looking for help on my ranger 5.0 swap

[surfer5567]

the truck: 94 4x4 ext cab ranger, has manual shift bw1354 and 8.8 already in it, truck is a prerunner with giant motor sports engine cage
donor: i have a complete running/driving 97 explorer awd 5.0
the goal: have a complete turn key, reliable, smog/carb/cali legal swap that has working ac, cruise, abs(if possible)
the plan: so far i have figured out that i will go with AA motor mounts (unless l&l are better or someone else? truck will see alot of abuse so need strong), AA transfer case adapter, oil filter relocation kit and modified trans crossmember.
questions:
STOCK explorer headers, will these work without any issues?
explorer radiator, will this fit easily with some minor trimming or is it out of the questions? i plan to keep stock tranny cooler as well

BIG question is, what do i do for wiring? can i send it off to someone to have completed? like i stated id like it as plug and play and close to factory as possible. what is my best option? i can probably splice it all together but i know itd take me forever

thanks for the help! this is my first swap of any kind so i am gathering all the info/parts i can ahead of time so i dont have too much down time

[cgrey8]

...the plan: so far i have figured out that i will go with AA motor mounts (unless l&l are better or someone else? truck will see alot of abuse so need strong),...

There are lots of opinions out there as it relates to mounts. IMO, use what's easiest for you to install. So educate yourself on the options. It's unfortunate that the target Ranger is 94. Had it been a 95-newer, this would be much easier. The 94 Ranger has more in common with the older Rangers than the newer Rangers. It's similar in outward looks only. But it can still be done. The main thing you'll have to deal with is modify the AC box for the valve cover and have a custom AC line made to plumb the system together since there are no off-the-shelf stock hoses that will marry a 97 Explorer 5.0L's compressor to a 94 Ranger's accumulator and condenser.

...AA transfer case adapter,...

Have you actually found one? I recall Advance Adapters used to sell that adapter, but IIRC, they quit selling that adapter YEARS ago. Or have they brought it back? I haven't kept up. I just ask the question because if you can't get that adapter, you may find it far more trouble than its worth trying to keep it manual vs just using the Explorer's 4R70w automatic which can easily be built to handle abuse.

...STOCK explorer headers, will these work without any issues?...

Yes. As long as you are OK with their shortcomings from a performance standpoint, they'll fit without a problem. I use the FMS Explorer aftermarket headers and they fit great. However since they are no longer sold, the practical upgrade from the crappy stock tube manifolds are the 99-newer cast iron manifolds. They are better than the tube manifolds the 97 Explorer 5.0L has.

...explorer radiator, will this fit easily with some minor trimming or is it out of the questions?...

I wouldn't bother. Use a stock Ranger 2 core radiator. It's a bolt-in upgrade for the factory 1-core radiator and is plenty capable.

...i plan to keep stock tranny cooler as well...

Not possible. All 97-earlier Ranger V8 conversions using Windsor blocks require the 90 degree oil filter adapter because the Ranger steering box is right up next to where the filter would be on a Windsor block. Ditto for the oil cooler. If you want an oil cooler, it'll need to be a traditional oil cooler. BTW, Ford quit using that cooler in the newer Explorer 5.0Ls. I don't know why or they simply made it an option. But I do know newer engines often don't have a cooler.

...BIG question is, what do i do for wiring? can i send it off to someone to have completed? like i stated id like it as plug and play and close to factory as possible. what is my best option? i can probably splice it all together but i know itd take me forever...

If you want it done right, you'll want to do it yourself. I made my wiring harness starting from a 89 Mustang era wiring harness but heavily modified to work with my Ranger engine bay. It required me idenfitying every body connector in my engine bay, going to a junk yard and clipping the complement connector off a junker, then splicing it into my harness. There was very little similarity between the Mustang and Ranger when it came to wire routing, connectors, and locations. When I first started the wire harness project I had quite an overwhelming spider web mess of wires. But being patient, mapping out what whent where using a wiring harness for my year Ranger, and wire-stretching where needed, I eventually got the harness setup to where it would plug right into my engine bay like stock. However then came the looming the mess into a logical pattern. That's where I found I had further work. Some wires were excessively too long and had to be shortened. Others had to be lengthened where I didn't lengthen them quite enough. But when I was done, I ended up with a wiring harness that looked like a stock harness and plugged in like stock. The wiring was far more work and research-involved than any other aspect of the conversion. It's not hard work. It's just tedious.

To add to your efforts, you'll likely start with the 97 Explorer wiring harness and modify it to work for your 94 Ranger. In 95, the Ranger located the EEC in the same place as the Explorer. However in 94, I believe the Ranger located it's EEC on the driver's side fender in the engine bay. So if that's where the 97 Explorer EEC is going to have to go, the wiring harness is not setup for that...so you'll have to reloom and wire-stretch things to get that to happen.

