Swapping a 4.0 sohc into a 99 ranger with 3.0 v6

[I support common sense]

I’ve finally found it! A cheap donor truck with everything I need except a manual transmission. I have been considering a 4.0 swap but I wanted the sohc. Now I’ve found it, but I want to be sure it will all work. So, I have a 1999 ford ranger xlt super cab with a 3.0 4r44e. This donor as you can see in the above link is a 2002 ford ranger edge with 4.0 v6 which should be a sohc and it should have a 5r55e. What would it take to swap it into my truck and how long would it take? I’m probably going to take it slow until I’m ready to throw it in the truck, so any ideas on what I should do to the 4.0 while it’s out of the truck? Biggest concern in mpg and it will get similar mpg to my current engine. I think I’ll tear it down and rebuild it, so are there aftermarket parts I ought to throw at it?

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^this link is to the listing.

 

[Blmpkn]

I hate the things personally.. but I'd still consider a 302 swap from an expo/mountaineer more 'worth it'. Not much to write home about in the HP department compared to the 4.0 but at least the 302 supplies 30 more torques in stock form than the 4L.. same amount of difficulty to swap.. mpgs would be about the same..but the v8 gives you the ability to make some real power with some more tinkering.


I really don't know what Fords problem always was with sackless v8s.. first factory 12 second mustang was like.. 2018... Chebby got the Camaro there 2 decades earlier lol.

 

[I support common sense]

I hate the things personally.. but I'd still consider a 302 swap from an expo/mountaineer more 'worth it'. Not much to write home about in the HP department compared to the 4.0 but at least the 302 supplies 30 more torques in stock form than the 4L.. same amount of difficulty to swap.. mpgs would be about the same..but the v8 gives you the ability to make some real power with some more tinkering.


I really don't know what Fords problem always was with sackless v8s.. first factory 12 second mustang was like.. 2018... Chebby got the Camaro there 2 decades earlier lol.

The problem is I don’t have an access to a v8. The other problem is the Transmission. I need a transmission that fits in the truck. if you could answer the transmission problem I would look for one. The other thing is mpg. I need to be getting good miles per gallon. Why do you dislike the 4.0?

 

[Ranger850]

To do the 3.0 to 4.0 swap, you'll need the motor, transmission , ECU, and wiring harness from the 4.0 donor. Pretty much the same is needed for the v8 5.0 swap. It might be worth it to just get the 4.0 truck up and running and sale the 3.0 truck.

 

[Blmpkn]

The problem is I don’t have an access to a v8. The other problem is the Transmission. I need a transmission that fits in the truck. if you could answer the transmission problem I would look for one. The other thing is mpg. I need to be getting good miles per gallon. Why do you dislike the 4.0?

Truth be told, I'm not a big fan of most Ford motors, apart from their various 2.3s.. I've owned 5 of them by this point.. we got history lol.

What I really don't like though is the idea of spending a bunch of effort and money to do a swap thats hardly worth it from an objective point of view.


If youre willing to invest money & sweat equity into something... why not shoot for the biggest ROI that you can possibly get? The difficulty/involvement level required to swap a 4.0 into your truck is essentially the same as swapping in a 5.0... so a guy really oughtta just go full ham on the v8 swap..

More power.. better torque curve..same MPG.. infinitely better selection of aftermarket parts.. no dumbass timing setup on the BACK OF THE MOTOR.. and if you fancy yourself an exhaust that you can actually HEAR.. it'll obviously make bitchin v8 noises instead of the garbled mess that a v6 makes.

Im not sure what trans/t case you'd need if you're insistent on a manual.. but someone here is and I'm sure they'll chime in eventually (if you can't find an article about such a swap in the TRS tech library)

@85_Ranger4x4 has a 4x4 manual 5.0 rig.. perhaps (undoubtedly) he could be of more assistance than I.

 

[Uncle Gump]

What is good fuel economy?

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

So, I’m gonna agree. The 4.0 SOHC and a 5.0 are about the same amount of work and you have to change pretty much all the same stuff to do it. The SOHC, especially the 00-04, were the worst for the timing chain problems. The 5.0 does make nice V-8 noises, especially with headers.

