob there builds them to fit the chassis suspension you have and what year and what heads you are going to use. Good luck in finding what you want, the stuff is out there.
Dave

 

[irish]

Well so far my parts have not sold, I'm having a hard time resisting temptation on install the shortblock I'm selling into the ranger even though it is overkill. My problem with it is that it would not make a very good daily driver after the swap if I use that 347 shortblock I have in the clasifieds. Rather keep it on the tame side for getting around.

Matt