There are people that trust Painless wiring harnesses to do the work for them. Although I have never heard just how successful those harnesses are at actually being plug-n-play. They certainly cost enough...

[surfer5567]

...the plan: so far i have figured out that i will go with AA motor mounts (unless l&l are better or someone else? truck will see alot of abuse so need strong),...

There are lots of opinions out there as it relates to mounts. IMO, use what's easiest for you to install. So educate yourself on the options. It's unfortunate that the target Ranger is 94. Had it been a 95-newer, this would be much easier. The 94 Ranger has more in common with the older Rangers than the newer Rangers. It's similar in outward looks only. But it can still be done. The main thing you'll have to deal with is modify the AC box for the valve cover and have a custom AC line made to plumb the system together since there are no off-the-shelf stock hoses that will marry a 97 Explorer 5.0L's compressor to a 94 Ranger's accumulator and condenser.

from what i have read the valve cover all it takes is a heat gun and oil fiter to mold it and its good to go, am i wrong? the line i figured id need a few custom pieces.

...AA transfer case adapter,...

Have you actually found one? I recall Advance Adapters used to sell that adapter, but IIRC, they quit selling that adapter YEARS ago. Or have they brought it back? I haven't kept up. I just ask the question because if you can't get that adapter, you may find it far more trouble than its worth trying to keep it manual vs just using the Explorer's 4R70w automatic which can easily be built to handle abuse.

im not going with a manual. im going with the explorers 4r70w and mating the bw1354 to that. its just the best option all around

...STOCK explorer headers, will these work without any issues?...

Yes. As long as you are OK with their shortcomings from a performance standpoint, they'll fit without a problem. I use the FMS Explorer aftermarket headers and they fit great. However since they are no longer sold, the practical upgrade from the crappy stock tube manifolds are the 99-newer cast iron manifolds. They are better than the tube manifolds the 97 Explorer 5.0L has.

im ok with stock crappy headers for now, once it gets bar'd then i will look into what other options i have.

...explorer radiator, will this fit easily with some minor trimming or is it out of the questions?...

I wouldn't bother. Use a stock Ranger 2 core radiator. It's a bolt-in upgrade for the factory 1-core radiator and is plenty capable.

what did a 2 core radiator come out of? what year explorer?

...i plan to keep stock tranny cooler as well...

Not possible. All 97-earlier Ranger V8 conversions using Windsor blocks require the 90 degree oil filter adapter because the Ranger steering box is right up next to where the filter would be on a Windsor block. Ditto for the oil cooler. If you want an oil cooler, it'll need to be a traditional oil cooler. BTW, Ford quit using that cooler in the newer Explorer 5.0Ls. I don't know why or they simply made it an option. But I do know newer engines often don't have a cooler.

good to know. i will be running an extrernal tranny cooler than. rather be safe than sorry

...BIG question is, what do i do for wiring? can i send it off to someone to have completed? like i stated id like it as plug and play and close to factory as possible. what is my best option? i can probably splice it all together but i know itd take me forever...

If you want it done right, you'll want to do it yourself. I made my wiring harness starting from a 89 Mustang era wiring harness but heavily modified to work with my Ranger engine bay. It required me idenfitying every body connector in my engine bay, going to a junk yard and clipping the complement connector off a junker, then splicing it into my harness. There was very little similarity between the Mustang and Ranger when it came to wire routing, connectors, and locations. When I first started the wire harness project I had quite an overwhelming spider web mess of wires. But being patient, mapping out what whent where using a wiring harness for my year Ranger, and wire-stretching where needed, I eventually got the harness setup to where it would plug right into my engine bay like stock. However then came the looming the mess into a logical pattern. That's where I found I had further work. Some wires were excessively too long and had to be shortened. Others had to be lengthened where I didn't lengthen them quite enough. But when I was done, I ended up with a wiring harness that looked like a stock harness and plugged in like stock. The wiring was far more work and research-involved than any other aspect of the conversion. It's not hard work. It's just tedious.

To add to your efforts, you'll likely start with the 97 Explorer wiring harness and modify it to work for your 94 Ranger. In 95, the Ranger located the EEC in the same place as the Explorer. However in 94, I believe the Ranger located it's EEC on the driver's side fender in the engine bay. So if that's where the 97 Explorer EEC is going to have to go, the wiring harness is not setup for that...so you'll have to reloom and wire-stretch things to get that to happen.

There are people that trust Painless wiring harnesses to do the work for them. Although I have never heard just how successful those harnesses are at actually being plug-n-play. They certainly cost enough...

ill haver to look into the painless option and see if it is worth it or not. any other suggestions? no idea where id place the eec yet. id figured with how common this swap is that someone would have a harness already made

[cgrey8]

...from what i have read the valve cover all it takes is a heat gun and oil fiter to mold it and its good to go, am i wrong? the line i figured id need a few custom pieces...