My dad was getting around 17 mpg with his 5.0 Ranger. I’m still arguing with mine so my mileage should improve once I get a few things resolved, but I’m getting about 13 mpg with my problems. My 4.0 OHV was getting that. I’m expecting around 18 mpg when I get my problems ironed out.

If I was going for absolute power and fuel economy, a 2.3 EcoBoost swap would be the ticket these days. With a little work it will smoke a 5.0 and use less fuel to do it. I did the 5.0 because I wanted to do it since I was about 15. The 2.3 EcoBoost may happen to something one of these days…

A shift kit and a turbo on the 3.0 could be a fun little toy. When I get around to fixing my 3.0 Ranger I’m thinking a turbo will happen. It’s a 5-speed so I can make use of it liking to rev.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

@85_Ranger4x4 has a 4x4 manual 5.0 rig.. perhaps (undoubtedly) he could be of more assistance than I.

M5ODR2 is very close to the same length as the A4LD and its derivatives and the M5ODR1 that the Ranger had, mine landed in the same holes the transmission crossmember used with a A4LD. 97-04 4.2 F-150's had the shifter placed like the Ranger's R1. Bellhousing bolts need enlarged for SBF bellhousing bolts. You need the Seperator plate from a SBF truck. Use 90's 5.0 clutch parts with RBV hydraulics. Shifter comes thru the floor in the right spot, shift stub can be modified to fit a Ranger shift lever (I have a chrome FX4 lever in my truck)

Electronically... things get complicated. I don't know of any successful SOHC 4.0 swaps. @adsm08 tried and never got it to run right, it did not fit well and IIRC he had to swap the dash as well (also going into an older truck) Not a common swap despite it being a common engine in a common truck.

Depending on what you do with the 5.0 you may end up needing a tune... but lots of people have done that swap, it isn't some weird obscure thing to get a tune for.

I swapped a carb onto my 5.0 and swapped it into a truck that originally had a carb. I had already durasparked my 2.8 so the 5.0 literally swapped in.

And no, trying to swap in a carbed engine into a '99 is not easy. Fuel injected Mustang or Explorer are the best donors (Explorer has better belt/accessory system), don't go dragging home a 1977 302 with a tiny 2bbl carb and expect to set the world on fire with 130hp.

Mine should be around 200hp/285lb-ft if it was a new engine... it is a pleasure to drive. Not super fast but not slow by any means for normal truck things. The 2.3 in a new Bronco is rated 315lb-ft on regular fuel... 30 lb-ft isn't a whole lot of difference.

Now for the buzkill... gearing of the M5OD is not super ideal. Low gear is pretty fast. So is reverse. However that is offset by having a low overdrive. Running 60mph on 31's with 3.73 gear I am spinning around 2700rprm in 5th. 70mph and I am spinning 3k. No easy solution. Bigger tire or higher gearing will help OD at the expense of borderline ridiculous fast low and reverse. Same for smaller tire or lower gearing to help low and reverse.

 

[I support common sense]

I see. I don’t understand why it would be hard to swap in an sohc if you’ve got a donor vehicle, but I do like the idea of a v8, however, I made the erroneous assumption that this would be easy and I could have them swapped in a weekend after I rebuilt the one. Now I can see that probably won’t happen. I appreciate the info, I would like to try a v8 swap, assuming I find a good donor, but I’m not going to do it in my personal vehicle yet if ever. I might buy two trucks and swap one and sell mine after I get a good one working with a v8.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Unless you’re swapping like motors, (for example I swapped a 4.0 OHV in my Choptop once for another 4.0 OHV in as little as 5 hours before), a weekend isn’t really enough for a proper engine swap when you change to a different motor. There’s always odd things that crop up when you make a major change. Having a complete donor helps.

The 4.0 SOHC could be swapped relatively easily in yours, but you may have to change dash harness and some other stuff to make it all work. The cab is the same between a 98-00 and 01-11. Dash changed around 07 I think. PATS changed in 01 and again later. So your dash wiring for PATS won’t be correct.

