v-8 swap cheap??

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6jeff6
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Joined: Thu May 13, 2010 1:43 pm

Re: v-8 swap cheap??

Post by 6jeff6 »

Thanks.

Must be the oval throttle body with split butterflies? Explorer are not easy to find for cheap!!! The 5.0's are all in perfect shape. Dang ford needs to make weaker parts :D .


Jeff
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cgrey8
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Re: v-8 swap cheap??

Post by cgrey8 »

Normally trucks do come with lower RPM intakes. However the Explorer 5.0L is a bit more performance oriented than most people give it credit for.

The Explorer front dress is the most compact/compressed setup ever made for a Windsor engine. It fits perfectly in a Ranger with no mechanical fan. If you keep the 1-core radiator, I believe you can get the mechanical fan and shroud in there too. But with a thicker 2-core, you are lacking about 1/4" of it fitting without tucking the radiator forward.

The heads on the Explorer are better than GT heads. Explorers in 96 and EARLY 97 came with GT40 heads...same heads used on the 93-95 Cobra. The only difference is SVT shaved the Cobra GT40 heads down to about 58cc. The stock size is around 65cc which is what you can expect to find on Explorers equipped with GT40 heads. In mid 97, they got upgraded to GT40p heads. The p head is the best flowing head Ford ever made for a production Windsor engine. The only downside to them is the need for special p headers since the sparkplug angle is different than every other Windsor head out there.

Explorer 5.0Ls have Cobra-inspired intakes that are better than stock GT intakes. In fact, MANY people ditch their stock GT for the Explorer upper/lower because they are so much better. The limiting part of the Explorer intake combo is the GT40 lower. It has very narrow ports that are just begging to be opened up. Most of that is for emissions and fuel economy to get airflow velocity higher through the port right at the injector. However even in stock form, the Explorer upper/lowers are good for ~330hp. When properly ported, the upper/lower are good to ~400hp.

Notice:
Image

And this is the same gasket on a stock unported GT40p head:
Image

See how much meat they left on the intake?


Another caveat of the Explorer engines is they have a 90° elbow that the larger 65mm throttlebody bolts on to. Stock GTs are only 60mm stock. Because of the elbow, the throttle opens in the opposite direction (CW) as compared to Mustang TBs (CCW). So you'll want to maintain the elbow and the brackets that hold the throttle cable OR replace the TB with a Mustang TB and then setup the cable as though the engine were in a Mustang. Just don't replace it with a stock Mustang TB...that would be a downgrade. So no, the Explorer does NOT use the dual-butterflies the way F150s did. F150s only did that because the upper/lower are dual plane.

The downside to the Explorer engine is the cam. Explorer cams are "truck" oriented...or more accurately put emissions oriented. And I suspect it is also Ford's "detuning" of a fairly performance-built engine. Although a LOT of carbed guys say that with 1.7RRs, the Explorer cam works really well and pulls hard enough. It peaks torque production around 4000RPMs and falls on its face shortly after 5000. By 5500, you might as well shift because you'll get more out of it than you will extending the RPMs on up. So my recommendation is to replace the cam, valve springs, and retainers and to get bigger gains than doing the same upgrade to a stock GT engine.

Yes, the ignition is EDIS. So you'll have to abandon all that if you are going the 89-95 Mustang EEC route unless you want to get into EEC tuning. It is possible to setup EDIS on these EECs, but it does require an EDIS8 ignition module. They aren't terribly expensive off eBay for the module and harness that plugs into them. The expense is in getting the tuning hardware and software to retune the EEC to run EDIS OR to pay to have it done. Most people just abandon the packs and cam position sensor in favor of a TFI distributor since the stock tune will crank and run the engine with that. Note though that 89-93 Mustang GT EECs require the Gray TFI module. 94-95 Mustang GT EECs require the Black TFI module. There is a difference and despite them being the same shape/pinout, they are not the same.

However if you are going carbed, then you loose the benefit of the Cobra intake. The only thing you have at that point are the "better" heads.
...Always Somethin'

89 Ranger Supercab, 331, ported GT40p heads w/1.6RRs, Crane Powermax 2020 cam, ported Explorer lower, FMS Explorer (GT40p) headers, aftermarket T5 'Z-Spec', 8.8" rear w/3.27s, Powertrax Locker, A9L w/Moates QuarterHorse, Innovate LC-1, James Duff traction bars, iDelta DC Fan controller

Admin of EECtuning.org
6jeff6
Posts: 41
Joined: Thu May 13, 2010 1:43 pm

Re: v-8 swap cheap??

Post by 6jeff6 »

Thanks.

I have a better understanding now. I'll see what I can find. Afraid of junkyards because you never know how the drivetrain or motor will be.


Jeff
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Teddyzee
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Re: v-8 swap cheap??

Post by Teddyzee »

Couple of points to add:

The Explorer throttle body is easy to mod, just remove the plate that the cable attaches to, and tack it in the proper position. There are some good write ups on the old 'web for that.
http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/ ... 65mmTB.pdf

I'm running the Explorer 65mm TB on mine, and the GT intake. I removed the 90deg elbow, saw no reason to use it. Just using an EGR plate to hold the throttle/cruise cables.
Mine came from a '96 Explorer, there was no need to mod the TPS stuff, my FOX piece fit right on.

Here's another source for hoods:
http://www.up22.com/ranger.htm
'97 Ranger Supercab.
Dropped 5/8
18X9,18X10 Bullitts 275/40 front and 295/35/18 rear
5.0 H.O. T5, 1.7rr, GT40 heads, GT40 intake, 65mm tb, 1 piece driveshaft, 3.55 Traction Lok, dual 2.5" Flowmasters, Cobra discs front and rear
Explorer power buckets and console
6jeff6
Posts: 41
Joined: Thu May 13, 2010 1:43 pm

Re: v-8 swap cheap??

Post by 6jeff6 »

Good prices there thank you!!!


Jeff
6jeff6
Posts: 41
Joined: Thu May 13, 2010 1:43 pm

Re: v-8 swap cheap??

Post by 6jeff6 »

Well got another 92 ranger 4x4, stick and 2.9 for cheap so just going to swap that stuff in. Was so cheap I couldn't pass it up. Also got an old(can't figure out year yet) 289 for building up.

Anyone know how to lock the 4wd system in to work all the time(manually)? I just want it for hunting season it's only going 1.5 miles 1 way and want the 4x4.

This is the 92 ranger I picked up runs good :mrgreen: .


Jeff
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