I've read somewhere that a heat gun and something like an oil filter can form it too. I don't know since that's not the route I took. I cut a chunk out and bondo'd the hole up. That worked well and was pretty quick. However if you have a heat gun, you can certainly try that and see how that works for you.

...im not going with a manual. im going with the explorers 4r70w and mating the bw1354 to that. its just the best option all around...

Good.

...im ok with stock crappy headers for now, once it gets bar'd then i will look into what other options i have...

If all you are trying to do is bide your time to get it past California smog nazi referees and tested, then do your major engine mods after that, I understand. That's exactly what another guy here that did a 351w F150 conversion into his Ranger did. Once he got the sticker from the referee approving the alternate engine, he changed heads, pistons, cam, and probably a few other things which I'm sure weren't CARB approved...but would still pass the sniff test.

But back to the topic with the GT40p heads in a Ranger, the only options I know of are:

• The stock tube manifolds
• The cast iron stock manifolds used on newer Explorer 5.0Ls
• FMS Explorer headers (if you can still find'em)
• Torque Monster headers (awesome, but expensive and may not fit 94 as they've only been confirmed to work on 95-newer Rangers using L&L mounts to my knowledge)
• MAC GT40p headers for Mustangs (use of these will likely require notching the frame for exhaust pipe clearance)

...what did a 2 core radiator come out of?...

From the AutoZone website:
1993 Ford Truck Ranger 4WD 4.0L MFI 6cyl
Part Number: B1164

Notice in the top-view of this radiator, it's twice as thick as the other radiator for this same truck. This one is the 2 core...and surprisingly cheaper ($128) than what I paid back in 2005. I seem to recall paying nearly twice the current price listed on the website.

Although if your setup ends up anything like my setup, I could've run the stock Explorer mechanical fan if I'd stayed with the 1-core radiator. But because I went with the 2-core, I was lacking about 1/4" getting the stock fan down onto the water pump. But I planned from the very beginning of the swap to run 2-12" Permacool pusher fans mounted behind the grill along with a iDelta DC variable speed fan controller. I've never regretted that approach as the mechanical fan is a drag on the engine both at cruise AND at WOT. I've read that deletion of mechanical fans can easily add 6hp to the engine. Add to that, the 2 electrical fans have never had a problem keeping the engine cool even in stop-n-go Atlanta traffic with 100+ degree temps as we had for about 10 days straight 2 summers ago (Summer 2012).

...i will be running an extrernal tranny cooler than. rather be safe than sorry...

I read an article once that said the #1 cause of automatic trans failures is heat. The trans mechanic that wrote the article said bluntly that if the factories put decent trans coolers on vehicles from the factory, he'd be out of business. An external trans cooler is always recommended.

However the original comment was about the stock Explorer oil cooler, not a trans cooler. As long as you are using a synthetic motor oil and an effective cooling system I don't think oil cooling really matters. For emissions purposes, stick with a 195 degree T-stat. I ran 195 in my 302, and it ran just fine that warm. With the high compression 331 I now run, I decided I wouldn't push it since I was running a high compression engine so I installed a 180. But as it turns out, it'd be fine on 195 with premium. But I am married to premium with that engine. I've tried mid-grade just to see if that would be acceptable just for Interstate cruising and no, it wasn't at least not without modifying the spark tables to reduce spark. But being the engine runs CNG now, ping is hardly a concern. Natural Gas has an octane rating well above 100. I think it's something like 120. E85 ethanol isn't but about 110.

...ill haver to look into the painless option and see if it is worth it or not. any other suggestions? no idea where id place the eec yet. id figured with how common this swap is that someone would have a harness already made

Most people doing this swap go carb. It's amazing how few people doing Ranger V8 swaps actually attempt to keep it EFI. For me, it wasn't an option because I have to pass Atlanta emissions. This is my last year I'll have to test. After it's tested this year, I can do whatever I want with it. Atlanta only requires 25 years & newer vehicles be tested.

As for your wiring options, get wiring diagrams. I was given some Mustang diagrams, but they didn't match my wiring harness at all which has always made me suspicious that it wasn't from a Mustang GT (or at least not the year claimed). I think it was probably from something similar like a 5.0L T-bird. It was good enough to be useful, but not nearly as useful as the wiring diagrams for the truck itself. The HelmInc wiring diagrams I bought specific to my truck were dead-on with wire colors, routing, connector shape/gender, and pin position in the connectors. I couldn't have done it as easily as I did without those diagrams.

The EVTMs for my truck and the Mustang were not helpful at all. They were a waste of money.