Part of the reason for so many 5.0 swaps is simplicity. A 98-00 Ranger V-6 with PATS is the ticket and the ideal is a 00 because it has a “live“ front axle (stronger design over the pulse-lock hubs of the 98/99). With a 99-01 Explorer donor, it’s as close to bolt-in as you can get. The only dash wiring that has to happen is re-pinning the tach on the gauge cluster. PATS is the same. Drivers side motor mount is different. Everything is already sized to fit. Exhaust is the biggest thing to overcome, but I just use the Explorer pipe until after the cats or just put stubs down off the manifolds and have the local custom exhaust shop make what I need.

A 5.0 from a 99-01 Explorer would be the closest you can get to a weekend swap. But your problem will be there was very few 2wd Explorers with a 5.0, almost all were AWD. So you have a problem with the rear drivetrain. Not a problem on the automatic 4x4 Rangers if you’re willing to have AWD (I did, I wanted to lower the truck and have some fun). I think I heard something about a Mustang having the 4R70w automatic or something like that that there is a 2wd 4R70w out there which would mean you would only have to figure out the rear driveshaft.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

If you want easy find a 3.0 and freshen it up. IMO they are the best V6 Ford put in a ranger.

IMO a SOHC 4.0 swap isn't worth the time/investment.

Engine swaps are not easy or quick, especially your first. My carbed swap took a month of evenings snd weekends.

 

[I support common sense]

I have a 3.SLOW right now, so I’m guessing I should be thankful and hang on to what I got. Still can’t get that phrase out of my head “Gets the mileage of the 4.0 with the power of the 2.5”

Still want to do a v8 swap, but I guess if I am going to all that work I might as well make it my dream truck, which would be a good strong slightly lifted 4x4 with locking axles and all the bells and whistles that came with in 1999. So, if any of you have a 4x4 truck that has a good interior and ok exterior let me know.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

The 3.0 was a good motor. The problem was always that it made most of its power in the like 3-5k rpm range. Automatics tend to shift way too early for that and the Ford automatics that went behind them weren’t exactly the best.

Which is why I highly recommend a shift kit. I did one in my 92 Ranger (4.0 OHV and A4LD auto). That thing went from a sloppy slushbox to being able to light up the back tires just by liberal application of throttle. I just did a TransGo shift kit. That and tightening the bands (of course while you are doing the valve body work and stuff you should probably consider throwing new O-rings, ideally square cut ones, and a gasket at the reverse servo to nip that potential issue in the butt).

A turbo would really wake up a 3.0 I’m sure too…

 

[SenorNoob]

I swapped a 4.0 OHV in place of 2.9 and spent a full month about 4 hours a night working on it. Bolting it in is easy. Getting everything else working is the hard part.

Replacing the OHV with a freshened up similar engine took me a 3 day weekend and I had the advantage of using the 25ton crane at work.

 

[I support common sense]

The 3.0 was a good motor. The problem was always that it made most of its power in the like 3-5k rpm range. Automatics tend to shift way too early for that and the Ford automatics that went behind them weren’t exactly the best.

Which is why I highly recommend a shift kit. I did one in my 92 Ranger (4.0 OHV and A4LD auto). That thing went from a sloppy slushbox to being able to light up the back tires just by liberal application of throttle. I just did a TransGo shift kit. That and tightening the bands (of course while you are doing the valve body work and stuff you should probably consider throwing new O-rings, ideally square cut ones, and a gasket at the reverse servo to nip that potential issue in the butt).

A turbo would really wake up a 3.0 I’m sure too…

Turbo is out of the question as they are stupid expensive and I’m pretty sure I would need a separate intake to go with it.
This shift kit you speak of how does it work? My knowledge of automatic transmissions is limited all I know is there is more to go wrong. I thought a “shift kit” was just for replacing the solenoid springs and some clutches springs… . Not sure how that would affect your ability to spin the tires, unless it changes the shift pints or the gear ratios. Besides that you are talking about the 4.0. Of course it’s got power.