Well...No turning back

[nate12346]

I started my 4.0 swap last night! Drained everything and unplugged/labled all the wires. Plus removing all the odds and ends. Today I am hopefully going to pull everything out and set the new engine in.

Im soo freakin nervous that im going to F up the whole project haha. Am I the only one who is freakin out when they did their first swap?

 

[mhughes165]

no your not, my first swap was puttin a 2.5 turbo motor into a dodge omni at the age of 12 lol, i had that car up until i was 17 when i blew it sky high from running 25 psi on stock internals

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Im soo freakin nervous that im going to F up the whole project haha. Am I the only one who is freakin out when they did their first swap?

I am nervous and I haven't even put my 289 together yet.

 

[alaskan155]

was/am curious if franky is going to run when turn the key on the 5.0

 

[COPPERHEAD85]

when i first cranked mine up you couldnt have driven a toothpick up my a$$ with a ten pound sledge hammer.........lol
got up early one morning and rebuilt both carbs.......put them on that afternoon.had no idea i was going to actually hear it run that day........put them on and triple checked everything...primed them up ,checked the timing as best i could,had a remote start switch so i could crank it and watch everything and my son sat in the truck to watch gauges and kill it if something went wrong......hit the fuel pump and when the carbs primed i pulled the cable a few times,said a prayer right quick and hit the button.
it barked and growled a few times and came to life.............you couldnt have wiped the smile off my face with a boat paddle...............at that moment i knew what ol doc frankenstein could have felt like...........almost makes me tear up a little........anybody got a tissue...........

 

[nate12346]

Lol too funny. I just got back from the garage. I have everything unbolted and the only thing i need done before i pull it is have the A/C Drained or whatever you call it. I about pissed my pants when I pulled the fuel lines. I didn't have the tools to Depressurize it and couldn't crank it to do it that way. Needless to say when I pulled it off NOTHING happened lol. just a little gas trickled out haha

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I was a lil nervous when I started my 4.0L swap...

Now I'm just plain pissed off and frustrated with it.... 'bout ready to drop a 2.9 back in it actually...

I just can't seem to get the wiring figured out for love nor money, I'm starting to think that the only way I'll be able to get the wiring worked out would be to pull the dash and replace the dash harness with one from a 2nd gen.

Actually, I guess I'm more irritated at the fact that I have to pull the dash to fix a rust hole, and I might have to pull the motor to repair the firewall. I really hate rust.

 

[nate12346]

Thats what im worried about... The wiring once its in. AHHHGGG I just know its gonna drive me crazy

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

The key is finding good wiring diagrams or being able to trace wires out. I've been largely unsuccessful at both, but at the same time, I haven't really gone on an all-out serious quest to get the info. I'm sure it's out there somewhere, once I get my computer up and running, I'll probably be back on the hunt, now that my choptop is largely complete for now.

Since I see you also have an 88 BII that you're working on, perhaps we can try to help each other out with this, share info an all.

 

[nate12346]

Yeah for sure! What year 4.0 did you put in? Mine is a 94'. I need to go back down to the yard and pull the ignition module which blows cuz its a good 45 min away from where im at.

 

[odie1969]

well Im right there with you guys I just bought my donor today 1500 for a 2004 4x4 4.0, this will be going into my 87. the plan is to take all the wiring and change the dash. To get the dash to fit I believe I will section it on the pass. air bag and then make a glass cap for it. I will start pulling everything apart tommorow. I will take plenty of pics. good luck.

 

[ZMan]

I did a dual plug '92 2.3 swap on a '86 Ranger back last spring. Swapping the entire harness and dash from one truck to the other made things a hell of a lot easier. We had to do a couple of extra things like add wiring for the frame mounted fuel pump, and splice in differetn connectors in some spots (like the taillight harness and headlights), but I would much rather do that than trace wires and spend hours splicing.

 

[klogtruck]

i love my 4.0 swap. it wasn't all that bad

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Supposedly I got a 4.0L from a 91 Ranger... Computer was from a 91, but the wiring harness on the motor matched neither a 91 Ranger or a 91 Explorer harness... So I got a computer and engine harness from a 91 Ranger and swapped that on. Now I just have a mess of wires to connect up on the drivers side...

 

[nate12346]

Just a quick update...
Yesterday I pulled the 2.9 out and cleaned the whole engine bay out. Today I set the 4.0 in and bolted everything down tight. Im kinda sketchin out about the motor mounts. From what i read I thought you had to drill out something to fit it in, but mine just sat right down with no modifications. Is this right???

I have to cut a new hole for the shift knob to come through. Its about an inch forward from the other one. The Air Force Auto hobby shop is closed tomorrow so Im goin to run down to the salvage yard and get some odds and ends to finish wiring up.

The new transfer case is a electronic shift, so I have to figure a way out to get it working right.

I might just go down to a junk yard and find a 94 exploder to literally take every wire and switch out and just replace everything so I dont have to worry about screwin up.