surfer5567 wrote:...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.
surfer5567 wrote:...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.
surfer5567 wrote:...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)
surfer5567 wrote:...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).
surfer5567 wrote:...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.
surfer5567 wrote:...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.